Spread of multidrug-resistant high-risk Klebsiella pneumoniae clones in a tertiary hospital from southern Brazil

Klebsiella pneumoniae is among the most important pathogens found in hospitals. The emergence of multiple antibiotic resistant K. pneumoniae associated with its virulence factors is a worldwide concern and its early identification is crucial, especially for controlling the spread of emerging clones. This article reports a high prevalence of multiresistant K. pneumoniae in a university hospital in southern Brazil, harboring several virulence and β-lactamase encoding genes, including pandrug-resistant high-risk international clones belonging to the clonal group 258 (ST11, ST15, ST101, ST258, ST340 and ST874).