2021 journal article

Resistome of a carbapenemase-producing novel ST232 Klebsiella michiganensis isolate from urban hospital effluent in South Africa

JOURNAL OF GLOBAL ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE, 24, 321–324.

By: T. King*, S. Schmidt*, S. Thakur n, P. Fedorka-Cray n, S. Keelara n, L. Harden n, S. Essack*

co-author countries: United States of America 🇺🇸 South Africa 🇿🇦
author keywords: Klebsiella michiganensis; Genome; Carbapenemase; Hospital effluent; South Africa
MeSH headings : Bacterial Proteins; Drug Resistance, Bacterial / genetics; Hospitals, Urban; Klebsiella / drug effects; Klebsiella / genetics; South Africa; beta-Lactamases
Source: Web Of Science
Added: April 26, 2021

Klebsiella michiganensis is an emerging pathogen implicated in nosocomial infections. Here we report on the resistome, virulome and mobilome of a carbapenemase-producing K. michiganensis isolate from urban hospital effluent in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Klebsiella sp. isolate KP124 was originally isolated from the final effluent of an urban tertiary hospital in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.Following phenotypic characterisation and antibiotic susceptibility testing, the genome of carbapenemase-producing isolate KP124 was sequenced using an Illumina MiSeq platform, de novo assembled and analysed using established bioinformatics tools.The draft genome of strain KP124 was 6 544 586 bp in length, comprising 203 contigs >200 bp. Following confirmation of isolate KP124 as K. michiganensis using reference genomes, the blaOXA-181 carbapenemase gene as well as 11 additional genes encoding resistance against β-lactams, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides were detected. Virulence factors enabling iron acquisition and cell adherence, capsule locus type and plasmid replicon types were identified.This study represents the first report of an OXA-181 carbapenemase-producing K. michiganensis isolate from hospital effluent in South Africa. The presence of such a strain in the environment owing to the absence of hospital effluent treatment presents a potential risk to informal communities that may use contaminated surface water domestically.