Successful containment of the first KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae outbreak in Croatia

Aim: We report the first outbreak caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae sequence type 258 (ST 258) clone that occurred in Croatia from May to December 2012. Materials & methods: 23 carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates were recovered from clinical and screening specimens of 12 patients hospitalized in a regional hospital. The first isolates from the 12 patients were typed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing. Results: PCR detection showed that all isolates harbored the bla(KPC-2) gene, together with bla(TEM-116) and bla(SHV-11). Conclusion: The rapid detection of KPC-producing K. pneumoniae and vigorous implementation of infection control measures were necessary to successfully control the outbreak.