Extract

Sir,

Acquired metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are the most common acquired carbapenemases in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. They confer a broad-spectrum β-lactam resistance profile, including resistance to the antipseudomonal penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems, that is not antagonized by the available β-lactamase inhibitors. Most MBL-producing strains exhibit a multidrug resistance profile, also including resistance to non-β-lactams, due to the accumulation of additional resistance determinants.1

Although several types of acquired MBLs have been detected in P. aeruginosa, the IMP- and VIM-type enzymes are currently the most widespread.1 A number of genes encoding these enzymes (e.g. blaVIM-1, blaVIM-2, blaVIM-4 and blaIMP-1) have become associated with high-risk clones, such as clonal complex (CC) 235 and CC111, which has promoted their dissemination in Europe and other continents.2

IMP-19 is an IMP allelic variant that was originally detected in Enterobacter cloacae (GenBank/EMBL accession no. AB201264) and P. aeruginosa (GenBank/EMBL accession no. AB184976) from Japan and, subsequently, in an Aeromonas caviae isolated in France.3 More recently, it has been reported in Achromobacter xylosoxidans and Acinetobacter spp. isolates from Japan.4,5

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