Isolation and Molecular Identification of Enterobacter cloacae from Pregnant Women with Urinary Tract Infections in Biu, North Eastern Nigeria, Borno State

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) represent a significant, widespread, and expensive public health issue owing to their high frequency and the associated health challenges on pregnant women. This study aimed to isolate, molecularly identify Enterobacter cloacae strains from pregnant women with Urinary tract infections in some General Hospitals in Biu, Borno State. A total of 250 vaginal swabs from pregnant women who attended Antenatal Care Unit whose age ranges from 15 to 45 years were recruited using a well-designed questionnaire by random sampling technique. Gram-staining, culture, and wet microscopy were employed to check the presence of bacterial pathogens in the samples. Polymerase Chain Reaction was carried out to further validate the results. The degree of relatedness of the organism was determined using NCBI software. The result revealed that 167 representing 66.8% of the total samples studied showed significant bacterial growth. The ascending order of the percentage of the bacterial agents isolated include: Enterobacter cloacae 47 (28.1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae 36 (21.6%), Escherichia coli 23 (13.8%), Proteus mirabillis 19 (11.4%), Staphylococcus epidermis 15 (9.0%), Staphylococcus aureus14 (8.3%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 13 (7.8%). The result of the demographic factors showed that 17 (36.2%) of pregnant women infected within the age of 15–20 years had Enterobacter cloacae. Illiterate pregnant women were 19 (40.4%), unemployed pregnant women were 29 (61.7%), those in their third trimester (27-40 weeks) were 24 (51.1%), women who had 7 and above pregnancies 25 (53.2%), symptomatic and asymptomatic pregnant women within the age of 15–20 years 19 (40.4%), and rural dwellers 33 (70.2%). This study also demonstrated culture technique as the best biochemical method for isolation of bacterial agents compared to wet mount and microscopic Gram-staining isolation method. It can be concluded that there is a 66.8% prevalence of Enterobacter cloacae in Biu LGA of Borno State.