The Prevalence of Virulence Factor Genes among Carbapenem-Non-Susceptible Clinical Strains and Their Usefulness as Potential Molecular Biomarkers of Infection.

Healthcare-associated infections caused by multidrug-resistant strains are a serious global threat. Therefore, it is important to expand the knowledge on the mechanisms of pathogenicity of these particular bacteria. The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of selected virulence factor genes (, , , , , and ) among carbapenem-non-susceptible clinical isolates and to evaluate their potential usefulness as genetic markers for rapid diagnostics of infections. Moreover, we aimed to compare the virulence genes prevalence with the occurrence of carbapenemases genes. A total of 100 carbapenem-non-susceptible clinical isolates were included in the study. The presence of virulence factors and genes was evaluated by real-time PCR. The occurrence of virulence factors genes was as follows: 100.0% for the and genes, 99.0% for the and genes. The and genes were absent among the studied strains. The predominant genes ( and ) are involved in biofilm formation and their presence among all clinical strains can be applied as a genetic marker to recognize infection. High frequencies of the gene-involved in siderophore biosynthesis and the gene encoding phospholipase D ()-were also noted among -positive strains, showing their potential role in a pathogenicity of -positive clinical strains.