Detection of Carbapenemase Genes in Aquatic Environments in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

ABSTRACT This study reveals the presence of different carbapenemase genes ( bla KPC , bla NDM , bla GES , and bla OXA48-like genes) detected directly from water samples and clonal dispersion (by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis [PFGE] and multilocus sequence typing [MLST]) of KPC-2-producing Enterobacteriaceae in two important urban aquatic matrixes from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, highlighting the role of aquatic environments as gene pools and the possibility of community spreading.