Study of pathogenic mechanisms and correlation with antimicrobial resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae from Brazil and other countries across five continents

Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae, one of the most important opportunistic pathogens, can cause nosocomial infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals. The infections caused by this pathogen can cause several clinical complications, including urinary tract infections, pneumonia, sepsis and, in many cases, the death of patients. The establishment of the infection caused by K. pneumoniae is primarily due to their virulence factors. Moreover, the antimicrobial resistance presented by this specie has become a public health problem worldwide in recent years. Therefore, there is an increasing concern about the spread of K. pneumoniae harboring virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance, mainly in hospitals. In this way, the elucidation of the different mechanisms associated with virulence factors and resistance of K. pneumoniae that cause nosocomial infections are extremely important. The purpose of this project is to investigate the pathogenic potential, the antimicrobial resistance, the mobile genetic elements and to establish the molecular epidemiology of 150 K. pneumoniae, non-repetitive, isolated from patients admitted to different hospitals from all Brazilian regions and from countries of the five continents. In the literature, there are few Brazilian studies associating the pathogenicity of K. pneumoniae with antimicrobial resistance and epidemiological studies. Therefore, it is expected the results will contribute to the knowledge regarding to virulence, resistance and epidemiology of K. pneumoniae, providing subsidies that will allow better control and prevention of nosocomial infections. (AU)