Carbapenemase-producerende enterobacteriën in Nederland

• Carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), including Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, are only sporadically seen in the Netherlands and then mainly in patients who have been transferred from foreign hospitals.
• CPE are resistant to virtually all beta-lactam antibiotics, including carbapenems, e.g., meropenem and imipenem. Several genes, e.g., OXA-48, KPC and NDM-1, code for carbapenemase enzymes that deactivate carbapenems.
• Control of CPE focuses on timely identification of patients who are infected or are carriers and the application of preventive measures to prevent spread.
• Genotypic analysis of CPE isolates submitted to the national CPE surveillance revealed close relationships between 8 NDM-1 positive K. pneumoniae isolates of patients from different parts of the Netherlands and isolates obtained through contact tracing during a known hospital outbreak.
• Based on retrospective epidemiological investigation, no shared exposure could be found.
• These findings indicate unnoticed spread of CPE in the Netherlands.

Conflict of interest and financial support: none declared.