Original Research

Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulent Genes in Hypervirulent Klebsiella Pneumonia Isolates

Hina Bukhari1
King Edward Medical University, Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan
Rimsha Maqsood1
King Edward Medical University, Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan
Khadija Aftab1
King Edward Medical University, Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan
Tayyeba Komal2
Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore.

✉ Correspondence: Hina Bukhari Email: hinabukhari46571@import.invalid

DOI https://doi.org/10.70302/jpsim.v7i2.2625
Volume: 7, Issue 2 Pages: 127–130 Published: 03 Jun 2026
Received: 26 Dec 2025 Revised: 14 Apr 2026 Accepted: 03 May 2026 Published Online: 03 Jun 2026

Abstract

Objective

To determine the antimicrobial resistance and virulence of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae by phenotypic and genotypic methods.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study done for 6 months at Microbiology department, King Edward Medical University, Lahore. Antimicrobial susceptibility of 76 isolates was assessed,phenotypic string test was performed to check the hypermucoviscosity, and the presence of carbapenem resistance. Presence of genes i.e. New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM1), extended-spectrum β-lactamase (blaCTX-M-15) and iron uptake chelate A (iucA) encoding aerobactin responsible for virulence was established by PCR.

Results

Out of 76 patients, 54(71%) were males and 22(29%) were females. Among these 76 isolates 99.5% were Polymyxin B, Colistin (PB, CT) susceptible, 2.6% were gentamycin (CN) and Cefoperazone/sulbactam (SCF) susceptible, 46.1% had Imipenem (IPM) susceptibility and 18.4% had overall susceptibility of PB, CT, IPM, SCF & CN. Whereas, 78.9% isolates showed positive string test. The percentages of genes present were 68.4% iucA, 40.8% blaCTX-M-15 and 19.7% blaNDM. The association of positive string test with the presence of virulent genes was statistically borderline significant for blaCTX-M-15 and significant for blaNDM.

Conclusion

All the genes analyzed in hvKp isolates including NDM1, blaCTX-M-15 and iucA were prevailing with iucA(78.9%) being most prevalent. In addition to it carbapenems resistance was found to be increasing in hvKp in our study.

Keywords
Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae antimicrobial resistance prevalence

How to Cite This Article

Bukhari H, Maqsood R, Aftab K, Komal T. Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulent Genes in Hypervirulent Klebsiella Pneumonia Isolates. J Pak Soc Intern Med. 2026;7(2):127–130. doi:10.70302/jpsim.v7i2.2625

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare no competing interests.

Disclosed in accordance with ICMJE and COPE guidelines.

Funding

No specific funding was received for this research.

Funder information follows the Crossref Funder Registry standard.

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Reference list indexed for Google Scholar and ResearchGate. DOI links resolve via doi.org.

CC BY CC BY 4.0 This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. May be shared and adapted with attribution. © 2026 Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine.
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