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2025 Vol.55, Issue 2 Preview Page

Original Article

Occurrence, Antibiogram and Virulence Profiling of Hypervirulent Klebsiella Pneumonia in Broiler Chickens at Slaughter Shops in Thi-Qar Province, Iraq
Muslim Dhahr Musa1*
1Community Health Dept. Al-Nasiriyah Technical Institute, Southern Technical University, Iraq
*muslim1983@stu.edu.iq
30 June 2025. pp. 176-186
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Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence, antibiogram, and virulence gene profiling of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hv-K.p) isolated from the broiler chicken intestines in slaughter shops located in Thi-Qar province, Iraq. A total of 440 cloacal swabs were collected from 60 chicken slaughter shops. Isolation and identification of K. pneumoniae were performed using conventional bacteriological methods, followed by species confirmation via VITEK II and PCR targeting the 16-23S rDNA ITS internal translation spacer region. hv-K.p strains were identified based on the PCR detection of five genes (iucA, crmpA, rmpA2, iroB, and peg-344). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted using VITEK II system. The overall prevalence of K. pneumoniae was 29.5%,of which, 35 isolates (26.9%) were identified as hv-K.p. Among the virulence genes, icuA was the most frequently detected (88.6%), followed by crmpA (74.3%), iroB, (62.6%), rmpA2 (45.7%), and peg-344 (34.3%) isolates. A significant difference (P=0.00) was observed between the results of the string test and molecular assay in hv-K.p detection. Genotype III was the most prevalent hypervirulent genotype at 37.1%, followed by genotypes I and II (each 17.1%), genotype V (14.3%) isolates, and genotype IV 11.4%. Antibiogram profiling indicated high resistance to gentamicin 23 (65.7%), and azithromycin (51.4%), while the lowest resistance was observed for cefepime 4(11.4%). Of the 35 hv-K.p isolates, 21(60%) were classified as multi-drug resistance. Carbapenem-resistant hv- K.p was detected in 45.7% of hv-k.p isolates. In conclusion, broiler chickens represent an important reservoir of hv-K.p in retail slaughter settings. It is essential for stringent hygiene and control measures to mitigate the dissemination of this pathotype.

Keywords
K. pneumonia
Hypervirulent
Antibiogram
Chickens
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Information
  • Publisher :The Korean Society for Microbiology and The Korean Society of Virology
  • Publisher(Ko) :대한미생물학회‧대한바이러스학회
  • Journal Title :JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY AND VIROLOGY
  • Volume : 55
  • No :2
  • Pages :176-186
  • Received Date : 2025-04-10
  • Revised Date : 2025-06-04
  • Accepted Date : 2025-06-16
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.4167/jbv.2025.55.2.176
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