First Isolation of Klebsiella pneumoniae from Septicaemic Piglets in Poland

Klebsiella pneumoniae is commonly known to cause a vast range of community-acquired or nosocomial infections. The isolation of K. pneumoniae has also been noted in diseased food-producing animals, including swine. The main goals of this study were to document clinical manifestation of a septicaemia outbreak in suckling piglets due to K. pneumoniae ST25 and provide molecular characterisation of the isolates. For the purpose of this investigation, 13 dead suckling piglets with cyanosis were selected. All the isolates obtained from affected lungs were susceptible to apramycin, ceftiofur, gentamycin, neomycin, and spectinomycin, presented intermediate susceptibility to florfenicol, and were resistant to other tested antibiotics. Histopathological examination of lungs, kidneys, and livers revealed lesions typical of septicaemia. MLST analysis of the isolates demonstrated a complex metabolic profile of the bacteria with genes attributable to the hypervirulent phenotype. To the best of our knowledge, we documented the first outbreak of K. pneumoniae septicaemia in suckling piglets reared in Poland.