Intestinal persistence of a plasmid harboring the OXA-48 carbapenemase gene after hospital discharge

Publication date: Available online 11 July 2018Source: Journal of Hospital InfectionAuthor(s): F. Lazaro-Perona, J.C. Ramos, A. Sotillo, J. Mingorance, J. García-Rodriguez, G. Ruiz-Carrascoso, J.R. Paño-Pardo, J.R. Arribas, R. Herruzo, F. ArnalichSummaryTo study intestinal colonisation by OXA-48-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KpO48) after hospital discharge, stool samples from twenty-two previously colonised subjects were collected. Time from discharge was 33 to 611 days, without readmissions. Eight subjects (36%) were identified as blaOXA-48 gene carriers. In all of them the hospital-acquired strain of KpO48 had been lost, and the gene was harboured by other strains of K. pneumoniae, K. oxytoca and/or E. coli. Our findings show intestinal persistence for several months of a plasmid harboring the OXA-48 carbapenemase gene in a significant proportion of individuals in the absence of antibiotic treatment.
Source: Journal of Hospital Infection - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research