Endemic carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa with acquired metallo-beta-lactamase determinants in European hospital

Acquired metallo-\u3b2-lactamases (MBLs) can confer broad-spectrum \u3b2-lactam resistance (including carbapenems) not reversible by conventional \u3b2-lactamase inhibitors and are emerging resistance determinants of remarkable clinical importance. In 2001, multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa carrying blaVIM MBL genes were found to be widespread (approximately 20% of all P. aeruginosa isolates and 70% of the carbapenem-resistant isolates) at Trieste University Hospital. Clonal diversity and heterogeneity of resistance determinants (either blaVIM-1-like or blaVIM-2-like) were detected among MBL producers. This evidence is the first that acquired MBLs can rapidly emerge and establish a condition of endemicity in certain epidemiologic settings