Isolation and Characterization of Aquatic-Borne Klebsiella pneumoniae from Tropical Estuaries in Malaysia

Anis Barati, Aziz Ghaderpour, Li Lee Chew, Chui Wei Bong, Kwai Lin Thong, Ving Ching Chong and Lay Ching Chai
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Anis Barati: Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Aziz Ghaderpour: Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Li Lee Chew: Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Chui Wei Bong: Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Kwai Lin Thong: Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Ving Ching Chong: Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Lay Ching Chai: Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen that is responsible for causing nosocomial and community-acquired infections. Despite its common presence in soil and aquatic environments, the virulence potential of K. pneumoniae isolates of environmental origin is largely unknown. Hence, in this study, K. pneumoniae isolated from the estuarine waters and sediments of the Matang mangrove estuary were screened for potential virulence characteristics: antibiotic susceptibility, morphotype on Congo red agar, biofilm formation, presence of exopolysaccharide and capsule, possession of virulence genes ( fimH , magA , ugE , wabG and rmpA ) and their genomic fingerprints. A total of 55 strains of K. pneumoniae were isolated from both human-distributed sites (located along Sangga Besar River) and control sites (located along Selinsing River) where less human activity was observed, indicated that K. pneumoniae is ubiquitous in the environment. However, the detection of potentially virulent strains at the downstream of Kuala Sepetang village has suggested an anthropogenic contamination source. In conclusion, the findings from this study indicate that the Matang mangrove estuary could harbor potentially pathogenic K. pneumoniae with risk to public health. More studies are required to compare the environmental K. pneumoniae strains with the community-acquired K. pneumoniae strains.

Keywords: Klebsiella pneumoniae; aquatic; anthropogenic contamination; antimicrobial resistance; virulence factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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