Detection of IncN-pST15 one-health plasmid harbouring blaKPC-2 in a hypermucoviscous Klebsiella pneumoniae CG258 isolated from an infected dog, Brazil.

Abstract

The emergence and rapid spread of carbapenemase‐producing Enterobacterales represents a serious public health concern. Critically, these global priority bacteria have begun to be reported in companion animals, implying a potential risk of cross‐transmission between humans and pets. Using long‐read (MinION) and short‐read (Illumina) sequencing technologies, we have identified and characterized a hypermucoviscous KPC‐2‐producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strain belonging to the high‐risk international clone ST11/CG258, in a dog with urinary tract infection. Strikingly, the bla KPC‐2 gene was carried by a 54‐kb IncN plasmid assignated to ST15, which shared 99.8 and 96.8% pairwise identity with IncN‐pST15 plasmids from human and environmental K. pneumoniae strains, respectively; all come from an area with high endemicity of KPC‐2. Our findings suggest that IncN‐pST15 plasmids conferring carbapenem resistance can play as important a role as clonal transmission of K. pneumoniae, representing another major challenge for One Health.