First characterization of K. pneumoniae ST11 clinical isolates harboring bla(KPC-3) in Latin America

Antimicrobial resistance due to carbapenemase production in Enterobacteriaceae clinical isolates is a global threat. Klebsiella pneumoniae harboring the bla(KPC) gene is one of the major concerns in hospital settings in Latin America. The aim of this study was to characterize the antibiotic resistance mechanisms and to typify four carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae clinical isolates from the city of Manizales, Colombia. We identified bla(KPC-3) in all four isolates by polymerase chain reaction and subsequent sequencing. The plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes qnrB19-like and aac(6')lb-cr; fosfomycin resistance gene fosA and an insertion sequence 155-like in mgrB (colistin resistance) were also detected. Sequence types ST11 with capsular type wzi75, and ST258 with wzi154, were characterized. The bla(KPC-)(3) gene was mobilized in a 100-kb lncFIB conjugative plasmid with vagCD toxin-antitoxin system. This work reports multiple resistance genes in bla(KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae and the first occurrence of ST11 clinical isolates harboring bla(KPC)-3 in Latin America. (C) 2019 Asociacion Argentina de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.