Background: Stenotrophomonas species are multi-resistant bacteria with ability to cause opportunistic infections.
Objective: We isolated 45 Stenotrophomonas species from soil, sewage and the clinic with the aim of investigating their susceptibility to commonly used antimicrobial agents.
Methodology: The identities of isolates were confirmed with 16S rRNA gene sequence and MALDI-TOF analysis. Anti-mi- crobial resistance, biofilm production and clonal diversity were also evaluated. The minimum inhibitory concentration technique as described by Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute: CLSI Guidelines (CLSI) was employed for the evaluation of isolate susceptibility to antibiotics.
Result: Forty-five Stenotrophomonas species which include 36 environmental strains and 9 clinical strains of S. maltophilia were considered in this study. 32 (88.9 %) environmental strains were identified to be S. maltophilia, 2 (5.6 %) were Stenotrophomonas nitritireducens, and 2 (5.6 %) cluster as Stenotrophomonas spp. Stenotrophomonas isolates were resistant to at least six of the antibiotics tested, including Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (SXT).
Conclusion: Environmental isolates from this study were resistant to SXT which is commonly used for the treatment of S. maltophilia infections. This informs the need for good public hygiene as the environment could be a reservoir of multi-resistant bacteria. It also buttresses the importance of surveillance study in the management of bacterial resistance.
Keywords: Stenotrophomonas; environmental; biochemical characterization; clonal diversity; anti-microbial susceptibility.