Carbapenemase reports from the Balkans: a systematic review.

The spread of carbapenemase-producing bacteria constitutes a worldwide problem of major importance to public health. The detection of these enzymes is often reported by most European countries and infection control measures are implemented in order to limit their dissemination. Despite the strong evidence indicating the Balkans as a reservoir for carbapenemase-encoding genes, especially for NDM-1, data published in the English literature seem to be scarce for many of the Balkan countries. We systematically reviewed studies on carbapenemase-producing bacteria from each country of the Balkan Peninsula and correlated them with foreign reports on carbapenemase detection due to patient transfer from the Balkans to the rest of Europe.

Beta-lactamase and carbapenemase detection methods: an overview of recent patents.

Beta-lactam antibiotics constitute the agents most widely used against bacterial infections worldwide. Hence, the emergence and spread of beta-lactam hydrolyzing enzymes among pathogenic bacteria has proved to be one of the major medical issues especially when these enzymes inactivate carbapenems together with other beta-lactams. The prompt detection of beta-lactamases is important for therapeutic and epidemiological purposes therefore, various appropriate methodologies have been developed throughout the last decades. In the present overview, recent patents related to the detection of beta-lactamases and especially of carbapenemases are discussed.