Human pandemic K27-ST392 CTX-M-15 extended-spectrum β-lactamase-positive Klebsiella pneumoniae: A one health clone threatening companion animals

Abstract

Extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae is a medically important pathogen that commonly causes human nosocomial infections. Since veterinary emergency and critical care services have also significantly progressed over the last decades, there are increasing reports of ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae causing hospital-associated infections in companion animals. We present microbiological and genomic analysis of a multidrug-resistant ESBL-positive K. pneumoniae (LCKp01) isolated from a fatal infection in a dog admitted to a veterinary intensive care unit. LCKp01 strain belonged to the sequence type ST392 and displays a KL27 (wzi-187) and O-locus 4 (O4). A broad resistome and presence of the blaCTX-M-15 ESBL gene were predicted. SNP-based phylogenomic analysis, using an international genome database, clustered LCKp01 (60–80 SNPs differences) with K. pneumoniae ST392 from human and animal infections, isolated at 4-year interval, whereas phylogeographical analysis confirmed successful expansion of ST392 as a global clone of One Health concern.

Keywords

• Antimicrobial resistance
• Critical-priority pathogen
• Enterobacterales
• One health
• Veterinary medicine
• Genomic surveillance