Within-patient horizontal transfer of pOXA-48 from a hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae SL218 to Serratia marcescens following spread of the K. pneumoniae isolate among hospitalised patients, Denmark, 2021

• Published in: Euro surveillance : bulletin européen sur les maladies transmissibles Vol. 28; no. 17; p. 1
• Main Authors: Nielsen, Karen Leth, Sørensen, Marc, Hertz, Frederik Boëtius, Misiakou, Maria Anna, Hasman, Henrik, Häussler, Susanne, Helleberg, Marie, Schønning, Kristian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sweden Centre Europeen pour la Surveillance Epidemiologique du SIDA (European Centre for the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS) 27.04.2023; European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Bacterial infections; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; beta-Lactamases - genetics; Denmark - epidemiology; Drug resistance; Gram-negative bacteria; Hospitalization; Humans; Klebsiella Infections - drug therapy; Klebsiella Infections - epidemiology; Klebsiella pneumoniae - genetics; Multidrug resistant organisms; Nosocomial infections; Patients; Plasmids; Plasmids - genetics; Rapid Communication; Serratia marcescens - genetics; Denmark; hypervirulent K. pneumoniae; Hospital-acquired infections; OXA-48; antimicrobial resistance; within-patient plasmid transfer
• ISSN: 1560-7917; 1025-496X; 1560-7917
• DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.17.2300196

A hypervirulent SL218 (ST23-KL57), phylogenetically distinct from the classical hypervirulent SL23 (ST23-KL1) lineage, was transmitted between hospitalised patients in Denmark in 2021. The isolate carried a hybrid resistance and virulence plasmid containing and a plasmid containing (pOXA-48); the latter plasmid was horizontally transferred within-patient to . The convergence of drug resistance and virulence factors in single plasmids and in different lineages of is concerning and requires surveillance.