Dissemination of the <named-content content-type="genus-species">Klebsiella pneumoniae</named-content> Carbapenemase in the Health Care Settings: Tracking the Trails of an Elusive Offender
2011
Amos Adler | Yehuda Carmeli
ABSTRACT Transmission of antibiotic resistance genes may be mediated by a variety of molecular mechanisms, from mobility of small genetic elements to clonal spread. Since 1997, the carbapenem-hydrolyzing enzyme Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) has spread in the United States and across the world, mainly via a single K. pneumoniae clone, sequence type 258. By tracking the trail of dissemination of the blaKPC gene inside their institution, Mathers et al. (mBio 2:e00204–11, 2011) have shown evidence of the ability of this gene to spread by several modes, including plasmid transfer and clonal spread. The ever-evolving modes of transmission of resistance genes challenge our ability to detect, track, and eventually control the spread of what has become a major threat to hospitalized patients worldwide.
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