Performance of a PCR assay for the rapid identification of the Klebsiella pneumoniae ST258 epidemic clone in Latin American clinical isolates

Abstract The worldwide dissemination of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae ST258 demands a rapid PCR-based typing method to detect unique genes of the ST258 clone. This study evaluates a PCR developed by Adler et al. (2014) for the detection of ST258 in K. pneumoniae clinical isolates centered on the identification of the pilv-I and prp genes. We tested 143 clinical isolates from Argentina ( n  = 109), Chile ( n  = 1), Colombia ( n  = 1), Costa Rica ( n  = 2), Ecuador ( n  = 5), El Salvador ( n  = 2), Nicaragua ( n  = 5), Panama ( n  = 2), Paraguay ( n  = 2), Peru ( n  = 3) and Trinidad and Tobago ( n  = 11) recovered from 2006 to 2015. bla KPC , pilv-l and prp genes were detected by PCR and sequenced by standard procedures. ST258 and non-ST258 were defined by PFGE and/or MLST. Isolates were grouped according to PFGE patterns: 58 were compatible with ST258 (group 1) and 85 with non-ST258 (group 2). MLST study was done on an arbitrary selection of isolates. The pilv-l gene was present only in ST258 isolates, regardless of the presence of the bla KPC gene. Results for the prp gene were variable. Its presence did not define ST258. The pilv-I PCR had a sensitivity and specificity of 100%, respectively, for the detection of ST258 in the isolates under investigation. Given our findings, the pilv-I PCR could replace more time and resource consuming methods, allowing for more rapid detection of the circulating high risk K. pneumoniae clone ST258 in Latin American (LA) countries.