AUTHOR=Zhang Weiwei , Feng Yanling , Zhao Hanqing , Yan Chao , Feng Junxia , Gan Lin , Cui Jinghua , Liu Shiyu , Zhang Rui , Du Shuheng , Li Nannan , Xu Wenjian , Han Juqiang , Li Rongkuan , Xue Guanhua , Yuan Jing 

TITLE=A Recombinase Aided Amplification Assay for Rapid Detection of the Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase Gene and Its Characteristics in Klebsiella pneumoniae

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.746325

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2021.746325

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Klebsiella pneumoniae</italic> carbapenemase genes (<italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC</sub>) play an important role in carbapenem-resistant <italic>Enterobacteriaceae</italic> in China. A rapid detection method for <italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC</sub> genes and investigations into the molecular characteristics of <italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC</sub> positive <italic>Klebsiella pneumoniae</italic> were necessary. In this study, an easy and rapid recombinase aided amplification assay (RAA) for <italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC</sub> was established. This protocol could be completed at 39°C in 15–20 min. The sensitivity of this assay was determined as 48 copies per reaction, and the specificity was 100%. The <italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC</sub> RAA method could be used for clinical diagnosis and epidemiological investigation. Among 801 fecal samples from inpatients, 34 <italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC</sub> positive isolates were identified from each sample, of which 23 isolates were <italic>K. pneumoniae</italic>. ST11 with <italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC-2</sub> was the most prevalent type. All these strains were multidrug resistant and carried various virulence genes. Fecal carriage of <italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC</sub> positive carbapenem-resistant <italic>K.pneumoniae</italic> poses significant challenges for public health control.</p>