This portal is for Australian hospital and NATA pathology laboratories that need reagents to identify carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria and to measure susceptibility to the siderophore cephalosporin class. Eligible labs order kits here. There is no charge to the laboratory.
Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative organisms are a priority antimicrobial-resistance threat. They cause hard-to-treat infection in hospitals — especially the urinary tract, and pneumonia acquired in hospital or on a ventilator. The work below is about finding those bacteria and knowing which last-line β-lactam still has activity.
When Enterobacterales or Pseudomonas in urine or kidney tissue no longer respond to carbapenems, the isolate must be confirmed as carbapenemase-producing and then tested against remaining options.
MDR P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii complex and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in respiratory samples need rapid enzyme ID plus a reliable susceptibility method — disk first, MIC if the zone is uncertain.
Metallo-β-lactamase and OXA-48-like producers, and non-fermenters that fail meropenem, sit outside routine automated panels. That is why a dedicated pack exists for the bench.
After species ID (MALDI-TOF or equivalent) and a meropenem screen, a 5-plex lateral-flow assay differentiates KPC, NDM, VIM, IMP and OXA-48-like enzymes from a colony in about 15 minutes. PCR platforms remain available where the lab already runs them.
A 30 µg disk on standard Mueller-Hinton agar is the everyday screen. If the zone sits in a technical grey area, or a MIC must be reported, an iron-depleted broth microdilution panel is used. Routine Vitek/Phoenix panels do not replace that MIC method.