A team of researchers from the University of Houston (UH) and St. Luke’s Episcopal
Hospital (SLEH) are working to develop improved screening methods to detect a potentially
lethal, drug-resistant superbug that has made its way to Texas.
Specifically, the research team looked at a multi-drug resistant bacterium called
Klebsiella pneumoniae, which is increasingly resistant to most drugs of last resort. Commonly called CRKP,
which is short for carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, the bacteria were found in three patients at St. Luke’s in 2010, and the team published
a report about it in 2011 in the journal Diagnostic Microbiology & Infectious Disease.
Endemic to the northeastern United States and recently making its way to California,
reports of this particular superbug have remained uncommon throughout the majority
of the country. The researchers believe these are the first confirmed cases in Texas.
“The key to effective therapy is to identify the infection quickly and accurately,
so you can initiate the appropriate measures that will benefit the patient, prevent
it from spreading and discourage the development of resistance,” said Vincent Tam,
associate professor of clinical sciences at the UH College of Pharmacy and co-author
of the report. “The current methods of detection are far from perfect, but following
national and international resistance trends, we are being proactive in anticipating
problems so we can deal with them when they’re in the initial, budding stage.” 
Although Klebsiella pneumoniae is naturally found in the intestinal tract and relatively harmless to healthy individuals,
it can lead to potentially deadly infections in people with weakened immune systems,
such as patients in ICUs, long-term care facilities or nursing homes. These bacteria,
for instance, are resistant to the carbapenem class of antibiotics, which are among
the antimicrobials of last resort for this type of bacteria. As a result, clinicians
managing the infection are left with few options but to employ more toxic drugs that
pose an increased risk of damage to the kidneys or other organs.
The automated systems used in clinical microbiology laboratories can misclassify certain
bacteria as being susceptible to carbapenems, potentially leading to inappropriate
treatment and unfavorable patient outcomes. More accurate methods for identifying
these specific bacteria require time- and labor-intensive processes and are typically
only available in research laboratories outside of the clinical setting, such as at
the Centers for Disease Control and academic research institutions such as UH.
With support from the Roderick D. MacDonald Research Fund at SLEH, Tam and his collaborators
are working to determine the prevalence of CRKP and to employ promising techniques
for rapid and accurate detection of these bacteria in the clinical setting, as well
as prevent its spread within the health care system. In addition to Tam, who is also
an infectious disease clinician at SLEH, the team consisted of former UH colleague
Elizabeth Hirsch, who is now at Northeastern University; Kai-Tai Chang, a research
associate at UH; and Todd Lasco and Juan-Pablo Caeiro of SLEH.
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Editorial Note: High-resolution photos of Vincent Tam in the lab are available to
media by contacting Lisa Merkl.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university
recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best colleges for undergraduate
education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing
world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located
in the nation’s fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 38,500 students in the most
ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country.
About the UH College of Pharmacy
For more than 60 years, the University of Houston College of Pharmacy has shaped aspiring
pharmacists, scientists and researchers. The college offers graduate degrees in pharmacy
administration, pharmacology and pharmaceutics, a professional pharmacy degree and
combined professional/graduate degrees. With facilities on the UH campus and in the
Texas Medical Center, the UH College of Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation
Council for Pharmacy Education.
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