Molecular Characteristics of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacter cloacae in a Tertiary Hospital in China

Chunmei Jin,1 Fuxian Zhou,1 Qingsong Cui,2 Jixiang Qiang,1 Changshan An3 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanji, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Intensive Care Unit, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanji, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Respiratory Medicine, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanji, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Changshan An Tel +86-0433-2660064Email cs_an2003@aliyun.comBackground: Infections caused by the carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae (CREC) bring great challenges to the clinical treatment and pose a serious threat to public health. In this study, we investigated the molecular characteristics of CREC in a tertiary hospital.Materials and Methods: A total of 12 non-duplicate CREC strains isolated during the period of November 2016 to July 2019 were subjected to automated microbial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) using the BD Phoenix-100 identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (ID/AST) system. The strains were also subjected to phenotypic screening for the detection of antibiotic resistance genes such as the carbapenemase and other β-lactamase genes, with the use of the polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR). Finally, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)-based homology analysis were applied.Results: Four types of carbapenemases namely IMP-26, NDM-5, NDM-1, and KPC-2 were identified in 12 CREC strains. IMP-26 was the most prevalent type (6/12 strains, 50 %), followed by NDM-5 (3/12 strains, 25 %). The results of MLST revealed that these 12 strains could be divided into five sequence types (STs) among which ST544 was the dominant type (6/12 strains, 50 %). The PFGE results divided the 12 strains into four clusters.Conclusion: Our study indicated that the epidemics of the IMP-26-producing E. cloacae ST544 strain did occur in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a ter