comparative prevalence of blactx-m-15 gene with virulence genes and serotypes in klebsiella pneumoniae

Background: a newly emerged hypervirulent strain of klebsiella pneumoniae has caused great concern globally; however, its molecular characteristics have been rarely reported in iran. objectives: the goal of this study was to detect the virulence determinants and serotypes of k. pneumoniae and to evaluate the association among selected virulence traits and blactx-m-15 gene in southeastern iran. methods: one hundred and three non-duplicate k. pneumoniae strains were isolated from clinical samples. the isolates were identified by standard bacteriological tests. confirmed isolates were examined to detect a selection of virulence genes (wabg, rmpa and iucb) and serotypes (k1, k2, k5 and k20) by pcr. the isolates were studied foe the presence of beta-lactamase (blactx-m-15) gene. spss software (version 19.0) was used for data analysis. results: among the 103 k. pneumoniae isolates, 61 (59.2%) isolates were positive for wabg, 4 (3.9%) for iucb and 3 (2.9%) for rmpa genes. the presence of k20 in 3.9% (4/103) of the isolates represented the most prevalent. only 3 (2.9%) isolates possessed the k1 serotype, while k2 and k5 serotypes were not detected in any isolate. the blactx-m-15 gene was detected in 47 (45.6%) isolates. blactx-m-15-positive isolates showed a higher prevalence of wabg among the studied isolates (p < 0.05). conclusions: our data indicate a correlation between presence of virulence gene and blactx-m-15 in k. pneumonia isolates. further research should be undertaken to unravel aspects of both virulence factors and antibiotic resistance whichmayprobably contribute to managing future spread of infectious diseases.