Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) have been heavily linked to hospital acquired infections (HAI) thereby leading to futility of antibiotics in treating infections and this have complicated public health problems. There is little knowledge about carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella spp. (CPK) in South Africa. This study aimed at determining the occurrence of CPK in different samples collected from selected environmental niches (hospitals, wastewater treatment plants, rivers, farms) in three district municipalities located in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Molecular identification and characterization of the presumptive isolates were determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and isolates that exhibited phenotypic carbapenem resistance were further screened for the possibility of harbouring antimicrobial resistance genes. One hundred (43%) of the 234 confirmed Klebsiella spp. isolates harboured carbapenem-resistance genes; 10 isolates harboured bla_OXA-48-like; 17 harboured bla_KPC; and 73 isolates harboured bla_NDM-1. The emergence of bla_KPC, bla_OXA-48-like, and bla_NDM-1 carbapenem-resistance genes in Klebsiella species associated with environmental sources is of great concern to public health.

中文翻译：

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从南非东开普省选定的环境生态位中发现的克雷伯菌属中的碳青霉烯抗性基因的检测。

产生碳青霉烯酶的肠杆菌科（CPE）与医院获得性感染（HAI）密切相关，从而导致抗生素在治疗感染方面毫无用处，这使公共卫生问题复杂化。关于产生碳青霉烯酶的克雷伯菌的知识很少spp。（CPK）在南非。这项研究旨在确定在从位于南非东开普省的三个区市中的选定环境生态位（医院，废水处理厂，河流，农场）收集的不同样品中CPK的发生。使用聚合酶链反应（PCR）确定推定菌株的分子鉴定和特征，并进一步筛选表现出表型碳青霉烯耐药性的菌株以寻找具有抗菌素耐药基因的可能性。234例确诊的克雷伯菌属中有一百种（43％）。分离出带有碳青霉烯抗性基因的菌株；10个分离株带有bla _OXA-48样；17窝藏bla _KPC; 和73株带有bla _NDM-1。的出现BLA _KPC，喇嘛_OXA-48样，和BLA _NDM-1的碳青霉烯类耐药基因的克雷伯氏菌与环境资源相关的品种非常关注公众健康的。