Gene

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

Molecular epidemiology

Carbapenem

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Bacteria

Biology

Drug resistance

Antibiotic resistance

Genetics

Genotype

Antibiotics

Microbiology

Multilocus sequence typing

Multiple drug resistance

Virulence

Infection and Drug Resistance

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important pathogen that causes urinary tract infections. Carbapenems are the drugs of choice for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections. However, the emergence and spread of carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa (CRPA) is a serious global health threat. In this study, we investigated the epidemiology, molecular characteristics, drug resistance, and virulence factors of CRPA isolated from urine samples.A total of 124 P. aeruginosa isolates were obtained from urine samples collected between March 2020 and February 2021. Clonal relatedness was evaluated using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). We performed antimicrobial susceptibility tests and investigated the presence of carbapenemase genes and virulence factors in CRPA isolates.The carbapenem resistance rate of the isolated P. aeruginosa was 46.7% (59/124). A total of 54 (91.5%) out of the 59 CRPA isolates were identified as multidrug-resistant. The majority of the CRPA isolates (81.4%, 48/59) harbored carbapenemase genes, such as blaIMP-6 or blaNDM-1. In an epidemiological analysis using MLST, 88.1% of CRPA isolates were confirmed to be ST773 (50.8%, 30/59) or ST235 (37.3%, 22/59). The CRPA isolates harboring blaIMP-6 and blaNDM-1 belonged to ST235 (PFGE pulsotypes E1-E18, F) and ST773 (PFGE pulsotypes H1-H2, I1-I16) subtypes, respectively. The studied CRPA isolates simultaneously harbored 10 to 14 virulence factors of the 16 virulence factors examined. Nine virulence factor genes (toxA, exoT, plcH, plcN, phzM, phzS, lasB, aprA, and algD) were identified in all CRPA isolates.Our study shows that P. aeruginosa ST235 harboring blaIMP-6 and ST773 harboring blaNDM-1-known internationally as high-risk clones with multiple virulence factors-are widely spread in the study area. These findings suggest that continuous monitoring is necessary to prevent the further spread of carbapenemase-producing CRPA.

Epidemiology, Molecular Characteristics, and Virulence Factors of Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from Patients with Urinary Tract Infections