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Background The carbapenems are often the last line of treatment for a variety of bacterial infections including those caused by multidrug resistant organisms. Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are carbapenemases produced by Gram negative bacteria which mediate the resistance to the carbapenems such as imipenem. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae from abattoir samples that harboured blaIMP-1 and blaVIM-1 MBL genes by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Materials and methods A total of 120 anal swabs of cow from a local abattoir of Ebonyi state, Nigeria were bacteriologically analyzed for the isolation of Klebsiella pneumoniae. MBL production was detected using the modified Hodges test while antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by the disk diffusion technique. The prevalence of blaIMP-1 and blaVIM-1 genes was confirmed using multiplex PCR technique. Results A total of 59 isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were recovered from the anal swab samples. These isolates were highly resistant to cefotaxime (91.5%). The isolates also showed reduced susceptibility to the carbapenems including ertapenem (62.7%), meropenem (66.1%) and imipenem (78%). MBL was phenotypically detected in a total of 11 (18.6%) isolates that were carbapenem-resistant. The blaIMP-1 gene was detected in 9 (15.3%) isolates of Klebsiella pneumonia by multiplex PCR. Meanwhile, the blaVIM-1 gene was not detected in any isolates. Conclusion These notable findings have an important implication for the dissemination of blaIMP-1 gene amongst Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates since these bacteria are highly prevalent in food-producing animals and could be zoonotically transmitted to humans through the food chain.

The production of beta-lactamases especially the expanded/extended beta-lactamases such as the metallo beta-lactamase (MBL) enzymes by Gram negative bacteria (GNB) are amongst the top arsenal of pathogenic bacteria used to make the therapeutic effect of some available drugs less efficacious. This study evaluated the phenotypic production of MBLs from 50 cloacal swabs of poultry birds in a poultry farm in Abakaliki metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The samples were bacteriologically analyzed using eosin methylene blue (EMB) agar and MacConkey agar; and MBL production was phenotypically detected using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method (for antibiogram) and the inhibition based assay technique (for MBL production). Out of the 50 cloacal swab samples analyzed in this study, 39 isolates were Escherichia coli while 33 isolates were positive for Klebsiella species. All the E. coli and Klebsiella species showed high resistance to most of the tested antibiotics especially to imipenem, meropenem, ciprofloxacin, sulphamethoxazole trimethoprim, cefoxitin, ertapenem and gentamicin. Nine (9) isolates of E. coli (23.1 %) were phenotypically detected as MBL producers while 6 isolates of Klebsiella species (18.2 %) were confirmed as MBL producing strains. This present day study accentuates the growing resistance mechanism in the community; and thus calls for concerted effort to detect and prevent the dissemination of antibiotic resistant microbes in the community. Further molecular characterization is required to classify the genetic elements responsible for the dissemination of MBL-producing microbes in this environment.