Emergence of NDM-1-producing Enterobacteriaceae in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Objectives: To evaluate the emergence of New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 (NDM-1)-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates in Brazil. Methods: From April to October 2013, following the detection of the first NDM-1-producing isolate, a surveillance study was performed for the detection of bla(NDM-1) among Enterobacteriaceae isolates with reduced susceptibility to carbapenems in 17 hospitals of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Real-time PCR was used to determine the presence of carbapenemase genes, which were further sequenced. Clonal relatedness was assessed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results: A total of 1134 isolates were evaluated. blaNDM-1 was detected in 11 (0.97%) isolates: nine Enterobacter cloacae complex (eight belonging to a single clone recovered from two distinct hospitals and the other strain from a third hospital) and two Morganella morganii (belonging to a single clone recovered from one hospital). Most isolates presented high-level resistance to carbapenems. Conclusions: NDM-1-producing Enterobacteriaceae have emerged rapidly in the hospitals of the Brazilian city where they were first detected. The emergence of NDM-1 in Brazil is of great concern, since it is a severe threat to antimicrobial therapy against Enterobacteriaceae in this country. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases.