Carbapenem resistance mediated by plasmid-borne Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPC) is an emerging problem of significant clinical importance in Gram-negative bacteria. Multiple KPC gene variants (bla(KPC)) have been reported, with KPC-2 (bla(KPC-2)) and KPC-3 (bla(KPC-3)) associated with epidemic outbreaks in New York City and various international settings. Here, we describe the develo...

We developed a novel real-time PCR assay to detect Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPCs) and used this assay to screen clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca for the presence of bla(KPC) genes. The TaqMan real-time PCR assay amplified a 399-bp product from the bla(KPC) gene. The amplicon was designed so that the genes for isoenzymes KPC-1, -2, and -3 could be easily dis...

OBJECTIVES To report the identification of the metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) variant VIM-19 in a Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical strain co-producing KPC-2 carbapenemase, CMY-2 cephalosporinase and CTX-M-15 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase. METHODS MICs were determined by agar dilution. Phenotypic tests were performed to detect carbapenemase production. PCR and nucleotide sequencing were used fo...

INTRODUCTION Carbapenem resistance among Enterobacteriaceae, especially in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, is an emerging problem worldwide. A common mechanism of carbapenem resistance is the production of class-A, Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC). AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The present study focused on determining the antibiotic resistance pattern and prevalence of bla KPC gene...

Sporadic isolates of carbapenem-resistant KPC-2-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated in Tel Aviv Medical Center during 2005 and 2006, parallel to the emergence of the KPC-3-producing K. pneumoniae sequence type 258 (ST 258). We aimed to study the molecular epidemiology of these isolates and to characterize their bla(KPC)-carrying plasmids and their origin. Ten isolates (8 KPC-2 and 2 K...

OBJECTIVES Both transposition and increases in gene expression have been implicated in the success of KPC-producing pathogens, but the stimulus required for these phenomena are unknown. It is possible that exposure to antimicrobials during patient treatment increases bla(KPC) expression or induces Tn4401 transposition. The purpose of this study was to determine if exposure to carbapenems or oth...

Strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae producing KPC-type beta-lactamases (KPC-Kp) are broadly disseminating worldwide and constitute a major healthcare threat given their extensively drug resistant phenotypes and ability to rapidly disseminate in healthcare settings. In this work we report on the characterization of two different capsular polysaccharide (CPS) gene clusters, named cpsBO-4 and cps207-...

A carbapenem-resistant sequence type 512 (ST512) Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase 3 (KPC-3)-producing K. pneumoniae strain showing a novel variant plasmid content was isolated in Palermo, Italy, in 2014. ST512 is a worldwide successful clone associated with the spread of bla(KPC) genes located on the IncFIIk pKpQIL plasmid. In our ST512 strain, the bla(KPC-3) gene was unusually located on an...

In this paper, we give an extension of the Wendel's theorem on KPC-hypergroups. We also show that every translation invariant mapping is corresponding with a unique positive measure on the KPC-hypergroup.

BACKGROUND KPC carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates have been increasingly detected in Europe. We report the first KPC-producing isolates characterized in Madrid, Spain. METHODS Twelve K. pneumoniae isolates recovered from clinical and surveillance cultures from eight patients (September 2009 to February 2010) that were resistant to carbapenems and resulted in a positive mod...