Molecular Characterization and Multidrug Resistant Staphylococcus saprophyticus Isolated from Pregnant Women with Cases of Urinary Tract Infections in Some Hospitals of Bauchi Metropolis, Nigeria

Background and Aim: Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is one of the most frequent bacterial infections in women. Staphylococcus saprophyticus is a novobiocin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococcus recognised as an important cause of community-acquired uncomplicated UTI, especially in pregnant women. With rising antibiotic resistance and limited data from North-East Nigeria, this study aimed to characterise multidrug-resistant S. saprophyticus and determine the genetic basis of resistance in urine specimens from pregnant women in Bauchi metropolis. Place of Study: The study was conducted at the antenatal clinics of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi and State Specialist Hospital Bauchi, Bauchi metropolis, Nigeria. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 216 pregnant women with suspected UTI. Early-morning midstream urine was cultured on CLED and Mannitol Salt Agar. Isolates were identified using cultural, morphological, and biochemical tests and were confirmed using the VITEK 2 system. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion method against 10 antibiotics according to CLSI guidelines. Multidrug resistance was defined as resistance to ≥2 classes of antibiotics. Genotypic characterisation was performed by multiplex PCR for the resistance genes mecA and aph(3)-IIIa. Data were analysed using SPSS v24.0 with chi-square and ANOVA at p < 0.001.