Part of a major research project on bacteria of hospital origin, the study “Draft genome sequences of PDR and XDR Klebsiella pneumoniae belonging to high-risk CG258 isolated from a Brazilian tertiary hospital”, coordinated by the researcher and professor at Unaerp, André Pitondo da Silva, was published in Infection, Genetics and Evolution. The scientific journal has great international prestige, with important publications on infections, genetics and evolution of bacteria.

The research aimed to study only bacteria isolated from patients admitted to hospitals, more specifically, the bacterial species called Klebsiella pneumoniae, one of the biggest concerns in health institutions in Brazil and the world. Considered one of the most important opportunistic pathogens that cause hospital infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals, infections caused by the bacterium can lead to a series of clinical complications, including urinary tract infections, pneumonia, septicemia and, in many cases, the death of patients.

Some K. pneumoniae can produce enzymes called carbapenemases, capable of inactivating various types of antibiotics. Bacteria resistant to various antibiotics are popularly known as superbugs and are widely described in hospitals around the world. “However, still little known and more fearful are bacteria resistant to virtually all antibiotics available to fight them, called extensively drug-resistant (XDR) and others that are resistant to all antibiotics, called pandrug-resistant (PDR) ”,explains Pitondo. In the article, the researchers described the genome of two K. pneumoniae, isolated from patients admitted to a tertiary hospital, located in southern Brazil. Isolated from the patient's blood, the XDR bacterium was sensitive to only one of the 42 antibiotics tested. PDR, isolated from urinary tract infection, was resistant to all 42 antibiotics tested, including colistin, considered the last therapeutic option. "Another aggravating factor is that these bacteria also belong to the clonal group 258 (CG258), which is a group of bacteria that are considered to be at high risk because they often have a great capacity to spread in the hospital environment", adds the researcher.

From the sequencing of the genomes, it was possible to detect several antimicrobial resistance genes, in addition to the presence of virulence genes, which help the bacteria to survive and infect the host. "This means that, in addition to the virtually nonexistent therapeutic options, bacteria have the potential to cause more serious infections in patients." In addition to the support of Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo - FAPESP, the study was developed in partnership with researchers from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, the University of São Paulo (ICB – SP) and the University of Monah, Australia.

The article can be accessed at: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1c9HB5aKq2HuTd 


The research aimed to study only bacteria isolated from hospitalized patients, more specifically, the bacterial species called Klebsiella pneumoniae