Here we characterized the genome on a K. pneumoniae strain carrying the bla KPC-184 variant and the integrated prophage regions. Genomic analysis showed that the KP-OL-VR-24 strain belonged to the ST307 and carried a variant of bla KPC-3 , named bla KPC-184 . Sequence alignment showed that KPC-184 differed by KPC-3 by E274D substitution. Of note, bla KPC-184 gene was embedded in a prophage region showing a high homology with p45-lncX3 plasmid. Our findings highlighted the role of prophages in the dissemination of the bla KPC gene, thus emphasizing the need for molecular surveillance to control the diffusion of public health threats.
Lievens et al. (Mon,) studied this question.