Genomic epidemiology of global VIM-producing Enterobacteriaceae.

Background: International data on the molecular epidemiology of Enterobacteriaceae with VIM carbapenemases are limited.

Methods: We performed short read (Illumina) WGS on a global collection of 89 VIM-producing clinical Enterobacteriaceae (2008-14).

Results: VIM-producing (11 varieties within 21 different integrons) isolates were mostly obtained from Europe. Certain integrons with bla VIM were specific to a country in different species and clonal complexes (CCs) (In 87 , In 624 , In 916 and In 1323 ), while others had spread globally among various Enterobacteriaceae species (In 110 and In 1209 ). Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most common species ( n  = 45); CC147 from Greece was the most prevalent clone and contained In 590 -like integrons with four different bla VIM s. Enterobacter cloacae complex was the second most common species and mainly consisted of Enterobacter hormaechei ( Enterobacter xiangfangensis , subsp. steigerwaltii and Hoffmann cluster III). CC200 (from Croatia and Turkey), CC114 (Croatia, Greece, Italy and the USA) and CC78 (from Greece, Italy and Spain) containing bla VIM-1 were the most common clones among the E. cloacae complex.

Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of surveillance programmes using the latest molecular techniques in providing insight into the characteristics and global distribution of Enterobacteriaceae with bla VIM s.