Pan-drug resistant Providencia rettgeri contributing to a fatal case of COVID-19
Patrick McGann, Matthew R. Geringer, Lindsey R. Hall, François Lebreton, Elizabeth Markelz, Yoon I. Kwak, Sheila Johnson, Ana Ong, Aubrey Powell, Tsigereda Tekle, Yehudit Bergman, Patricia J. Simner, Jason W. Bennett, Robert J. Cybulski, Brian White
Abstract
Following prolonged hospitalization that included broad-spectrum antibiotic exposure, a strain of Providencia rettgeri was cultured from the blood of a patient undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatment for hypoxic respiratory failure due to COVID-19. The strain was resistant to all antimicrobials tested including the novel siderophore cephalosporin, cefiderocol. Whole genome sequencing detected ten antimicrobial resistance genes, including the metallo-β-lactamase bla NDM-1 , the extended-spectrum β-lactamase bla PER-1 , and the rare 16S methyltransferase rmtB2 .