The first nationwide surveillance of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in the United Arab Emirates-increased association of Klebsiella pneumoniae CC14 clone with Emirati patients

Objectives: To assess the current prevalence, distribution, and main clonal types of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) in the United Arab Emirates.Methods: A total of 504 CRE collected over a 9-month period in 15 hospitals were studied. Antibiotic susceptibility and the presence of common carbapenemase, 16S methylase, and mobile colistin resistance genes were assessed. Selected strains forming larger clusters by pulsed field gel electrophoresis were subjected to whole genome sequencing to identify their sequence types and core genome MLST.Results: Strains expressing OXA and NDM type carbapenemases and 16S methylases were present in all major hospitals. Considerable interhospital differences were noticed, suggesting the role of specific clones. A total of three major Klebsiella pneumoniae clones (CC14, ST231, and CC147) were identified, accounting for 48.6% of all CRE. All clones were significantly more resistant than sporadic isolates. CC14 strains exhibited a significant association with Emirati patients.Conclusions: Nearly half of CRE infections in the country are due to a limited number of clones. The data indicate the possibility of interhospital transmission, combined in some hospitals with inadequate stewardship practices. The study also revealed an association of the largest, most resistant clone (CC14) with Emirati patients. The specific reasons for it should be clarified by further investigations.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Automated summary

This study assessed the prevalence, distribution, and main clonal types of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) in the United Arab Emirates. The results showed that nearly half of the CRE infections in the country were caused by a limited number of clones. Specific Klebsiella pneumoniae clones were identified as major contributors to CRE. The study also revealed an association between the most resistant clone (CC14) and Emirati patients, highlighting the need for further investigation.