Isolation and characterization of bacteriophages against IMP-6 producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from clinical settings in Japan

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are one of the most threating species of antibiotic-resistant bacteria worldwide. Phage therapy has emerged as an effective strategy for treatment of infections caused by CRE pathogens. The increasing occurrence of in Japan the Klebsiella pneumoniae harboring pKPI-6 plasmid, which encodes blaIMP-6, is a growing research concern. To manage such Japan-specific pathogens, we isolated 29 novel phages from sewage in Japan targeting 31 strains of K. pneumoniae and one strain of E. coli harboring pKPI-6 plasmid.