First cases of KPC-type carbapenemase-producing bacteria in patients in New Zealand hospitals

The emergence and global spread of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPCs) is a significant public health problem. Between October 2010 and July 2013, KPC-producing K. pneumoniae were isolated from four patients in New Zealand hospitals. These cases are the first known isolations of KPC-producing organisms in New Zealand. All four patients were transferred from, or had recently been in, hospitals in countries where KPC-producing organisms are prevalent (China, India, Greece and Italy). The blaKPC-2 gene was identified in the isolates from three patients and blaKPC-3 was identified in the isolate from the remaining patient. The isolates belonged to different multilocus sequence type clonal complexes, usually those prevalent in the country in which the patient had been previously hospitalised. Currently in New Zealand, the common factor associated with having a KPC-producing organism is prior hospitalisation in another country where these organisms are prevalent.