View with images and charts Incidence of Pathogens and Their Drug Susceptibility Pattern in Blood and Urine Culture INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Blood and Urine are the most commonly received specimen in routine microbiology laboratories, with many thousands of antimicrobial sensitivity results being issued each day (Barrett et al., 1999). The bacteriological examination of the urine is must for the diagnosis of urinary tract infection. Bacterial bloodstream infections are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the United States approximately 200,000 patients develop bacteramia of fungaemia annually with estimated associated mortality ranges of 20 of 50% and septicaemia is the 13th leading cause of death. In addition, antimicrobial resistance in some of the most frequent bacterial species isolated from blood such as Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pneumoniae has reached worrying levels (Decousser W.J, 2003). The urine and blood specimen is easy to obtain and can be collected in several different ways. A quantitative culture result can help diagnose significant bacteriuria and is performed by most laboratories.
Microorganisms are causative agents of many diseases. The identification of the bacteria causing the disease is often essential for the life and wellbeing of a patient. Blood borne pathogens are bacteria, viruses and parasites found in human blood and other body fluids. They can infect and cause disease in humans (Fatima Hamadi1 et at., 2008). Two pathogens recently receiving the greatest attention are the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Other pathogens which can also be of concern are Herpes, Meningitis, Tuberculosis, Epstein-Barr Virus, Lyme Disease, Malaria, and Syphilis, to name a few (Roy K.R., 2001). In healthy persons, properly obtained blood specimens are sterile. Although microorganisms from the normal respiratory and gastrointestinal flora occasionally enter the blood, they are rapidly removed by the reticuloendothetial system. Blood culture is the single most important procedure to detect systemic infection due to bacteria. If a blood culture yields microorganisms, this fact is of great clinical significance provided the contamination should be excluded. Urine secreted in the kidney is sterile unless