Characterization of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in Belgium.

Anantharajah, Ahalieyah [UCL] Deltombe, Matthieu [UCL] de Barsy, Marie [UCL] Evrard, Stéphanie [UCL] Denis, Olivier [UCL] Bogaerts, Pierre [UCL] Hallin, Marie Miendje Deyi, Véronique Yvette Pierard, Denis Bruynseels, Peggy Boelens, Jerina Glupczynski, Gerald [UCL] Huang, Te-Din [UCL] et al.[show all]

Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) raised concern worldwide. We studied 22 hvKp clinical invasive isolates referred to the Belgian national reference laboratory between 2014 and 2020. Sixty-four percent of the isolates expressed K2 capsular serotype and belonged to 7 different MLST lineages, while 32% expressed K1 (all belonging to ST23) and were associated with liver abscesses. Primary extra-hepatic infections were reported in 36% and sepsis for 95% of the patients with 30% of deaths. Improved clinical and microbiological diagnostics are required as hvKp may represent an underestimated cause of community-acquired invasive infections in Belgium.