Beta Lactamases

Beta lactamases are the group of enzymes which are produced by some bacteria and they hydrolyze the -lactam ring of the -lactam antibiotics. Different strains of gram negative bacteria were isolated from these samples and identified as E. coli, Enterobacter and Klebsiella. Sensitivity of these bacterial strains was checked against different classes of antibiotics e. g. aminoglycosides, cephalosporins, carbapenems and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole by disc diffusion technique. These strains were analyzed for the production of beta lactamases which was then confirmed by double disc diffusion test. Results have shown that high resistance of beta lactamase +ve strains was found against cephalosporin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole group and less resistance against carbapenem (imipenem and meropenem) and aminoglycosides group.