Spread of OXA-48-encoding plasmid in Turkey and beyond

Abstract

Eighteen carbapenem-resistant, OXA-48-positive enterobacterial isolates recovered from Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, France, and Belgium were analyzed. In most isolates, similar 70-kb plasmids carrying the carbapenemase gene bla(OXA-48) were identified. That gene was located within either transposon Tn1999 or transposon Tn1999.2, which was always inserted within the same gene. This work highlights the current plasmid-mediated dissemination of the OXA-48 carbapenemase worldwide.

FIG. 1.

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns of the 13 OXA-48-producing K. pneumoniae isolates and the two OXA-48-producing E. cloacae isolates. (A) Lane 1, Kp3A; lane 2, Kp4A; lane 3, Kp5A; lane 4, Kp6A; lane 5, Kp7A; lane 6, KpI-1; lane 7, KpI-2; lane 8, unrelated K. pneumoniae isolate (included as a comparative strain); lane 9, Enc1; lane 10, Enc2; lane 11, unrelated E. cloacae isolate (included as a comparative strain); lane M, molecular size marker. (B) Lane 1, Kp3A; lane 2, Kp11978; lane 3, Kp4A; lane 4, Kp7A; lane 5, KpI-1; lane 6, KpL; lane 7, KpB; lane 8, KpBEL; lane 9, KpE; lane 10, KpBIC; lane M, molecular size marker.

FIG. 2.

Genetic environments of the bla_OXA-48-carrying plasmids identified among the 18 OXA-48-positive Enterobacteriaceae isolates. (A) Structure described for pA-1, p3A, p4A, p5A, p6A, p7A, pCF, pEnc1, and pEnc2. (B) Structure of the 150-kb pPR plasmid. (C) Structure described for pBb, pI, pL, pBEL, pEcA, pBIC, and pE.