Objective: To study the prevalence, phenotype and genotype of the AmpC and ESBLs-producing clinical isolate of Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Methods: The clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were examined by standard disk diffusion susceptibility tests, three-dimensional methods, isoelectric focusing (IEF) and microdilution methods. The conjugation experiment, multiplex PCR and DNA sequencing methods were used for further analysis.
Results: Four out of a total of 86 isolates tested were shown to be highly AmpC-producing by three-dimensional method. IEF showed that these strains produced a AmpC like beta-lactamase with a PI of 7.8, and DNA sequencing showed that the gene which expressed this AmpC like beta-lactamase was identical to DHA-1, a plasmid mediated cephalosporinase gene. These strains also produced an ESBL like beta-lactamase with a PI of 8.2 and the gene which expressed this beta-lactamase was identical to SHV-12. These strains were resistant not only to most of the third generation cephalosporins, but also to cefepime. However they were still susceptible to carbapenem.
Conclusions: Highly AmpC-producing DHA-1 accompanied with SHV-12 in Klebsiella pneumoniae was reported here for the first time. They result in a significant rise in antibiotic resistance, which is regarded as a great challenge for clinical antibiotic therapy.