Outbreak of carbapenemase-producing (NDM-1 and OXA-48) and colistin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae ST307, north-east Germany, 2019

Germany has reported an outbreak of carbapenemase-producing (NDM-1 and OXA-48) and colistin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type (ST) 307. As of 21 October 2019, 17 patients in three hospitals and one rehabilitation clinic in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania in north-east Germany have been affected. Six of the 17 cases presented with clinical symptoms of infection, while 11 were identified as be carriers. 

This is the first reported outbreak in Germany of K. pneumoniae that produce both NDM-1 and OXA-48 while also involving the emerging clone ST307. The outbreak strain is closely related to a K. pneumoniae ST307 isolate producing the same carbapenemases detected earlier in Finland from a patient previously hospitalised in Russia, yet there is no epidemiological link between the Finnish case and the outbreak in Germany.