Klebsiella pneumoniae harbouring OXA-48 carbapenemase in a Libyan refugee in Italy

A carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from a blood-culture of an inpatient from Libya, hospitalized in the intensive-care unit of Negrar Hospital, Italy. The clinical isolate carried the following β-lactamase genes, blaTEM-1, blaSHV-11, blaOXA-1, blaCTX-M-15 and blaOXA-48, respectively. The blaOXA-48 gene was inserted in the Tn1999.2 transposon type, carried on a conjugative, 60-kilobase plasmid, that presented an L/M backbone, hosted by a multidrug-resistant ST 101 K. pneumoniae strain. Our report highlights the international transfer of blaOXA-48 gene and the importance of screening measures of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.