First report of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 5 (NDM-5)-producing Escherichia coli from blood cultures of three leukemia patients

Abstract

We report the first occurrence of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 5 (NDM-5) in carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli isolated from blood cultures of three leukemia patients in northern China. These patients had at some time been hospitalized in the hematology department of the same hospital. All isolates were ST167 with identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns, suggesting a likely hospital transmission.