Molecular mechanisms and epidemiology of carbapenem and colistin resistance in Gram negative bacilli circulating in Catalonia

This is a prospective study to evaluate the prevalence, epidemiology and dissemination of carbapenemase-producing and/or colistin resistant Gram negative isolates circulating among health centres in the Comunidad Autonoma de Cataluna, Spain. Bacterial isolates with MIC or inhibition diameters of carbapenems and/or colistin above the EUCAST recommended breakpoint or ECOFFs values are recovered from 20 participant centres and checked for carbapenemase production and/or colistin resistance. Phenotypic and molecular methods are used to identify the genetic determinants responsible for carbapenem and colistin resistance and to study the genetic platforms involved in their dissemination. The clonal relatedness of all isolates is also investigated in an attempt to elucidate the main dissemination routes.