Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae harbouring blaKPC-3 and blaVIM-2 from central Italy

The frequency of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae is increasing in Italian hospitals and poses an emerging threat to the management of infections in hospitalized patients. In this study, we report a detailed molecular characterization of a K. pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae KP1/11 isolate from the decubitus ulcer of a hospitalized patient with a serious infection. K. pneumoniae KP1/11 produces KPC-3 and VIM-2 β-lactamases. The blaKPC-3 gene is harbored in a large plasmid in a complex structure of Tn3-based transposon, Tn4401a. The chromosomal DNA of K. pneumoniae harbored also 2 class 1 integrons with different variable regions: 1) orfD-aacA8; 2) aacA29-blaVIM-2.