Metallo-beta-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from a large tertiary centre in Kenya

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2008 Aug;14(8):755-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2008.02030.x.

Abstract

This study was designed to characterize the beta-lactamase content of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates recovered during 2006 and 2007 in a large tertiary-care centre in Nairobi, Kenya. Molecular characterization was done using PCR and sequencing, and typing was performed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). In total, 416 P. aeruginosa isolates were obtained during that period, of which 57 (13.7%) were resistant to carbapenems. All carbapenem-resistant isolates tested positive for metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) production. All MBL isolates produced VIM-2 with two types of integron structures. PFGE identified three clonally related groups of VIM-2-producing P. aeruginosa, including a pan-resistant clone that was responsible for nosocomial outbreaks during 2006 and 2007 in the intensive-care unit. These findings suggest that continuous molecular surveillance needs to be performed to monitor the spread within the hospital of this pan-resistant strain. This study is the first report of VIM-2-producing P. aeruginosa from the African continent.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Carbapenems / pharmacology
  • Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
  • Hospitals, University*
  • Humans
  • Integrons / genetics
  • Kenya / epidemiology
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Pseudomonas Infections / epidemiology*
  • Pseudomonas Infections / microbiology
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / enzymology
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / genetics
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / isolation & purification*
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • beta-Lactam Resistance / genetics
  • beta-Lactamases / biosynthesis*
  • beta-Lactamases / genetics

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Carbapenems
  • beta-lactamase bla(vim-2)
  • beta-Lactamases