Mohamed T. SAAD, Nadia E. SIFENNASR, Mahmoud B. AGENA, Omar S. ELHENSHIR, Ahmed A. ZAGHDANI, Abdlrhman M. ALSONOSI, Budour R. ELMIHUB, Khaled M. IBRAHIM
Journal of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases - 2026;16(1):28-36
Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae, classified by the World Health Organization as a critical priority pathogen, poses a major global health threat. Klebsiella pneumoniae causes a wide range of infections, including sepsis, urinary tract infections, meningitis, soft tissue infections, liver abscesses, and pneumonia. Its pathogenicity is driven by virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes that complicate treatment and infection control. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the virulence-linked traits of eleven K. pneumoniae isolates associated with neonatal infections and to compare them with two reference genomes (NTUH K2044 and MGH 78578) to assess virulence gene linkage and pathogenic potential. Methods: Eleven neonatal K. pneumoniae isolates (six from sepsis cases and five from feeding tubes) were evaluated. Isolates were characterised using standard microbiological methods, sequence typing, and whole genome sequencing (Illumina MiSeq). Efflux pump genes representing five families were compared between the neonatal isolates and the reference genomes, which was based on the presence/absence of genes only. Results: Whole genome sequencing revealed eight sequence types (ST34, ST35, ST37, ST105, ST111, ST147, ST247, and ST526) and six O-antigen serogroups (O1, O2, O3, O4, O8, and O12). Phenotypically, all represented isolates showed high amount of capsular production on powdered infant formula media than on xylose lysine deoxycholate media. Antibiotic resistance profiles of the presented isolates were resistant to 10 from 11 antibiotics tested except ciprofloxacin, and were confirmed Extended spectrum beta-lactamase producers. Comparative analysis showed that the K. pneumoniae isolates carried a set of efflux pump-associated genes that may be linked to multidrug resistance andvirulence-related potential, compared with the reference isolates NTUH K2044 and MGH 78578.Conclusion: The findings highlight the genomic diversity and multidrug-resistant nature of neonatal K. pneumoniae isolates and support the use of comparative genomic analyses to improve understanding of resistance and virulence-associated features in neonatal care settings.
