Diversity of carbapenemases in clinical isolates: The emergence of blaVIM-5 in Bangladesh

J Infect Chemother. 2019 Jun;25(6):444-451. doi: 10.1016/j.jiac.2019.01.010. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

Abstract

Global emergence and dissemination of carbapenemases are clinically threatening, notably in countries with endemic blaNDM. To analyze the extent of carbapenemases in Bangladesh, 71 isolates were collected from 7 different clinical sources: wound swab (n = 38), pus (n = 13), urine (n = 9), blood (n = 4), tracheal aspirate (n = 3), pleural fluid (n = 1) and vaginal swab (n = 3) from Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh. Among the isolates, 25 were resistant to at least one of the three carbapenems (imipenem, meropenem and doripenem), including 15 being resistant to all. These resistant isolates were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, P. hibiscicola, Proteus mirabilis, Providencia stuartii and Citrobacter sedlakii. Carbapenemase detection among these 25 isolates varied in individual phenotypic assays (83% in Modified Hodge Test, 50% in Combined Disk Test for Metallo-β-lactamase prediction) as compared with the genotypes observed (96% prevalence of various carbapenemases including blaOXA-1,48, blaNDM-1,5, blaVIM-2,5). blaOXA-48 was the most prevalent gene (84%) followed by blaNDM (72%). Coexistence of multiple gene combination such as blaNDM+blaOXA-48+blaOXA-1 was prevalent (48%). Harborage of blaVIM-5 (n = 1) was characterized for the first time, while blaNDM-5 (n = 5) was reported contemporarily with a recent study in Bangladesh. Presence of plasmids (64%) and integron class 1 (100%) signifies the transferable potential of resistant traits. The emergence of such new variants along with the presence of the mobile genetic elements demands strict surveillance and combating strategies.

Keywords: Carbapenemase; Combined disk test; Metallo-β-lactamase; Modified hodge test.

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Bacteria / drug effects
  • Bacteria / genetics*
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification
  • Bacterial Infections / drug therapy*
  • Bacterial Infections / microbiology
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
  • Bacterial Proteins / isolation & purification
  • Bangladesh
  • Carbapenems / pharmacology*
  • Carbapenems / therapeutic use
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / genetics
  • Humans
  • Integrons
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Plasmids
  • beta-Lactam Resistance / genetics
  • beta-Lactamases / genetics*
  • beta-Lactamases / isolation & purification

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Carbapenems
  • beta-Lactamases
  • carbapenemase