MICROBIOLOGY AND NATURE

In order to study the bacterial ecology in the surgical wards of the Treichville University Hospital, a retrospective study was conducted from January to December 2021. Bacteriological analyses were performed on various clinical specimens, including pus, blood, genitourinary secretions, stool, and urine. Bacterial isolation and identification were carried out using conventional bacteriological methods, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method according to CA-SFM 2021 guidelines. Data were analysed using EPI INFO version 7.2. Infections in the surgical wards predominantly affected male patients (sex ratio: 3.73) with a mean age of 32.7 years, mainly from the urology department (63.2%) and mostly involving urine samples (76.4%). A total of 208 bacterial strains were isolated, primarily Gram-negative bacilli (84.4%) belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family (70.2%). Escherichia coli (63.0%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (27.4%) were the most frequently identified species. Antimicrobial resistance was high: 65.2% of Staphylococcus aureus isolates were methicillin-resistant. Among Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates, resistance to ceftazidime and imipenem was 36.4% and 20.0%, respectively. Within Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli and Proteus mirabilis showed high resistance to amoxicillin (98.4% and 66.7%), while E. coli, P. mirabilis, and K. pneumoniae also exhibited elevated resistance to ceftriaxone (73.9%, 14.3%, and 53.3% respectively). These findings highlight the predominance of Gram-negative bacilli urinary tract infections and a high level of resistance to several first-line antibiotics in the surgical wards of Treichville University Hospital.