RETRACTED ARTICLE: Prevalence and emergence of carbapenemases-producing Gram-negative bacteria in Mediterranean basin
Authors: Najla Mathlouthi
Jean Marc Rolain
Sofiane Bakour
Charbel Al-Bayssari
Chedly Chouchani
Journal: Critical Reviews in Microbiology (2017)
Discipline: MICROBIOLOGY
Keywords: Carbapenemases; Gram-negative bacteria; Mediterranean countries.
Affiliations: Université Tunis El-Manar, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Laboratoire des Microorganismes et Biomolécules Actives, Campus Universitaire, El-Manar II, Tunisia;, Unité de recherche sur les maladies infectieuses et tropicales émergentes (URMITE), UM 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Aix-Marseille-Université, Marseille, France;, Université de Carthage, Institut Supérieur des Sciences et Technologies de l’Environnement de Borj-Cedria, Technopôle de Borj-Cedria, BP-1003, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia

Abstract:  The emergence and the global spread of carbapenemases concern to health services worldwide. Their celestial rise among Gram-negative bacilli has challenged both the scientific and pharmaceutical sectors. Indeed, infections caused by these bacteria have limited treatment options and have been associated with high mortality and morbidity rates. Carbapenemase producers are mainly identified among Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii and still mostly in hospital settings and rarely in the community. They are closely related to KPC, VIM, IMP, NDM, and OXA-48 types. The encoding genes are mostly plasmid located and associated with various mobile genetic elements. The Mediterranean area is of interest due to a great diversity and population mixing. The prevalence of carbapenemases is particularly high and variant among countries, partially depending on the population exchange relationship between the regions and the possible reservoirs of each carbapenemase. This review described the epidemiology of carbapenemases in this region of the world highlighting the worrisome situation and the need to screen and detect these enzymes to prevent and control their dissemination especially as it is clear that very few novel antibiotics will be introduced in the next few years, making the dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria of crucial importance worldwide. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 Statement of retraction, which reads as follows (from: https: www.tandfonline.com doi full 10.1080 1040841X.2017.1326488 ) The following article has been retracted from publication in the Taylor and Francis journal. Mathlouthi N, Al-Bayssari C, Bakour S, Rolain JM, Chouchani C, Prevalence and emergence of carbapenemases-producing Gram-negative bacteria in Mediterranean basin. Crit Rev Microbiol. 43:43u201361. Available from: http: dx.doi.org 10.3109 1040841X.2016.1160867. Version of Record published online 7 July 2016. Subsequent to publication, it has been determined that the article contains significant overlap with the following earlier published works: Cantu00f3n R, Aku00f3va M, Carmeli Y, Giske CG, Glupczynski Y, Gniadkowski M, Livermore DM, Miriagou V, Naas T, Rossolini GM, et al. 2012. Rapid evolution and spread of carbapenemases among Enterobacteriaceae in Europe, Clin Microbiol Infec 18:413u2013431. Available from: http: onlinelibrary.wiley.com doi 10.1111 j0.1469u20130691.2012.03821.x full. Djahmi N, Dunyach-Remy C, Pantel A, Dekhil M, Sotto A, Lavigne JP. 2014. Epidemiology of carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae and Acinetobacter baumannii in Mediterranean countries. BioMed Res Int. 1u201311. Available from: http: pdfs.semanticscholar.org 8a1a 24f9e80c74b14e8d7e6a9f245b26137f3182.pdf. World Health Organization. Antimicrobial resistance, global antimicrobial resistance surveillance system (GLASS). Available from: http: who.int antimicrobial-resistance global-action-plan surveillance glass en The above three articles were not cited or otherwise acknowledged. Taylor and Francis note we received, peer-reviewed, accepted and published the article in good faith based on warranties made by the authors with respect to originality and of our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and censure this action as it constitutes a breach of these warranties. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as retracted. ,