ABSTRACT
Wound infections continue to pose a major public health challenge in many low- and middle-income countries, where delays in diagnosis and limited laboratory capacity contribute to preventable morbidity. Accurate characterization of the bacterial agents involved is essential for effective management; yet, routine diagnostics in many settings rely solely on phenotypic methods that may overlook emerging or clinically significant species. This study investigated the bacteriological profile of wound infections from a tertiary hospital in Southeastern Nigeria. A total of fifty patients presenting with traumatic (n = 13), surgical (n = 10), burn (n = 10), infected (n = 10), and diabetic foot wounds (n = 7) were recruited, of which 30% were male and 70% were female. The wound samples were analyzed for bacteria isolates usingstandard microbiological culture methods, biochemical, and PCR techniques for molecular identification. A total of six bacteria isolates were recovered, which includes Staphylococcus aureus as the predominant organism (34%), followed by Klebsiella spp. (22%), Enterococcus spp. (18%), Escherichia coli (10%), Salmonella spp. (8%), and Proteus spp. (4%). Traumatic and infected wounds yielded the highest number of isolates, which includes Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella spp., Enterococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Proteus spp., while the least number of isolates were recovered from diabetic foot wounds and includes Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella spp., Enterococcus spp., and Escherichia coli. This study has highlighted some of the bacterial isolates normally associated with different wound infections, and this will assist in strengthening the epidemiological baseline for future surveillance, infection control planning, and antimicrobial stewardship initiatives.
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