Work

Metallo-β-Lactamase-Producing Pseudomonas spp. in Korea: High Prevalence of Isolates with VIM-2 Type and Emergence of Isolates with IMP-1 Type

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most important nosocomial pathogens, while other Pseudomonas spp.are occasional causes of infections.Current isolates of P. aeruginosa are often multiresistant to many classes of potent antimicrobial agents, including β-lactams, aminoglycosides, and fluoroquinolones.Carbapenems are the most potent β-lactams, which are active even against extendedspectrum β-lactamaseand AmpC β-lactamase-producing gram-negative bacilli.Due to acquired metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) production, however, carbapenem resistance in P. aeruginosa and Pseudomonas spp., has increasingly been reported in some countries.1,2 Richet et al. 3 initiated an international network and included carbapenemase-producing gram-negative bacilli in the early warning system list for emerging antimicrobial drug-resistant pathogens.The Korean Nationwide Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (KONSAR) program conducted in the years between 1998 and 2003 showed that P. aeruginosa ranked the 3rd by the number of isolates.4,5 The imipenem resistance rate of P. aeruginosa in 1999 was already relatively high (19%), but the rate rose further to reach 24% in 2004.Two previous studies with clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa, which were collected in 2000-2001 and in 2003 from hospitals participating in the program of KONSAR, showed that over 10% of all imipenem-resistant isolates were VIM-2 type MBL producers.6,7 Other studies also documented the presence of MBL-producing P. aeruginosa in Korean hospitals 8,9 as well as the occasional Metallo-β -Lactamase-Producing Pseudomonas spp.

Source: Yonsei Medical Journal

DOI: 10.3349/ymj.2009.50.3.335