Recurring Klebsiella pneumoniae pyogenic liver abscesses in a resident of San Diego, California, due to a K1 strain carrying the virulence plasmid.

We report a diabetic patient who had three episodes of cryptogenic liver abscess due to Klebsiella pneumoniae. He was a Caucasian who lived in California and had no epidemiological connection to East Asia. The isolate from his third episode was a hyperviscous K1 strain that carried the Klebsiella virulence plasmid.