Rethinking virulence screening in Klebsiella pneumoniae: a case for a standardised Galleria mellonella infection model

Genome-based tools such as Kleborate have transformed the classification of Klebsiella pneumoniae by providing structured virulence and resistance scores that align well with major epidemiological and clinical pathotypes.1 These genotypic signatures are now central to surveillance and offer rapid, high-throughput categorisation of isolates. However, phenotypic confirmation of these categories is rarely performed at scale, because murine infection models are resource-intensive, ethically restrictive, and unsuitable for large isolate panels.