Biofilms, a bacterial survival strategy, can grow at the primary focus of infection and allow bacteria to spread via the bloodstream. Biofilms can hematogenously disseminate both planktonic bacteria and biofilm fragments, a case-control study including 250 samples suspected of bacterial biofilm infections were collected from Al-Rifai General Hospital, Thi-Qar city, Southern Iraq, between December 2025 and April 2026 from patients aged between 10 and 45 years. The current results showed that 100 (40.0%) samples were positive and 150 (60.0%) samples were negative for bacterial biofilm formation. These results show that the prevalence of bacterial biofilm is higher in Gram-negative bacteria compared to Gram-positive bacteria (66 (66.0%) vs. 34 (34.0%)). The frequency distribution of biofilm-containing bacterial isolates is as follows; 36 (36.0%) E. coli, 22 (22.0%) S. epidermidis, 12 (12.0%) S. aureus, 16 (16.0%) K. pneumoniae and 14 (14.0%) Proteus mirabilis were detected. In addition, these results showed that most of the biofilm-producing bacteria were isolated from patients with urinary tract infections. Bacterial biofilm positivity was more common in older patients (30 years and above). The available results regarding gender determined that the patient group consisted of 40 (40.0%) males and 60 (60.0%) females. Since 60 (60.0%) of the patients with bacterial biofilm came from urban areas, the prevalence of bacterial biofilm was found to be higher in urban areas compared to rural areas.
DOI: 10.59324/ejeba.2026.3(3).21
Publication Date: 2026-06-09