Molecular epidemiology of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Plasmid profile, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterned by an rRNA probe, and capsule serotyping of 143 Taiwan local bacteriemic isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were analyzed. Our results indicate that K1 and K2 are probably the most prevalent serotypes in Taiwan, accounting for 39% of total isolates tested. A remarkable genotypic heterogeneity was observed among these isolates by the analysis of rRNA gene RFLP patterns and plasmid profile, which highlighted differences that were not discerned by the serological tests used to differentiated these strains. On the basis of these analyses, 27 rRNA gene restriction patterns and 57 plasmid profiles were identified.