ABSTRACT

Urinary tract infections “UTIs” are one of the frequently encountered problems facing the family physician. The study is aimed at identification of bacteria isolates from urinary tract infection among pregnant women.  A total of 50 clean midstream urine samples were collected and a general urine microscopic examination and culture were carried out. Susceptibility testing panels of the following antibiotics: Gentamycin, tetracycline amikacin, ampicillin, erythromycin, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, cotrimazasole and cefuroxime were tested against the isolated organisms using disc diffusion method. The bacteriologic agents of UTI isolated from the patients showed that  the most common uropathogen isolated from urine of infected subject is Escherichia coli which constituted 18.5% and followed by Staphylococcus aureus (18.5%), Proteus mirabilis (11%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11%) and Enterococcus faecalis (7.4%). The distribution of UTI among the ages of the antenatal patients showed that age group within the range of 27-32 years recorded the highest incidence of UTI, whereas those of them above 39 years showed the least incidence. Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin and Erythromycin were the most active antibiotics, while the isolates were highly resistant to cotrimozasole, cefuroxime and nalidixic acid. The study reveals that UTI is a major health problem among pregnant women. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Staphylococcus aureus were the predominant uropathogen that causes UTI. All the isolates were sensitive to Gentamicin and Ciprofloxacin. This calls for frequent and consistent evaluation of the prevalence, aetiologic agents and predisposing factors of urinary tract infections during pregnancy in developing countries.