Emergence of KPC-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Spain: insights into an outbreak and resistance to the novel carbapenem/β-lactamase inhibitor combinations imipenem/relebactam and meropenem/vaborbactam

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 2026 Open access

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Authors: Gloria Pérez-Rodríguez, Pablo Aja-Macaya, Lucía González-Pinto, Biel Taltavull, María Tarriño-León, María del Mar Gallardo-García, Tania Blanco-Martín, Salud Rodríguez-Pallares, Lucía Sánchez-Peña, Miriam Moscoso, Alejandro Beceiro, Antonio Oliver
+2 more Germán Bou, Jorge Arca-Suárez
DOI: 10.1128/aac.01657-25
Cited by: 1
References: 29

Abstract

ABSTRACT We report an outbreak of KPC-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Spain, involving four patients and an environmental isolate recovered from a hospital sink. All isolates belonged to clone ST253 and exhibited difficult-to-treat resistance, including resistance to imipenem/relebactam and meropenem/vaborbactam. Genomic analysis confirmed a plasmid-encoded bla KPC-2 and OprD deficiency. Functional assays demonstrated synergy between KPC-2 production and porin loss on resistance to carbapenem/β-lactamase inhibitors. The findings highlight the clinical threat posed by KPC-producing P. aeruginosa .

Fields of Study & Subjects

Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria Infections and bacterial resistance Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing

Publication details

Journal / source
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Volume
70
Issue
5
Pages
e0165725–e0165725
Publication date
27 March 2026
Language
EN