Emergence of KPC-2 and KPC-3 in carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains in an Israeli hospital

Carbapenem resistance due to KPC has rarely been observed outside the United States. We noticed a sharp increase in carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains possessing KPC in Tel Aviv Medical Center from 2004 to 2006. Sixty percent of the isolates belonged to a single clone susceptible only to gentamicin and colistin and carried the bla(KPC-3) gene, while almost all other clones carried the bla(KPC-2) gene. This rapid dissemination of KPC outside the United States is worrisome.