In this study, different molecular typing tools were applied to characterize 95 Salmonella enterica blood isolates collected between 2008 and 2013 from patients at nine public hospitals in Lima, Peru. Combined results of multiplex PCR serotyping, two- and seven-loci multilocus sequence typing (MLST) schemes, serotyping, IS200 amplification and RAPD fingerprints, showed that these infections were caused by eight different serovars: Enteritidis, Typhimurium, Typhi, Choleraesuis, Dublin, Paratyphi A, Paratyphi B and Infantis. Among these, Enteritidis, Typhimurium and Typhi were the most prevalent, representing 45, 36 and 11% of the isolates, respectively. Most isolates (74%) were not resistant to ten primarily used antimicrobial drugs; however, 37% of the strains showed intermediate susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (ISC). Antimicrobial resistance integrons were carried by one Dublin (dfra1 and aadA1) and two Infantis (aadA1) isolates. The two Infantis isolates were multidrug resistant and harbored a large megaplasmid. Amplification of spvC and spvRA regions showed that all Enteritidis (n = 42), Typhimurium (n = 34), Choleraesuis (n = 3) and Dublin (n = 1) isolates carried the Salmonella virulence plasmid (pSV). We conclude that the classic serotyping method can be substituted by the multiplex PCR and, when necessary, sequencing of only one or two loci of the MLST scheme is a valuable tool to confirm the results. The effectiveness and feasibility of different typing tools is discussed.

Abstract. Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) is the most common cause of neonatal sepsis in the low-and middle-income countries. Our objective was to describe the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producer KP in neonatal care centers from Peru. We collected 176 non-duplicate consecutive KP isolates from blood isolates of neonates from eight general public hospitals of Lima, Peru. The overall rate of ESBL production was 73.3% (N = 129). The resistance rates were higher among ESBL-producer isolates when compared with the nonproducers: 85.3% versus 12.8% for gentamicin (P < 0.01), 59.7% versus 8.5% for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (P < 0.01), 45.0% versus 8.5% for ciprofloxacin (P < 0.01), and 36.4% versus 12.8% for amikacin (P < 0.01). A total of 359 β-lactamase-encoding genes were detected among 129 ESBL-producer isolates; 109 isolates (84.5%) carried two or more genes. Among 37 ESBL-producer isolates randomly selected, CTX-M-15 and CTX-M-2 were the most common ESBLs detected. Most of the isolates (92%) belonged to the group KpI. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed that multiple KP clones were circulating among the eight neonatal units included.

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We report a 4.99-Mb draft genome sequence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis strain SPE101, isolated from feces of a 5-month-old breast-fed female showing diarrhea associated with severe dehydration and malnutrition. The infection prolonged for 6 months despite antibiotic treatment.

BackgroundIn contrast with other countries in Latin America, Peru had been notoriously spared by the global dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp), until recently. Even though, isolated cases of KPC-producing K. pneumoniae had been reported since 2013, it was not until 2016 that the first outbreak of NDM- producing K. pneumoniae was described in Peru. By 2017, rapid emergence of CR-Kp took place in Hospital Cayetano Heredia (HCH), a tertiary care hospital in Lima. Here, we provide a description of clinical, microbiological and molecular characteristics of CR-Kp isolates recovered at HCH.MethodsRetrospective review of all CR-Kp clinical isolates recovered at HCH until December 2017. Antibiotic susceptibility data were obtained during routine care (Vitek or disc diffusion) and was assessed using CLSI breakpoints. DNA extraction was performed by heat shock, and PCR was performed to assess carriage of blaNDM gene. String test was performed to detect hypermucoviscosity.ResultsThe first case of CR-Kp in HCH dated from July 2015. Since then, a total of 69 CR-Kp clinical isolates, from 60 patients have been recovered until December 2017. A significant increase in the number of cases was observed during 2017 (Figure 1). The average age of patients was 55. Urinary, and respiratory sources of infection or colonization were the most common ones (35% and 30%, respectively), followed by blood stream (17%) and intraabdominal (10%) infections. Isolate recovery and DNA extraction was achieved in 40 cases. Of these, 15 (38%) had a positive PCR for blaNDM carbapenemase gene (Figure 2). Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed that amikacin was the most effective antimicrobial with the rest of antimicrobials having extremely high rates of resistance (Figure 3). String test was positive in two of these isolates, suggesting that hypervirulent CR-KP might be emerging in this region.ConclusionAn epidemic of CR-Kp has established in our hospital, representing the first one reported in Peru. The different mechanisms of carbapenem resistance found suggest a polyclonal expansion. Amikacin remains the only active antimicrobial within the routinely tested antibiotics, highlighting the need to add other antimicrobials to the routine panel. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.