CMY-2, CMY-8b, and DHA-1 plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamases among clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae from a university hospital, Thailand

Between February 2005 and January 2006 in Srinagarind Hospital, Thailand, 44 from 1730 isolates (2.5%) of Escherichia coli and 8 from 982 isolates (0.8%) of Klebsiella pneumoniae were found to produce plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamases (pAmpCs) as detected by a cefoxitin–Hodge test followed by a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Fifteen of the 52 pAmpC-producing isolates also produced extended-spectrum β-lactamases. The ampC genes found in both organisms were blaCMY-2 (46 isolates), blaCMY-8b (4 isolates), and blaDHA-1 (2 isolates). These genes were present on plasmids. Twenty-five of the 46 CMY-2–producing isolates could transfer cefoxitin resistance to E. coli UB1637 by conjugation. More than 90% of the pAmpC-producing isolates were resistant to cefoxitin, but 80% to 90% of them were susceptible or intermediately susceptible to ceftazidime or cefotaxime. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR analysis revealed that most isolates were of different strains, indicating the ease of transmission of these resistance determinants. This is the first report of CMY-2, CMY-8b, and DHA-1 β-lactamases in Thai isolates.