Molecular characterisation of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates in Nepal

Toshihiro Takahashi; Tatsuya Tada; Shovita Shrestha; Tomomi Hishinuma; Jatan B Sherchan; Mari Tohya; Teruo Kirikae; Jeevan B Sherchand

doi:10.1016/j.jgar.2021.07.003

Molecular characterisation of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates in Nepal

J Glob Antimicrob Resist. 2021 Sep:26:279-284. doi: 10.1016/j.jgar.2021.07.003. Epub 2021 Jul 17.

Authors

Toshihiro Takahashi¹, Tatsuya Tada², Shovita Shrestha³, Tomomi Hishinuma¹, Jatan B Sherchan⁴, Mari Tohya¹, Teruo Kirikae¹, Jeevan B Sherchand³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan.
² Department of Microbiology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan. Electronic address: t-tada@juntendo.ac.jp.
³ Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.
⁴ Department of Medical Microbiology, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Nepal.

PMID: 34284125
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2021.07.003

Abstract

Objectives: The emergence of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become a serious worldwide medical problem. The aim of this study was to determine the genetic and epidemiological properties of carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa strains isolated from hospitals in Nepal.

Methods: A total of 43 carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates obtained from patients in two hospitals in Nepal between 2018 and 2020 were analysed. Their whole genomes were sequenced by next-generation sequencing. A phylogenetic tree was constructed from single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) concatemers. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was performed and antimicrobial resistance genes were identified.

Results: Of the 43 isolates, 17 harboured genes encoding carbapenemases, including IMP-1, IMP-26, KPC-2, NDM-1, VIM-2 and VIM-5, and 12 harboured genes encoding 16S rRNA methylases, including RmtB4 and RmtF2. The carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolated in Nepal belonged to various sequence types (STs), including ST235 (5 isolates), ST244 (7 isolates), ST274 (1 isolate), ST357 (10 isolates), ST654 (3 isolates), ST664 (1 isolate), ST773 (1 isolate), ST823 (3 isolates), ST1047 (8 isolates), ST1203 (2 isolates) and ST3453 (2 isolates).

Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first molecular epidemiological analysis of carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa clinical isolates from Nepal. The findings strongly suggest that P. aeruginosa isolates producing carbapenemases and 16S rRNA methylases have spread throughout medical settings in Nepal.

Keywords: 16S rRNA methylase; Carbapenem resistance; Carbapenemase; Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Carbapenems* / pharmacology
Humans
Multilocus Sequence Typing
Nepal / epidemiology
Phylogeny
Pseudomonas aeruginosa* / genetics
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Substances

Carbapenems
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S