Abstract

Background: A newly emerged hypervirulent strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae has caused great concern globally; however, its molecular characteristics have been rarely reported in Iran. Objectives: The goal of this study was to detect the virulence determinants and serotypes of K. pneumoniae and to evaluate the association among selected virulence traits and bla(CTX-NM-15) gene in southeastern Iran. Methods: One hundred and three non-duplicate K. pneumoniae strains were isolated from clinical samples. The isolates were identified by standard bacteriological tests. Confirmed isolates were examined to detect a selection of virulence genes (wabG, rmpA and iucB) and serotypes (K1, K2, K5 and K20) by PCR. The isolates were studied foe the presence of beta-lactamase (bla(CTX-M-15)) gene. SPSS software (version 19.0) was used for data analysis. Results: Among the 103 K. pneumoniae isolates, 61 (59.2) isolates were positive for wabG, 4 (3.9) for iucB and 3 (2.9) for rmpA genes. The presence of K20 in 3.9 (4/103) of the isolates represented the most prevalent. Only 3 (2.9) isolates possessed the K1 serotype, while K2 and K5 serotypes were not detected in any isolate. The bla(CTX-M-15) gene was detected in 47 (45.6) isolates. bla(CTX-M-15)-positive isolates showed a higher prevalence of wabG among the studied isolates (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our data indicate a correlation between presence of virulence gene and bla(CTX-M-15) in K. pneumonia isolates. Further research should be undertaken to unravel aspects of both virulence factors and antibiotic resistance which may probably contribute to managing future spread of infectious diseases.