Outbreak of PER-1 and diversity of β-lactamases among ceftazidime-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates

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A growing number of β-lactamases have been reported in Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of β-lactamases in the collection of 51 ceftazidime-resistant P. aeruginosa clinical isolates in four hospitals of southern China. Among these isolates, variable degrees of resistance to other β-lactam and non-β-lactam agents were observed. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) revealed a high degree of clonality with five main genotypes. Of the 51 isolates tested, 35 (68.6%) were identified as extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers, with 35 producing PER-1, 1 CTX-M-3, 7 CTX-M-15 and 1 CTX-M-14. Most (82.9%, 29/35) PER-1-producing isolates were collected from two hospitals between January and April in 2008 and belonged to the same PFGE pattern (pattern B) with similar antibiogram and β-lactamase profiles, which suggested an outbreak of this clone at the time. The prevalence of CTX-M-type ESBL (17.6%, 9/51) was unexpectedly high. One isolate was identified as producing VIM-2. Furthermore, we also reported an occurrence of a novel OXA-10 variant, OXA-246, in 14 P. aeruginosa isolates. In addition, AmpC overproduction was found to be the β-lactamase-mediated mechanism responsible for ceftazidime resistance in 6 isolates (11.8%). Our results revealed an overall diversity of β-lactamases and outbreak of a PER-1-producing clone among ceftazidime-resistant P. aeruginosa in southern China.