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The rise of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterobacteriaceae prompted the World Health Organization to classify carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, of which Klebsiella is the most common genus, on the global priority list of antibiotic-resistant [...]

A new national antimicrobial resistance surveillance program in Singapore public hospitals that uses WHONET detected high levels of methicillin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus (35.3%), carbapenem resistance among Acinetobacter spp. (49.6%), [...]

To the Editor: Streptococcus iniae is a well-recognized fish pathogen that can cause meningoencephalitis in tilapia and trout (1) and necrotizing myositis in red drum (2). We describe the first [...]

To the Editor: In gram-negative bacteria, [beta]-lactamases are an important cause of antimicrobial resistance. In the 1990s, several new [beta]-lactamases, including CTX-M type and plasmid-mediated AmpC [beta]-lactamases, emerged. CTX-M extended [...]

In Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess (KP-LA), K. pneumonia e K2 is the most frequently isolated serotype after K1, but this serotype has been much less studied. In the present study, the molecular types sequences type (MLST) of serotype K2 isolates from three different regions in Asia were identified and the virulence of these isolates was investigated. Eight different MLSTs were found among 26 isolates (ST 65, 66, 86, 373, 374, 375, 380, and 434). There were two major MLST groups, ST-65-like (42%) and ST86-like (46%). No isolates contained allS while all isolates contained rmpA. The prevalence of aerobactin gene and kfu were 25/26 (96%) and 3/26 (11.5%) respectively. Although liver abscess isolates were generally more resistant (11/15 isolates) to serum killing, there was no specific distribution of serum killing resistant or susceptible ST types between stool carriage and liver abscess isolates. Neutrophil phagocytosis showed that the liver abscess and carriage isolates varied in their susceptibility to phagocytosis. Strains with resistance to both neutrophil phagocytosis and serum killing were generally hypervirulent with lethality at LD.sub.50 < 10.sup.3 colony forming units by intraperitoneal injection. In conclusion, Anti-phagocytosis and resistance to serum killing are two parameters that most predict hyperviurlence in serotype K2 isolates. Unlike serotype K1 KP-LA that mainly belong to ST-23, ST-65-like and -86-like are the two major MLST types among serotype K2 isolates from Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Keywords: Liver abscess, Klebsiella pneumoniae, MLST, Author(s): Jung-Chung Lin[sup.1] , Tse Hsien Koh[sup.2] , Nelson Lee[sup.3] , Chang-Phone Fung[sup.4] , Feng-Yee Chang[sup.1] , Yu-Kuo Tsai[sup.5] , Margaret Ip[sup.6] and L Kristopher Siu[sup.1,5,7] Introduction Klebsiella pneumoniae liver [...]

To the Editor: Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) is an emerging phenomenon that has been reported from almost every continent in the world (1-4). Such strains are usually characterized by [...]

To the Editor: Necrotizing community-acquired pneumonia attributable to Panton-Valentine leukocidin-producing strains of Staphylococcus aureus has been described as a distinct clinical syndrome with a high death rate in young, immunocompetent [...]