Abstract

Asymptomatic bacteriuria is one ofthe most common bacterial infections diagnosed during pregnancy. The incidence of asymptomatic bacteriuria was investigated among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in 5 hospitals in Aba, Nigeria. Mid-stream urine samples were collected from 200 asymptomatic outpatients without any intake of antibiotics for any indication during the period of pregnancy. Each specimen was cultured on CLED agar, and blood agar. Investigations showed that 28% of the samples showed significant bacteriuria while 44% showed non significant bacteriuria. A total of 28% of the samples showed no growth. 5% of the samples showed significant bacteriuria within the 3 and 6 months of pregnancy. Ofthe variables examined, 73.2% ofthe infected women were in the age group of 25-34 years, 53.6% were in their second trimester, 44.7% had more than one child and 73.2% had 1-3 pregnancies. Escherichia coli were found to be the most commonly isolated organism (46.4%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (30.4%) and klebsiella aerogenes (21.4%). One sample, representing 1.8% ofthe total samples collected, showed the presence QfPseudomonas aeruginosa. The antibiotic sensitivity ofthe isolates was tested using 16 different antibiotics. Ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin cefbtaxiine, pefloxacin and levofloxacin were the most effective antimicrobials against the isolates while ampicillin and tetracycline were the least effective. S.aureus strains were resistant to cotrimoxazole and nalidixic acid while K. aerogenes showed resistance to ampicillin, augmentin, levofloxacin and tetracycline. E. coli strains exhibiting MIC values of8gg/ml were screened for P-lactamase activity and out of26 isolates, seventeen were found to be positive for p-lactamase activity. This study reveals that E. coli is the most common bacteria for asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant females. Ampicillin and tetracycline are quite ineffective in treating these infections