A 20-Year Study of Capsular Polysaccharide Seroepidemiology, Susceptibility Profiles, and Virulence Determinants of Klebsiella pneumoniae from Bacteremia Patients in Taiwan
Chun-Chou Tsai, Jung‐Chung Lin, Pei‐Chen Chen, Esther Yip-Mei Liu, Yu-Kuo Tsai, Chia-Peng Yu, Jia-Je Li, Ching-Hsun Wang, Chang‐Phone Fung, Fu-Mei Lin, Feng‐Yee Chang, L. Kristopher Siu
Abstract
This is the first nationwide study to examine the seroepidemiology of Klebsiella pneumoniae using blood culture isolates collected over a period of 20 years. The study found that the prevalence of serotypes remained consistent over the 20-year period, with high-prevalence serotypes associated with invasive types. Nontypeable isolates had fewer virulence determinants than other serotypes. With the exception of serotype K62, the other high-prevalence serotypes were highly susceptible to antibiotics. If rapid diagnosis using direct clinical specimens, such as PCR or antigen serotyping, is available, empirical treatment can be predicted based on serotype, particularly for K1 and K2. The results of this seroepidemiology study could also help the development of future capsule polysaccharide vaccines.