Antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance genes profiles in gram negative isolates from automated teller machines in Cape Coast, Ghana

The prevalence and type of microorganisms present on surfaces is an important factor to consider in infection outbreaks. The study identified bacterial isolates from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and screened the isolates against antibiotics of aminoglycosides, penicillins, tetracyclines, and phenicols classes for efficacy. The isolates were further tested for presence of genes that encodes for aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, glycopeptides, penicillins, and betalactamases. The bacterial isolates were identified as clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonadaceae and frequently comprised Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. The isolates were more susceptible to gentamicin and kanamycin (95%) and more resistant to flucloxacillin (65%), cloxacillin (65%), and oxytetracycline (60%). Most of the isolates showed multiresistance to the antibiotics and were commonly associated with Providencia stuartii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, and Pseudomonas alcaligenes. The bla TEM (90%) and strA (80%) encoding genes were the most abundant genes within the isolates. Klebsiella pneumoniae, K. aerogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens, S. rubidaea, Yersinia mollareti, and Salmonella Paratyphi co-habored 33% of carbapenemases, ESBLs, bla ampC , vanA, and strA encoding genes. This is the first study to highlight the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from ATMs as potential reservoir for emergence and spread of multidrug resistance genes in bacterial pathogens in Cape Coast, Ghana.