Hypervirulent Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Infection: Epidemiology, Virulence, Resistance, and Treatment

Jinyan Yu,1 Yanlei Li,2 Qinghua Zhang,1 Yan Wang1 1Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yan Wang, Email [email protected]: In recent years, reports of hypervirulent (hv) carbapenem-resistant (CR) Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) (hv-CRKp) have gradually increased. hv-CRKp may emerge from hvKp acquiring mobile genetic elements carrying multiple antibiotic-resistance genes or multi-drug-resistant Kp acquiring virulence genes, with subsequent convergence of resistance and virulence. Thus, hv-CRKp simultaneously harbors resistance and virulence genes and may even show resistance to colistin and tigecycline, suggesting potential for causing severe infections and placing a serious burden on the health care system. In this study, we review and summarize published literature on the epidemiology, virulence, resistance genes, and treatment of hv-CRKp.Keywords: hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae, carbapenem-resistant, epidemiology, virulence, drug-resistance, treatment