Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae, causes a wide range of infections in humans such as pneumonia, soft tissue infections, septicaemia, and urinary tract infections. The rise of multidrug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae has alarming implications for public health, drastically limiting the treatment options for severe infections caused by this bacterium. BlaVIM is a clinically important subgroup of Class B metallo beta-lactamases, posing a significant challenge to antibiotic therapy.
Aim and Objective: This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of blaVIM gene in K. pneumoniae isolates, and its co-existence with other carbapenemase genes.
Materials and Methods: The study analysed a collection of 200 unique clinically relevant K. pneumoniae isolates recovered from diverse clinical samples over a 12 month period. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was conducted using the disc diffusion technique, adhering to CLSI guidelines, to assess the effectiveness of diverse antimicrobial classes against the isolates. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were employed to identify the presence of the blaVIM gene in the isolated strains.
Results: Of the 200 isolates, 50 (25%) were resistant to meropenem by disc diffusion method. BlaVIM was detected in 9 (18%) isolates by PCR. They were isolated from urine (n=7), exudative specimen (n=1) and respiratory (n=1).Co-existence of other carbapenemase genes such as blaIMP, blaNDM, bla OXA?48 and blaKPC were not detected alongside the blaVIM in this study.
Conclusion: Detection of the resistance mechanism by molecular methods such as PCR will help to prevent therapeutic failure and the spread of multidrug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Keywords: Klebsiella pneumoniae, Antimicrobial susceptibility, Metallo beta lactamases, BlaVIM.
