Prevalence of Clinical Strains of Enterobacteria With Reduced Susceptibility to Carbapenems in the North-West Region of France

Enterobacteria constitute a family of Gram negative bacilli of the gastrointestinal flora. These micro-organisms are frequently responsible for nosocomial or community-acquired infections, for which treatment is essentially based on the use of beta-lactam antibiotics. This class of antibiotics comprises penicillins, cephalosporins, monobactams and carbapenems. Carbapenems have the advantage of possessing a broad antibacterial spectrum and the capacity to resist the hydrolytic action of a large number of beta-lactamases, widespread inactivating enzymes.

However, new enzymes, called carbapenemases, able to confer resistance to carbapenems either alone or in combination with additional resistance mechanisms such as loss of membrane permeability or overexpression of efflux systems, are currently emerging all over the world. Carbapenemases represent a major public health problem because of the risk of therapeutic impasse and their high epidemic potential.