Insight from the genome sequence of <i>Bacillus cereus</i> BUKA harboring <i>bla2</i> gene

Abstract

Introduction. In developing countries, yearly outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis records high rates of morbidity and mortality in children below five years. Aim: present the whole genome sequence of Bacillus cereus BUKA implicated in acute childhood gastroenteritis. Materials and methods. The sample was isolated from diarrheal stool of a child diagnosed with acute childhood gastroenteritis from a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Results. Antibiotics resistance profiling of the isolate revealed resistance to 79% (11/14) of the tested antibiotics including imipenem, penicillin, cefepime, ceftriaxone which suggests a strong ability to produce extended spectrum beta-lactamases, carbapenemases and cephalosporinases. Whole genome sequence insight confirmed the presence of chromosomally-encoded bla2 gene encoding enzyme that hydrolyze carbapenems, penicillin and cephalosporins. B. cereus encoding bla2 gene may be an emerging pathogen in the yearly incidence of acute childhood gastroenteritis in Nigeria. Discussion. We herein report and implicate B. cereus harboring bla2 gene capable of hydrolyzing cephalosporins, and carbapenems as an emerging threat in acute childhood gastroenteritis in Nigeria