Emergence of Klebsiella pneumoniae subspecies pneumoniae as a cause of septicaemia in pigs in England.

Cornelia A Bidewell,Yue Tang,Jon Rogers,Liljana Petrovska,Susanna M Williamson,Manal Abuoun,Richard J Ellis,Glenn F Browning

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191958

Cornelia A Bidewell, Yue Tang + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191958

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Abstract

Between 2011 and 2014 outbreaks of septicaemia due to Klebsiella pneumoniae subspecies pneumoniae (Kpp) were diagnosed on thirteen English pig farms. The most consistent features were rapid deaths of pigs from ten-days-old to weaning, seasonal occurrence (May to September), affected farms being outdoor breeding herds and the location of all but one of the outbreaks in the East Anglia region in Eastern England. Molecular characterisation of the outbreak Kpp isolates showed that by multilocus sequencing all were sequence type 25 (ST25) of K2 capsular type with a combination of a 4.3kb plasmid (pKPMC25), three phage sequences and the rmpA virulence gene. No archived Kpp isolates of porcine origin pre-dating 2011 were identified as ST25. In 2013 there was the first detection of an outbreak Kpp isolate showing antimicrobial resistance to six antibiotics. Human infection with Kpp ST25 has not been reported in the UK.

Highlights

Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae (Kpp) is a Gram-negative bacterium within the family Enterobacteriaceae found in the environment and the alimentary tract of animals
This paper describes the clinical and epidemiological details of septicaemia outbreaks in pigs due to Kpp, the molecular characterisation of the case and case
The first outbreak of septicaemia due to Kpp was diagnosed in July 2011 and, by September 2014 fifteen outbreaks were diagnosed on thirteen farms in England (Table 1); two farms had recurrent outbreaks in separate years

Summary

Introduction

Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae (Kpp) is a Gram-negative bacterium within the family Enterobacteriaceae found in the environment and the alimentary tract of animals. Pneumoniae (Kpp) is a Gram-negative bacterium within the family Enterobacteriaceae found in the environment and the alimentary tract of animals. Members of the Klebsiella genus cause pneumonia and urogenital infections in carnivores and ungulates, mastitis in ruminants and pigs, enterocolitis in rabbits and sporadic septicaemia in a number of species [1,2]. In England, prior to 2011, Kpp infection in individual pigs was diagnosed sporadically from submissions of cases of septicaemia, pneumonia or mastitis. In 2011, Kpp emerged as a cause of outbreaks of septicaemia in pre-weaned pigs and the annual diagnostic rate for septicaemia due to Kpp increased in 2011 from zero in the preceding five years to 7.2% of relevant submissions of pre-weaned pigs [3] to Veterinary Investigation Centres (VICs) of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). This paper describes the clinical and epidemiological details of septicaemia outbreaks in pigs due to Kpp, the molecular characterisation of the case and case

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