Abstract
The emergence of infections (and colonization) with Enterobacteriaceae-producing carbapenemases is a threatening public health problem. In the last decades, we watched an isolated case becoming a brutal outbreak, a sporadic description becoming an endemic problem. The present study aims to highlight the dissemination of IMP-22-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in the North of Portugal, through the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of isolates collected from hospitalized patients (n=5) and out-patients of the emergency ward of the same acute care hospital (n=2), and isolates responsible for the intestinal colonization of residents in a Long-Term Care Facility (n=4). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) results, associated with conjugation experiments pointed to a pattern of both vertical and horizontal dissemination. Overall, and complementing other studies that give relevance to IMP-22-producing K. pneumoniae in the clinical settings, here we show for the first time the public health threatening breach of the hospital frontier of this resistance threat, toward the community.
Highlights
Antimicrobial resistance is among the major public health problems of the 21st century
We describe for the first time the breach of the hospital frontier, with the detection and characterization of an IMP-22-producing K. pneumoniae isolate, via the screening of intestinal colonizers of residents of a long-term care facility (LTCF)
Eight carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae showing reduced susceptibility to at least one of the carbapenems tested were isolated from different biological samples of seven distinct hospitalized patients: five inpatients of the internal medicine service of Hospital A and two patients admitted to the emergency ward of the same hospital
Summary
Antimicrobial resistance is among the major public health problems of the 21st century. Carbapenemases can be divided into two different groups according to their dependency on cations for enzyme activity: serine/non-metallo- (zinc-independent; classes A, C, and D) and metallo-carbapenemases (MBLs; zinc-dependent; class B; Queenan and Bush, 2007). Within the latter, a versatile family of beta-lactamases often associated with Enterobacteriaceae, the VIM, IMP, and NDM types are the most relevant carbapenemases globally (Poirel et al, 2011; Nordmann, 2014). Recent studies confirmed that among carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), MBL-producing bacteria only represent 5% in Portugal (Manageiro et al, 2018; Gorgulho et al, 2020)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
