Typing of Proteus from Patients with Bacteriuria

Abstract

Forty-five strains of Proteus mirabilis isolated from hospital in-patients, out patients and community patients with significant bacteriuria, were investigated to deter mine whether a predominant type was present using the Dienes test. Antimicrobial sus ceptibility patterns of the 45 strains of Proteus mirabilis were also determined.

There were 38 different Dienes types which shows that there is no predominant type of Proteus amongst the isolates examined in this study. This suggests that there is no pre dominant type of Proteus mirabilis in the community and hospital acquired bacteriuria.

The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of an isolate was not a useful marker for typing because susceptibility patterns between different Dienes types were so similar.