NDM-Producing Enterobacteriaceae Strains among Hospitals in Brasília, Brazil

Abstract

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) strains have spread worldwide frequently driven by clonal spread. Additionally, plasmid-borne carbapenemase genes (blaKPC and blaNDM) have broadened the variability of species expressing resistance to carbapenems. This study aimed to characterize the susceptibility profile and bla genes in CRE strains recovered between 2012 and early 2014 in hospitals in Brasília, Brazil. Eighty eight CRE strains recovered from 19 medical settings were analyzed. Klebsiella pneumoniae positive for blaKPC accounted for the most of the CRE isolates (n=47; 53.4%). Seven blaNDM-positive strains (including K. pneumonia, n=4; Proteus mirabilis, n=1; Escherichia coli, n=1; and Providencia rettgeri, n=1) were recovered from patients in six hospitals. The first detected blaNDM-1-positive strain was P. rettigeri. Thereafter, blaNDM-1-positive K. pneumoniae strains showing indistinguishable Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles were recovered in three hospitals. The susceptibility profile of blaNDM-1–positive K. pneumoniae strains was commonly restricted to amikacin, aztreonam and tigecycline. These dates highlighted the emergence of blaNDM-1–positive K. pneumonia strains marked by a single RAPD type among hospitals in Brasília, Brazil.