Objectives: Reported is the first isolation and phenotypic determination of Klebsiella pneumoniae producing New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-1) isolated from patients in the Slovak Republic.
Material and methods: Between 27 October 2012 and 22 January 2013, twenty-five isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae collected from 5 patients were identified with MIC of meropenem ≥ 32 mg/L and MIC of ertapenem ≥ 4 mg/L in screening tests. Next, all isolates were assessed with the modified Hodge test, combined disk test with EDTA, double disk synergy test with EDTA and MBL E-test. To confirm production of MBL in isolated strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, all strains were sent to the National Reference Center for Antibiotic Resistance in Bratislava.
Results: All strains were positive in all phenotypic tests. In the first carbapenem-resistant isolate, NDM-1 production was confirmed by PCR amplification, sequencing and comparison with the GenBank.
Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of isolation of NDM-1 from Klebsiella pneumoniae in the Slovak Republic. As of 31 January 2014, with well-established and strict epidemiological and preventive measures, there was no further spread or another outbreak of NDM-1 producing Enterobacteriaceae in Louis Pasteur University Hospital in Košice.