The Case Report of Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae ST138-K1/O5 in a Clinically Vulnerable Patient.
5 affiliations
- 1Área Microbiología, Departamento de Laboratorio Clínico, Hospital de Clínicas Dr. Manuel Quintela, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo CP 11600, Uruguay.
- 2Departamento de Bacteriología y Virología, Instituto de Higiene, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo CP 11600, Uruguay.
- 3Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil.
- 4One Health Brazilian Resistance Project (OneBR), São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil.
- 5Antimicrobial Resistance Institute of São Paulo (ARIES), São Paulo 01301-100, Brazil.
Abstract
Infections caused by the Klebsiella pneumoniae species complex (KpSC) are particularly challenging to manage, especially in healthcare systems. Members of the KpSC are frequently identified as K. pneumoniae by conventional automated or proteomic systems. The aim of this study was to characterize a KpSC isolate obtained from a clinically vulnerable patient and to describe the patient's clinical features. The patient's clinical data were obtained from the medical history. Identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed using different approaches. Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) was conducted, and in silico analysis using available databases was undertaken to predict antibiotic resistance determinants, plasmid incompatibility groups, sequence type (ST), capsular K-type, O-antigen, and virulence genes. A K. pneumoniae isolate (K87) was recovered from blood cultures and characterized as K. quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae by WGS. K87 belongs to ST138 and carries the predicted K1/O5 locus and the blaOKP-B-2 gene. The virulome included type III fimbriae, ferric iron uptake systems, and metabolic functions. After months of hospitalization, the patient showed clinical deterioration and died. This is the first report of bacteremia caused by Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae ST138-K1/O5 in a clinically vulnerable patient in Uruguay (South America).
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BibTeX
@article{munilla2026case,
title = {{The Case Report of Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae ST138-K1/O5 in a Clinically Vulnerable Patient.}},
author = {Santiago Munilla and Romina Papa-Ezdra and Nicolás F Cordeiro and Inés Bado and Verónica Seija and Rafael Vignoli and Nilton Lincopan and Rosario Palacio and Virginia Garcia-Fulgueiras},
journal = {Microorganisms},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/microorganisms14102357},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42943596},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Case Report of Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae ST138-K1/O5 in a Clinically Vulnerable Patient.
AU - Santiago Munilla
AU - Romina Papa-Ezdra
AU - Nicolás F Cordeiro
AU - Inés Bado
AU - Verónica Seija
AU - Rafael Vignoli
AU - Nilton Lincopan
AU - Rosario Palacio
AU - Virginia Garcia-Fulgueiras
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Microorganisms
DO - 10.3390/microorganisms14102357
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42943596
AB - Infections caused by the Klebsiella pneumoniae species complex (KpSC) are particularly challenging to manage, especially in healthcare systems. Members of the KpSC are frequently identified as K. pneumoniae by conventional automated or proteomic systems. The aim of this study was to characterize a KpSC isolate obtained from a clinically vulnerable patient and to describe the patient's clinical features. The patient's clinical data were obtained from the medical history. Identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed using different approaches. Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) was conducted, and in silico analysis using available databases was undertaken to predict antibiotic resistance determinants, plasmid incompatibility groups, sequence type (ST), capsular K-type, O-antigen, and virulence genes. A K. pneumoniae isolate (K87) was recovered from blood cultures and characterized as K. quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae by WGS. K87 belongs to ST138 and carries the predicted K1/O5 locus and the blaOKP-B-2 gene. The virulome included type III fimbriae, ferric iron uptake systems, and metabolic functions. After months of hospitalization, the patient showed clinical deterioration and died. This is the first report of bacteremia caused by Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae ST138-K1/O5 in a clinically vulnerable patient in Uruguay (South America).
SN - 2076-2607
ER -