Epidemiology of Enterobacter cloacae strains producing a carbapenemase or metallo-beta-lactamase in Vietnamese clinical settings in 2014–2017

<jats:p> <jats:bold>Introduction.</jats:bold> Little is known about the epidemiology of <jats:italic> <jats:named-content content-type="species"> <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://doi.org/10.1601/nm.3149" xlink:type="simple">Enterobacter cloacae</jats:ext-link> </jats:named-content> </jats:italic> strains producing a carbapenemase or metallo-beta-lactamase in Vietnamese hospitals.</jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Aim.</jats:bold> This study analysed <jats:italic> <jats:named-content content-type="species"> <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://doi.org/10.1601/nm.3149" xlink:type="simple">E. cloacae</jats:ext-link> </jats:named-content> </jats:italic> strains resistant to imipenem or meropenem that had been isolated from patients admitted to one of the largest hospitals in Vietnam in 2014–2017.</jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Methodology.</jats:bold> Eighteen Vietnamese (VN) strains were subjected to whole-genome sequencing and their sequences compared with those of 17 <jats:italic> <jats:named-content content-type="species"> <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://doi.org/10.1601/nm.3149" xlink:type="simple">E. cloacae</jats:ext-link> </jats:named-content> </jats:italic> strains carrying a carbapenemase or metallo-beta-lactamase in the database (db strains).</jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Results.</jats:bold> Although the distribution of virulence factors did not differ significantly between VN and db strains, all 18 VN isolates harboured <jats:italic>blaNDM-1</jats:italic>, phylogenetic analysis revealed a high clonality of the VN strains. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis suggested that the VN strains speciated relatively recently.</jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Conclusions.</jats:bold> Several prevalent clones of carbapenem-resistant <jats:italic> <jats:named-content content-type="species"> <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://doi.org/10.1601/nm.3149" xlink:type="simple">E. cloacae</jats:ext-link> </jats:named-content> </jats:italic> have circulated within Vietnamese hospitals. Adequate measures are needed to prevent their further spread.</jats:p>