Epidemiological Genomics of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from hospitals across Colombia
Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most important nosocomial pathogens worldwide. In Colombia, K. pneumoniae has been identified as the second most frequent microbial etiologic agent of healthcare-associated infections. We conducted a prospective local study of 335 K. pneumoniae isolates in 26 nationwide hospitals from 2020 to 2021. We found that the spread of carbapenem resistance was mediated by successful clones belonging to sequence types (ST) such as ST11, ST1082, and ST307, related to intra-hospital infections. We observed that bla<sub>KPC</sub> remains the primary resistance mechanism to carbapenems and that, unlike other countries, ST11 strains commonly carry bla<sub>KPC-3</sub>. We identified the recent introduction and circulation of new sequence types with different resistance mechanisms and hypervirulence. Besides, we detected possible transmission events closely linked to carbapenemase-carrying strains, mainly in intensive care units. This study helps us understand how K. pneumoniae disseminates in Colombian hospitals and where to direct effective intervention measures.
Authors
- Luis Felipe Reyes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1172-6539)
- Silvia Argimón (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-3857)
- Machado Alarcón
- Lorena Jaramillo
- Vivian Medina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0277-4811)
- Ángela Sofía García-Vega
- Emmanuelle A. P. Kumaran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3074-0125)
- Angie-Katherine Turriago Castañeda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4463-4238)
- Iruka N. Okeke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1694-7587)
- Germán Camacho‐Moreno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0472-798X)
- Anthony Underwood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8547-4277)
- Stefany Alejandra Arévalo
- Fernando Rosso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2684-9489)
- Ana Yadira Santana
- Julián Lozada
- Olga Lucía Agudelo Rojas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5250-2801)
- Adriana Marín
- Aura Lucía Leal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3063-3821)
- M. Campo Patino
- Mercedes Solarte
- Fernando Rodrı́guez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7361-8408)
- Julián C. Galvis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2710-8367)
- Carlos Álvarez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5419-4494)
- Andrés Felipe González Arias
- Natacha Couto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9152-5464)
- Jaime Robledo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5731-1905)
- Juan Fernando Botero
- Claudia R. Sierra-Parada
- Marta López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1320-3088)
- Jorge Alberto Cortés (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0882-9652)
- David Aanensen
- Daniel Cabezas Montero
- L Pérez
- Carlos Robledo
- Lisseth Pizano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0003-3525)
- Enmanuel S. Triviño-García
- Georgina Lewis-Woodhouse
- Maria P Donado-Godoy
- Nubia Montañez Montero
- Liliana Mazillo
- Xavier Fargetton
- Maria P. Donado-Godoy
Institutions
- Centre for Human Genetics (GB)
- Universidad del Norte (CO)
- Universidad de La Sabana (CO)
- Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (CO)
- University of Ibadan (NG)
- University of Nariño (CO)
- Hospital Universitario de San Vicente Fundación (CO)
- Universidad Nacional de Colombia (CO)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Instituto del Corazón de Bucaramanga (CO)
- Fundación Valle del Lili (CO)
- Municipality of Medellín (CO)
- Hospital Universitario de Santander (CO)
- Corporación Universitaria de Ciencia y Desarrollo (CO)
- Clínica Somer (CO)
- Clínica Santa María (CO)
- Universidad de Manizales (CO)
- Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research - AGROSAVIA (CO)
- Institute of Cardiology (CO)
- Oxford BioMedica (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Clínica CES (CO)
- Colciencias (CO)
- Center for Genomic Science (IT)
- Hospital Universitario Nacional de Colombia (CO)
- Fundación Universitaria Sanitas (CO)
- Universidad del Rosario (CO)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Antimicrobials and Resistance
- Published
- 2025-07-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44259-025-00127-x
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.36
Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Universidad de La Sabana
- Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria