In71, an Enterobacter cloacae blaVIM-1-carrying integron related to In70.2 from Italian Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates:: A SENTRY antimicrobial surveillance program report

An Enterobacter cloacae strain showing decreased susceptibility to carbapenems was isolated from a blood culture of a patient hospitalized in Genoa, Italy, and screened for the presence of metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) genes as part of the SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program. A bla(VIM-1)-carrying integron named In71 nearly identical to In70.2 reported in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from various Italian cities since 2001 was identified in this strain. Interestingly, the In71 did not carry aadA1 nor possess the ISPa7 usually found in the P. aeruginosa integron In70.2. Mobilization of MBL genes from P. aeruginosa to members of the Enterobacteriaceae family is very worrisome because the rapid and wide dissemination of these potent antimicrobial resistance mechanisms could jeopardize the clinical use of carbapenems for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections.