Carmen J. MazariegosAnna QuintoAndres HerreraSara E. BarillasLaura R. ValenzuelaGabriela OrdóñezPaola SierraCarolina ArévaloChristine SeahRoberto G. Melano2026-03-222026-03-22202410.1101/2024.04.04.588149https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.04.588149https://andeanlibrary.org/handle/123456789/84292ABSTRACT Five isolates (four Klebsiella pneumoniae and one Escherichia coli ) displaying resistance to piperacillin/tazobactam and ertapenem and reduced susceptibility to imipenem were found positive for bla OXA-48 -like genes ( bla OXA-181 and bla OXA-232 ) carried on plasmids described previously. Although two K. pneumoniae recovered in 2020 were clonally related, the results suggest that bla OXA-48 -like genes have been circulating in Guatemala since 2019. This is the first report of this type of carbapenemase in Central America.enErtapenemKlebsiella pneumoniaeImipenemMicrobiologyBiologyPlasmidPiperacillinEscherichia coliPiperacillin/tazobactamGenepreprint