Outbreak of associated with contamination of saline products distributed internationally, the United Kingdom, 2024.

We describe an outbreak of in the United Kingdom, with isolates genetically indistinguishable from a 2023 Australian outbreak linked to internationally distributed saline solutions. Confirmed cases (n = 3) had bacteraemia, clinically relevant infection, indwelling venous lines and frequent healthcare contact. Multi-stakeholder intervention was required including product recall and risk communications.

sequence type 147: a high-risk clone increasingly associated with plasmids carrying both resistance and virulence elements.

The first hybrid resistance/virulence plasmid, combining elements from virulence plasmids described in hypervirulent types of with those from conjugative resistance plasmids, was described in an isolate of sequence type (ST) 147 from 2016. Subsequently, this type has been increasingly associated with these plasmids. The extent of carriage of hybrid virulence/resistance plasmids in nosocomial isolates of requires further investigation.

Investigating Pseudomonas aeruginosa population structure and frequency of cross-infection in UK cystic fibrosis clinics - a reference laboratory perspective.

Background: We aimed to describe the UK Pseudomonas aeruginosa population structure amongst people with cystic fibrosis (PWCF), and to examine evidence for cross-infection.

Methods: Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) typing was performed on 4640 isolates from 2619 PWCF received from 55 hospital laboratories between 2017 and 2019. A combination of whole genome sequence (WGS)-based analysis of four clusters from one hospital, and epidemiological analysis of shared strains in twelve hospitals evaluated cross-infection.

Wide distribution of carrying IncF plasmids containing and resistance genes from hospitalized patients in England.

. The New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) variant NDM-5 was first described in 2011 in an isolate of . We noted that a high proportion of isolates of positive for carbapenemase genes submitted to the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) between 2019 and mid-2021 carried the allele, with many co-harbouring , rendering them highly resistant to aminoglycosides as well as to most β-lactams.

IncN3 and IncHI2 plasmids with an In1763 integron carrying in carbapenem-resistant clinical isolates from the UK.

Imipenemase (IMP) carbapenemase genes are relatively rare among in the UK. Emergence in multiple hospitals, in different strains and species, prompted an investigation into their genetic context. Our goal was to identify and describe the elements carrying genes in a variety of from five hospitals in the UK.

Hybrid Resistance and Virulence Plasmids in "High-Risk" Clones of , Including Those Carrying .

Virulence plasmids are associated with hypervirulent types of , which generally do not carry antibiotic resistance genes. In contrast, nosocomial isolates are often associated with resistance, but rarely with virulence plasmids. Here, we describe virulence plasmids in nosocomial isolates of "high-risk" clones of sequence types (STs) 15, 48, 101, 147 and 383 carrying carbapenemase genes.

Investigation of a Pandoraea apista cluster common to adult and paediatric cystic fibrosis patients attending two hospitals in the same city.

Purpose: We examined evidence for transmission of Pandorea apista among cystic fibrosis (CF) patients attending paediatric and adult services in one city who had previously been found to harbour related isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

Methodology: The whole-genome sequences of 18 isolates from this cluster from 15 CF patients were examined, along with 2 cluster isolates from 2 other centres. The annotated sequence of one of these, Pa14367, was examined for virulence factors and antibiotic resistance-associated genes in comparison with data from a 'non-cluster' isolate, Pa16226.

Virulence genes in isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae from the UK during 2016, including among carbapenemase gene-positive hypervirulent K1-ST23 and 'non-hypervirulent' types ST147, ST15 and ST383.

Purpose: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a concern because of its multidrug resistance and the ability of hypervirulent types, especially capsular type K1-clonal complex 23 (K1-CC23), to cause community-acquired, life-threatening infections. Hypervirulent types carry an array of virulence genes including rmpA/rmpA2, coding for capsule up-regulation. We sought to identify isolates carrying these elements among submissions to the UK national reference laboratory during 2016.