Genomic epidemiology of putative hypervirulent <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> species complex in Dutch patients, January–December 2022

Hypervirulent <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> species complex (hvKp) can lead to severe infections with abscesses in previously healthy individuals. HvKp is considered rare in Europe but has received more attention recently. A complicating factor is the absence of a clear microbiological/molecular definition of hvKp. The aim of this survey was to determine occurrence and characteristics of <i>K. pneumoniae</i> species complex (KpSC) infections leading to spontaneous abscesses, suggestive of hvKp, in Dutch patients. Dutch medical microbiology laboratories were requested to submit KpSC isolates cultured in 2022 from patients with spontaneous abscesses. This study suggests that hvKp is relatively uncommon in Dutch patients with only 33 collected isolates. The isolates were susceptible to commonly used antibiotics. Genetic characteristics were very diverse. We found low genetic relatedness compared to each other and to international hvKp isolates. When existing microbiological/molecular definitions of hvKp would be used, several spontaneous abscesses from this study could not be explained.