ANTIBIOFILM FORMATION ACTIVITY, RESISTANT GENES PROFILING AND DETECTION OF VIRULENCE FACTORS OF TOXIGENIC Vibrio cholerae ISOLATES FROM KISUMU COUNTY, KENYA

IntroductionVibrio cholerae can switch between motile and biofilm lifestyles with some of its strains forming biofilms in addition to production of various virulence traits and possessing antimicrobial resistance traits. This study is aim to show antibiofilm formation activity, resistant genes profiling and detection of virulence factors of toxigenic vibrio cholerae isolates from Kisumu County. MethodologyA total of 119 Vibrio cholerae O1, biotype El Tor isolates collected during 2017 cholera outbreak in Kisumu County were used for this study. The samples were cultured on TCBS and PCR assay carried out using standard procedures. Biofilm assay tests and detection of virulence factors were also done by use of standard procedures. ResultsOf the 101 confirmed vibrio cholerae isolates, 80.2% possessed the cholera toxin gene (ctxA) whereas 19.8% did not. Analysis of the toxR gene revealed that 98.0% harbored the toxR gene and only 2.0% did not. It was also revealed that 80.2% harbored the class I integron (inDS gene) while 19.8% did not, 93.1% were confirmed to possess the SXT integrating conjugative element (ICE) while 7.0% did not. The tetracycline resistance gene was present in 96.0% of the isolates. In 7 isolants strains which were resistance to common used antibiotics were screened for biofilm formation. Three of the strains (04/17-07, 06/17-14, and 05/17-03) failed to form biofilm while four strains namely 03/17-16, 02/17-09, 04/17-13 and P. aeruginosa ATCC 10145 as a positive control formed biofilms. In addition, out of those 7 isolants 71.42% produced protease, 85.71% produced phospholipases, 71.42% of isolates has the ability to produce lipase and 100% were able to produce the haemolysin. ConclusionAn understanding of this intricate signaling pathway is essential for the development of methods to treat and prevent this devastating disease.