Cefotaxime and ceftriaxon resistantKlebsiella pneumoniae associated with SHV-11 hyperproduction

Klebsiella pneumoniae ML0306 was isolated from a patient in the intensive care unit of the Military hospital of Tunis in Tunisia. The strain was resistant to β-lactams, aminoglycosides, quinolones, phenicols and tetracyclines. Crude extract from the isolate showed a broad-substrate profile by hydrolyzing benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, cloxacilline, cephalothin, cefotaxime and ceftriaxone but not ceftazidime, cefoxitin, cefpirome, imipinem and aztreonam. The isolate was identified as a producer of pI 7.6 β-lactamase. Sequencing of the β-lactamase gene showed that it coded for a penicillinase SHV-11. This is the first description of this enzyme in Tunisia. The gene encoding this enzyme was located on the chromosome and a 50 kb conjugative plasmid. The overproduction of SHV-11 was involved in the wading of the hydrolytic spectrum of the strain.