Prevalence of Silver Resistance in Bacteria Isolated from Urinary Tract Infection

Heavy metal toxicity can result in damaged or reduced mental and central nervous function, lower energy levels and damage to several internal organs. Several bacteria have naturally developed tolerance to a wide range of toxic heavy metals. Some bacteria have also evolved mechanisms to detoxify heavy metals. Among several metals, silver has been reported to possess medicinal property and hence used as an antibacterial agent. Inspite of this few silver resistant bacteria have been reported in clinical and environmental samples. Prevalence of silver resistance among several isolated strains provided the basis of the current investigation to determine the prevalence of silver resistance in clinical isolates. The goals of this study were 1) to isolate the uropathogens 2) to investigate the presence and prevalence of silver resistance of urine isolates taken from urinary tract infected patients and 3) to obtain the antibiogram pattern and 4) to determine the maximum tolerance range of silver by the isolated uropathogens, thereby standardize the concentration of silver as antibacterial agent.