A genome-wide One Health study of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Norway reveals overlapping populations but few recent transmission events across reservoirs

Marit Andrea Klokkhammer Hetland; Mia A. Winkler; Håkon Pedersen Kaspersen; Fredrik Håkonsholm; Ragna Bakksjø; Eva Bernhoff; José F. Delgado‐Blas; Sylvain Brisse; Annapaula Correia; Aasmund Fostervold; Margaret M. C. Lam; Bjørn Tore Lunestad; Nachiket Prakash Marathe; Niclas Raffelsberger; Ørjan Samuelsen; Marianne Sunde; Arnfinn Sundsfjord; Anne Margrete Urdahl; Ryan R. Wick; Iren Høyland Löhr; Kathryn E. Holt

doi:10.1186/s13073-025-01466-0

MicrobiologyGenome MedicineApr 28, 2025

Peer-reviewed journal article

A genome-wide One Health study of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Norway reveals overlapping populations but few recent transmission events across reservoirs

Marit Andrea Klokkhammer Hetland iD, Mia A. Winkler iD, Håkon Pedersen Kaspersen iD, Fredrik Håkonsholm iD, Ragna Bakksjø iD, Eva Bernhoff iD, José F. Delgado‐Blas iD, Sylvain Brisse iD, Annapaula Correia iD, Aasmund Fostervold iD, Margaret M. C. Lam iD, Bjørn Tore Lunestad iD, Nachiket Prakash Marathe iD, Niclas Raffelsberger iD, Ørjan Samuelsen iD, Marianne Sunde iD, Arnfinn Sundsfjord iD, Anne Margrete Urdahl iD, Ryan R. Wick iD, Iren Høyland Löhr iD, Kathryn E. Holt iD

Abstract

Members of the Klebsiella pneumoniae species complex (KpSC) are opportunistic pathogens that cause severe and difficult-to-treat infections. KpSC are common in non-human niches, but the clinical relevance of these populations is disputed. Utilising 3,255 whole-genome sequenced isolates from human, animal and marine sources collected during 2001-2020 in Norway, we showed the KpSC populations in different niches were distinct but overlapping. Notably, human infection isolates showed greatest connectivity with each other, followed by isolates from human carriage, pigs, and bivalves. Nearly 5% of human infection isolates had close relatives ([≤]22 substitutions) amongst animal and marine isolates, despite temporally and geographically distant sampling of these sources. Infection prevention measures are essential to limit transmission within human clinical settings and reduce disease burden. However, as colonisation often precedes infection, preventing transmission that leads to colonisation, e.g. transmission between animals and humans in the community, and in the food chain, could also be beneficial.

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