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Molecular characterization of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae from a Malaysian hospital

Brazilian Journal of Microbiology volume 51, pages 189–195 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae associated with nosocomial infections have caused serious problems in antibiotic management with limited therapeutic choices. This study aimed to determine the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of K. pneumoniae strains isolated from a tertiary hospital in Malaysia. Ninety-seven clinical K. pneumoniae strains were analyzed for antimicrobial susceptibility, all of which were sensitive to amikacin and colistin (except one strain), while 31.9 % and 27.8 % were MDR and ESBL producers, respectively. PCR and DNA sequencing of the amplicons indicated that the majority of MDR strains (26/27) were positive for blaTEM, followed by blaSHV (24/27), blaCTX-M-1 group (23/27), blaCTX-M-9 group (2/27), and mcr-1 (1/27). Thirty-seven strains were hypervirulent and PCR detection of virulence genes showed 38.1 %, 22.7 %, and 16.5 % of the strains were positive for K1, wabG, and uge genes, respectively. Genotyping by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) showed that these strains were genetically diverse and heterogeneous. Sequence types, ST23, ST22, and ST412 were the predominant genotypes. This is the first report of colistin-resistant K. pneumoniae among clinical strains associated with mcr-1 plasmid in Malaysia. The findings in this study have contributed to the effort in combating the increase in antimicrobial resistance by providing better understanding of genotypic characteristics and resistance mechanisms of the organisms.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the University of Malaya for the financial support and facilities.

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Malaya Postgraduate Research Grant (PG072-2014B) and High Impact Research (HIR) Grant (UM.C/625/1/HIR/MOHE/CHAN/11/02).

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Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Golnaz Mobasseri & Kwai Lin Thong

  2. Department of Pathology, Hospital Sultanah Aminah Johor Bahru, 80100, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

    Ganeswarie Rajasekaram

  3. Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Cindy Shuan Ju Teh

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  1. Golnaz Mobasseri
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Correspondence to Cindy Shuan Ju Teh.

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Mobasseri, G., Thong, K.L., Rajasekaram, G. et al. Molecular characterization of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae from a Malaysian hospital. Braz J Microbiol 51, 189–195 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-019-00208-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-019-00208-w

Keywords

  • ESBL
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae
  • Multidrug resistance
  • MLST
  • PFGE