Plasmid Dissemination and Selection of a Multidrug-Resistant <named-content content-type="genus-species">Klebsiella pneumoniae</named-content> Strain during Transplant-Associated Antibiotic Therapy

ABSTRACT Antibiotics, which are used both to prevent and to treat infections, are a mainstay therapy for lifesaving procedures such as transplantation. For this reason, and many others, increased antibiotic resistance among human-associated pathogens, such as the carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriac...

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Autores principales: Sean Conlan, Anna F. Lau, Clay Deming, Christine D. Spalding, ShihQueen Lee-Lin, Pamela J. Thomas, Morgan Park, John P. Dekker, Karen M. Frank, Tara N. Palmore, Julia A. Segre
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: American Society for Microbiology 2019
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/43d2293eef194b7a9a9cfe66420d1727
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Sumario:ABSTRACT Antibiotics, which are used both to prevent and to treat infections, are a mainstay therapy for lifesaving procedures such as transplantation. For this reason, and many others, increased antibiotic resistance among human-associated pathogens, such as the carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae species, is of grave concern. In this study, we report on a hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipient in whom cultures detected the emergence of carbapenem resistance and spread across five strains of bacteria that persisted for over a year. Carbapenem resistance in Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella aerogenes, and Klebsiella pneumoniae was linked to a pair of plasmids, each carrying the Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase gene (blaKPC). Surveillance cultures identified a carbapenem-susceptible strain of Citrobacter freundii that may have become resistant through horizontal gene transfer of these plasmids. Selection of a multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strain was also detected following combination antibiotic therapy. Here we report a plasmid carrying the blaKPC gene with broad host range that poses the additional threat of spreading to endogenous members of the human gut microbiome. IMPORTANCE Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a serious threat to medically fragile patient populations. The spread of antibiotic resistance through plasmid-mediated mechanisms is of grave concern as it can lead to the conversion of endogenous patient-associated strains to difficult-to-treat pathogens.