High Prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Greek Meat Products: Detection of Virulence and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes by Molecular Techniques

Nikoletta Argyro Theocharidi; Iliana Balta; Dimitra Houhoula; Andreas G Tsantes; George P Lalliotis; Angeliki C Polydera; Haralambos Stamatis; Panagiotis Halvatsiotis

doi:10.3390/foods11050708

High Prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Greek Meat Products: Detection of Virulence and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes by Molecular Techniques

Foods. 2022 Feb 28;11(5):708. doi: 10.3390/foods11050708.

Authors

Nikoletta Argyro Theocharidi¹, Iliana Balta¹, Dimitra Houhoula¹, Andreas G Tsantes², George P Lalliotis³, Angeliki C Polydera⁴, Haralambos Stamatis⁴, Panagiotis Halvatsiotis⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Food Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece.
² Microbiology Department, 'Saint Savvas' Oncology Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece.
³ Department of Animal Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece.
⁴ Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biological Applications and Technologies, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece.
⁵ 2nd Propaedeutic Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "ATTIKON" University Hospital, 12461 Chaidari, Greece.

Abstract

Background: The presence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens such as Klebsiella pneumoniae strains in the food supply is dangerous. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of Klebsiella pneumonia strains in Greek meat products and evaluate their phenotypes and genotypes. Methods: One hundred and ten meat specimens were cultured for the isolation of K. pneumoniae. In positive specimens, PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) analysis was performed to confirm the presence of K. pneumoniae. Genotypic and phenotypic evaluation of the isolated strains included multiplex immunoassay for the detection of carbapenemases, and PCR screening for the detection of resistance and virulence genes. Results:K. pneumoniae strains were recovered in 90 (81.8%) meat samples. The ecpA gene was identified in 30 (33.3%) isolates, while the fimH-1 and mrkA genes were present in 15 (16.7%) and 65 (72.2%) isolates, respectively. Sixty-five K. pneumoniae isolates (72.2%) were found to carry at least one resistance gene; of these, the blaNDM-like was the most commonly identified gene in 40 (61.5%) isolates, followed by the blaOXA-48 like gene in 20 isolates (30.8%). Conclusions: A high frequency of foodborne K. pneumoniae in Greece was found. Our results indicate that most strains carried resistance and virulence genes, indicating a high pathogenic potential and a significant risk to human health.

Keywords: Klebsiella pneumoniae; antimicrobial resistance; food; virulence.