KPC-producing, multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 258 as a typical opportunistic pathogen

LS Tzouvelekis, V Miriagou, SD Kotsakis… - Antimicrobial agents …, 2013 - Am Soc Microbiol
LS Tzouvelekis, V Miriagou, SD Kotsakis, K Spyridopoulou, E Athanasiou, E Karagouni…
Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 2013Am Soc Microbiol
The virulence of a KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 258 (ST258) strain
representing those circulating in Greece was assessed in a mouse septicemia model. The
strain was virtually avirulent (50% lethal dose,> 108 and 5× 107 CFU for immunocompetent
and neutropenic animals, respectively). Also, it was highly susceptible to serum killing,
rapidly phagocytosed in vitro, and classified as K41, which is not among the virulent
capsular types. The findings indirectly support the notion that high ST258-associated …
Abstract
The virulence of a KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 258 (ST258) strain representing those circulating in Greece was assessed in a mouse septicemia model. The strain was virtually avirulent (50% lethal dose, >108 and 5 × 107 CFU for immunocompetent and neutropenic animals, respectively). Also, it was highly susceptible to serum killing, rapidly phagocytosed in vitro, and classified as K41, which is not among the virulent capsular types. The findings indirectly support the notion that high ST258-associated mortality is largely due to inefficient antimicrobial treatment.
American Society for Microbiology