The type III secretion system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important virulence factor contributing to the cytotoxicity and the invasion process of this microorganism. The current study aimed to determine the presence of the exoU+/exoS+ genotype in P. aeruginosa clinical isolates. The presence of exoS, exoT, exoU and exoY was determined in 189 P. aeruginosa by PCR, and the presence/absence of exoU was analysed according to source infection, clonal relationships, biofilm formation, motility and antimicrobial susceptibility. The gyrA, parC, oprD, efflux pump regulators and β-lactamases genes were also analysed by PCR/sequencing. The exoS, exoT and exoY genes were found in 100% of the isolates. Meanwhile, exoU was present in 43/189 (22.8%) of the isolates, being significantly associated with multidrug resistance, extensively drug resistance as well as with higher level quinolone resistan...

Introduction:In contrast to other countries in Latin America, Peru had been notoriously spared by the global dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp) until recently. Isolated cases of KPC-producing K. pneumoniae have been reported since 2013 in Lima. However, by 2017, rapid emergence of CR-Kp took place at a tertiary care hospital in Lima. Here, we provide a description of the molecular characteristics of the CR-Kp isolates recovered during this emergence. Methods:We conducted a retrospective study of the emerging cases of CR-Kp infections diagnosed at a tertiary hospital in Lima, from July 2015 to December 2017. Kp was isolated from various clinical samples and profiled using the VITEK system and standard biochemical tests. Whole genome sequencing was performed in an Illumina MiSeq instrument at 50-100x coverage, and bioinformatic analysis was conducted using ...