Taipei:Researchers at Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University have discovered a novel drug-resistant strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Taiwan. This finding was based on patient cases from 2021 and has been published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases.

According to Focus Taiwan, the study was a collaborative effort involving a team from Taipei VGH and NYCU, along with Professor Chen Liang from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. The bacteria were isolated from samples of two hospitalized COVID-19 patients at Taipei VGH in 2021, who were treated with antibiotics under standard isolation procedures.

The study identified a new mutation in the bacteria, featuring an insertion of four amino acids—tyrosine, arginine, isoleucine, and threonine—into penicillin-binding protein 3, which altered the protein's structure and reduced the efficacy of various antibiotics. Despite the mutation, the patients recovered from their infections.

The research highlighted the strain's potential to evolve into a more formidable "superbug" due to its high-transmission risk lineage already carrying multiple antibiotic-resistance genes. Laboratory simulations indicated that additional mutations could pose significant global public health threats.

The study emphasized the importance of ongoing genomic surveillance and the development of new treatments to combat such drug-resistant bacteria. Klebsiella pneumoniae is recognized by the World Health Organization as a priority pathogen due to its increasing resistance to antibiotics.