Microbiological and clinical characteristics of hypervirulent <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> isolated from patients in tertiary centers: a retrospective study.

ABSTRACT: This cross-sectional, retrospective study aimed to investigate the prevalence of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp), its virulence-associated genes, and the clinical manifestations of hvKp infections. HvKp was defined in this study as K. pneumoniae with a positive string test and harboring the serotype K1 or K2 gene. A total of 180 isolates from various clinical specimens were collected from four main hospitals in Kelantan. All isolates were examined for the hypermucoviscous phenotype using the string test, while the presence of capsular serotypes and other virulence genes (rmpA, rmpA2, iucA, magA, and peg-344) was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Patients' clinical data were collected and analyzed. String test-positive isolates (23.8%,

SUBMITTER: Khairuddin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12535742 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature