Nosocomial dissemination of extended-spectrum β-lactamase VEB-1a-producing Providencia stuartii isolates in a Tunisian hospital.

A collection of 20 multidrug-resistant Providencia stuartii isolates recovered from 2005 to 2009 at the Military Hospital of Tunis, Tunisia, was analysed. They all expressed the extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) VEB-1a. The bla (VEB-1a) gene was plasmid-located and it was associated with complex genetic structures, including Re elements. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) revealed a clonal relationship between all of these isolates. This study identified a nosocomial dissemination of an ESBL-producing P. stuartii clone in a Tunisian hospital over a long period of time.