Spread of an OmpK36-modified ST15 Klebsiella pneumoniae variant during an outbreak involving multiple carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae species and clones

We aim to characterise multiple ertapenem-resistant (ERT-R, n = 15) Enterobacteriaceae isolates identified as presumptive carbapenemase producers in a Portuguese hospital in a short period of time (March–July 2010). Antibiotic susceptibility patterns, β-lactamases, genetic relatedness [pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multi-locus sequence typing (MLST)], plasmid content and major enterobacterial porins were investigated. Ertapenem resistance was associated with deficiencies in major porins and, in some cases, extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) or AmpC β-lactamase production among outbreak and non-outbreak clones. Most isolates (n = 8) corresponded to two ERT-R Klebsiella pneumoniae ST15 PFGE-types: (i) a sporadic variant (Kp-A-ERT, n = 1) presenting a premature stop codon in ompK36 and (ii) an epidemic variant (Kp-B-ERT, n = 7) exhibiting a new OmpK36 porin variant, which differed additionally in plasmid and antibiotic susceptibility profiles. ST14 (n = 1) and ST45 (n = 1) K. pneumoniae, ST131 (n = 1) and ST354 (n = 1) Escherichia coli, Enterobacter asburiae (n = 1), Enterobacter cloacae (n = 1) and Enterobacter aerogenes (n = 1) ERT-R clones were also sporadically detected. Porin changes in these isolates included non-sense mutations [ompK35, ompK36, ompF; minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 4–32 mg/l], IS-mediated porin disruptions (ompK36, ompC; MIC = 12–>32 mg/l) or alterations in the L3 loop (ompK36; MIC = 4–16 mg/l). We describe, for the first time in Portugal, the simultaneous emergence of multiple ERT-R Enterobacteriaceae species and clones in a short period of time. Moreover, our results support that a CTX-M-15-producing ST15 K. pneumoniae with an OmpK36-modified porin might successfully spread in the nosocomial setting.