Antibiotic resistance patterns of bacterial strains isolated from Periplaneta americana and Musca domestica in Tangier, Morocco

Abstract

Background:  Flies and cockroaches are two insects in close contact with human beings. They are carriers of human pathogenic bacteria on the external areas of their bodies or in their digestive tracts. This study examines Periplaneta americana and Musca domestica collected from the residential areas of six districts in Tangier, Morocco.

Methodology: In total, 251 bacteria were isolated from external areas of the participants' bodies and the antimicrobial susceptibility was calculated.

Results: The predominant bacterial species included Escherichia coli (17.9%), Klebsiella spp. (14.7%), Providencia spp. (9.6%), Staphylococcus spp. (15.1%) and Enterococcus spp. (11.6%). The study showed no difference between the species of bacterial strains from American cockroaches and houseflies. Carbapenems and aminoglycosides were active against 100% of the Gram-negative bacilli isolated in this study. Staphylococcus spp. strains were susceptible to linezolid, vancomycin, daptomycin, levofloxacin and cotrimoxazole, and no antibiotic resistance was found in Enterococcus spp.

Conclusions: In our setting, although both cockroaches and flies collected from residential areas may be vectors of human pathogenic bacteria, the infections caused by them are easily treatable as a result of the high susceptibility of their bacteria to antibiotics routinely used in the community or in hospitals.