Detection of the Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase Type 2 Carbapenem-Hydrolyzing Enzyme in Clinical Isolates of Citrobacter freundii and K. oxytoca Carrying a Common Plasmid
Microbiological surveillance reveals bla(KPC-2) carried on a common plasmid in clinical Citrobacter and Klebsiella isolates, highlighting interspecies resistance transmission.
Key Points
To characterize the molecular mechanism responsible for carbapenem resistance in clinical isolates of Citrobacter freundii and Klebsiella oxytoca recovered from hospital patients.
Examined carbapenem-resistant clinical isolates of Citrobacter freundii and Klebsiella oxytoca collected from different patients in a Michigan hospital.
Conducted restriction endonuclease analysis and nucleic acid hybridization utilizing a KPC-specific molecular probe.
Identified the Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) in carbapenem-resistant strains of both C. freundii and K. oxytoca.
Demonstrated that the bla(KPC-2) resistance determinants across both distinct genera of Enterobacteriaceae were harbored on a single common plasmid.