Emergence and Dissemination of ST131 Escherichia coli Isolates Among Patients with Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia in Asian Countries.

We investigated the molecular epidemiology and microbiological characteristics of 51 Escherichia coli isolates causing hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) in eight Asian areas. Sequence type 131 (ST131) was the most prevalent among E. coli isolates causing HAP, especially in South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines. The current study showed that CTX-M-15-producing E. coli ST131 has emerged in and disseminated among patients with HAP in Asia. Our data suggest that this pandemic clone poses an important public health threat even in nosocomial infections.