Genetic relatedness, antibiotic resistance, and virulence of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from healthcare and food sources in Wuhan, China

To investigate genetic relatedness and antibiotic resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae from retail meat samples, clinical source samples, and hospital environmental samples in Wuhan, China. The hypermucoviscosity phenotypes and biofilm formation ability of K. pneumoniae were determined by string test...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican journal of infection control
Main Authors Tang, Feng, Chen, Zhi, Zhu, Hanjue, Xi, Lei, Li, Changzhen, Luo, Wanjun
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 21.05.2024
Subjects
PFGE
Foodborne infection
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Resistance Profile
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Summary:To investigate genetic relatedness and antibiotic resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae from retail meat samples, clinical source samples, and hospital environmental samples in Wuhan, China. The hypermucoviscosity phenotypes and biofilm formation ability of K. pneumoniae were determined by string test and crystalline violet staining. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of 18 antimicrobial agents were determined by the broth microdilution test, and PCR assays were performed to detect 14 genes associated with antibiotic resistance. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis was used to assess the genetic relatedness and clonal dissemination. Among the 5730 samples analyzed, 46 tested positive for K. pneumoniae, with higher rates observed in meat (23.4%, CI: 12.8-38.4%) than in clinical samples (0.6%, CI: 0.4-0.8%) and hospital environmental samples (8.0%, CI: 2.6-20.1%). Meat-derived isolates showed high resistance to tetracycline (36.4%, 4/11, CI: 12.4-68.4%), sulphonamide (27.3%, 3/11, CI: 7.3-60.7%), and gentamicin (27.3%, 3/11, CI: 7.3-60.7%), whereas clinical isolates exhibited significant resistance to ampicillin-sulbactam (32.3%, 10/31, CI: 17.3-51.5%). Multidrug resistance was observed in 17.4% (8/46, CI:8.3-32.0%) of the isolates, particularly in hospital environmental samples (3/4, CI: 21.9-98.7%). Biofilm production was observed in 88.1% (37/42, CI: 73.6-95.6%) of K. pneumoniae, with varying degrees of strength. PFGE analysis revealed patient-to-patient K. pneumoniae transmission, transmission between patients and hospital environment, as well as cross-contamination between markets. The findings underscore the importance of comprehensive surveillance, infection control and judicious antibiotic use in mitigating the impact of K. pneumoniae on public health, especially in food chain and healthcare settings.
ISSN:1527-3296