Carbapenem-resistant and convergent high-risk Klebsiella pneumoniae in migratory gulls at the Black Sea coast

Carbapenem-resistant and convergent high-risk Klebsiella pneumoniae in migratory gulls at the Black Sea coast | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Carbapenem-resistant and convergent high-risk Klebsiella pneumoniae in migratory gulls at the Black Sea coast Jonas Bonnedahl, Pontus Wennesjö, Elias Eger, Marielle van Toor, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9402768/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The global spread of convergent Klebsiella pneumoniae, which combines multidrug resistance with hypervirulence, poses a major clinical threat, but its environmental dissemination remains poorly understood. Here, we show that wild migratory gulls along the Georgian Black Sea coast harbor clinically important, convergent isolates belonging to internationally dominant clonal lineages. We identify 33 carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae, predominantly globally disseminated high-risk clones (ST307 and ST395) carrying the blaNDM-5 carbapenemase gene. Ten isolates represent convergent pathotypes with hypervirulence markers, and four exhibit resistance to the last-resort antibiotic cefiderocol. Long-read sequencing reveals mosaic plasmids that co-encode resistance and virulence determinants. In addition, GPS telemetry shows that these gulls frequently use anthropogenic sites, including wastewater treatment plants and landfills. These findings indicate that migratory birds are carriers of critically resistant pathogens, highlighting the role of human-impacted environments in their broader dissemination across One Health interfaces. Biological sciences/Microbiology/Antimicrobials/Antimicrobial resistance Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Ecological epidemiology Antimicrobial resistance Convergence Klebsiella pneumoniae Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files WennesjoXXXEgeretal.SupplementalMaterial.docx Supplemental material for High prevalence of carbapenem-resistant and even convergent Klebsiella pneumoniae among black-headed gulls at the Black Sea coast of Georgia WennesjoXXXEgeretal.SupplementalTable.xlsx Supplementary Table S1 FigureS1.png Supplementary Figure S1 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9402768","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":627027955,"identity":"8c1640c8-e576-40f5-90b0-7def998943e1","order_by":0,"name":"Jonas 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