IP International Journal of Medical Microbiology and Tropical Diseases 2021;7(3):186–191 Content available at: https://www.ipinnovative.com/open-access-journals IP International Journal of Medical Microbiology and Tropical Diseases Journal homepage: https://www.ijmmtd.org/ Original Research Article Prevalence of various Beta-lactamases in Enterobacteriaceae in a tertiary care hospital in South India: A Cross-sectional study S Roopashree 1 , Soumya Kaup 1, * 1 Dept. of Microbiology, Shridevi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Hospital, Tumkur, Karnataka, India ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 12-07-2021 Accepted 06-08-2021 Available online 01-09-2021 Keywords: ExtendedSpectrum betalactamase AmpC betalactamase Carbapenemase Enterobacteriaceae ABSTRACT Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance among bacteria has constantly increased over the years with emergence of novel resistance mechanism among these versatile organisms. Identifying the resistance pattern of the isolates both regionally and globally is essential for the institution of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of beta-Lactamase enzymes among species of Enterobacteriaceae. Materials and Methods: 312 consecutive isolates belonging to the family of Enterobacteriaceae were included in the study conducted over a period of one year. After preliminary antibiotic susceptibility testing using standard guidelines, production of various beta-Lactamase enzymes was assessed by phenotypic methods. Results: 22.76% of the isolates were found to be Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase producers, 37.82% were AmpC Beta-Lactamase producers and 7.37% of the isolates produced the Carbapenemase enzyme. Conclusion: Our study estimates the prevalence of various beta-Lactamase enzymes in isolates of Enterobacteriaceae in a tertiary care centre. The increase in production of these enzymes among bacteria necessitates the implementation of strict adherence to antibiotic policy and infection control measures. This is an Open Access (OA) journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. For reprints contact: reprint@ipinnovative.com 1. Introduction Antimicrobial resistance, especially in Gram negative bacilli is a growing public health concern. Treatment options for the multi-drug resistant strains are limited due to paucity of newer antimicrobials in the pipeline. Infections with antimicrobial resistant strains lead to longer duration of hospital stay, increased cost of health care and contribute to higher rates of morbidity and mortality. 1 The burden of antimicrobial resistance is higher in low- and middle- income countries like India due to unregulated and indiscriminate use of antibiotics. Extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBL) are a group of enzymes that are capable of hydrolysing Penicillins, * Corresponding author. E-mail address: drksoumya@yahoo.in (S. Kaup). first, second and third generation cephalosporins and monobactams like Aztreonam but are inhibited by beta lactam inhibitors like Clavulanic acid. They do not have any effect on Cephamycins and Carbapenems. 2 Bush-Jacoby-Medeiros functional classification divides beta lactamases into three groups based on their substrate and inhibitor profiles. Amp C beta lactamases are placed in group 1, Extended-Spectrum Beta lactamases in group 2 and Metallo-beta-lactamases in group 3. Ambler’s classification identifies 4 types of beta-lactamases based on amino acid sequence wherein types A, C and D are serine beta-lactamases and type B is a metallo-beta-lactamase containing Zinc. 3 Around 1300 types of beta-lactamases and 200 types of Extended spectrum beta-lactamases have been identified. 2,3 https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijmmtd.2021.039 2581-4753/© 2021 Innovative Publication, All rights reserved. 186