Klebsiella pneumoniae harbouring OXA-48 carbapenemase in a Libyan refugee in Italy

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2013 Sep;19(9):E409-11. doi: 10.1111/1469-0691.12232. Epub 2013 May 9.

Abstract

A carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from a blood-culture of an inpatient from Libya, hospitalized in the intensive-care unit of Negrar Hospital, Italy. The clinical isolate carried the following β-lactamase genes, bla(TEM -1), bla(SHV -11), bla(OXA -1), bla(CTX -M-15) and bla(OXA -48), respectively. The bla(OXA -48) gene was inserted in the Tn1999.2 transposon type, carried on a conjugative, 60-kilobase plasmid, that presented an L/M backbone, hosted by a multidrug-resistant ST 101 K. pneumoniae strain. Our report highlights the international transfer of bla(OXA -48) gene and the importance of screening measures of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

Keywords: IncL/M-like plasmid; Klebsiella pneumoniae ST 101; OXA-48; Tn1999.2; carbapenem resistance.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Carbapenems / therapeutic use
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / genetics
  • Humans
  • Inpatients
  • Intensive Care Units
  • Italy
  • Klebsiella Infections / microbiology*
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / drug effects
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / enzymology
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / genetics*
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / isolation & purification*
  • Libya / ethnology
  • Male
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Refugees
  • beta-Lactamases / genetics*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Carbapenems
  • beta-Lactamases
  • oxacillinase