Abstract

NARVAEZ, Patricia ; PEDROZA, Raquel ; ALONSO, Guillermina  and  RODRIGUEZ LEMOINE, Vidal. Caracterización de plásmidos de resistencia a antibióticos en aislados  nosocomiales del Hospital Universitario de Caracas  . Rev. Soc. Ven. Microbiol. [online]. 2005, vol.25, n.1, pp.29-34. ISSN 1315-2556.

Plasmids confers to bacteria properties that allow them to colonize adverse environments and to facilitate gene exchange. Plasmids are responsible for horizontal dissemination of resistance genes between bacteria from different genus. In this work auto and co-transferable plasmids exhibiting complex antibiotic resistance patterns were found in nosocomial isolates. Presence of plasmid of diverse sizes was found. The existence of five different plasmid restriction patterns was confirm being two of them the most frequently identified. These results suggest that plasmids carrying antibiotic resistance determinants are responsible for resistance genes dissemination between the nosocomial populations. Presence of these plasmids could explain gene flow among bacteria as well as adaptability to colonize new environments.

Keywords : plasmid; nosocomial infection; resistance .