2458. A comprehensive approach to ending an outbreak of rare OXA-72 producing carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii at a Community Hospital, Kansas City, MO, 2018

Abstract

BackgroundIn 2018, an outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) containing a rare β-lactamase (OXA-72) was detected at Research Medical Center, a 511 bed community hospital in Kansas City, MO. We describe a coordinated effort among hospital infection control personnel and public health to control the outbreak.MethodsWe defined a case as isolation of OXA-72-producing CRAB from any clinical culture collected from a hospitalized patient during 2018. We assessed infection control practices, including adherence to transmission-based precautions and hand hygiene, environmental cleaning and patient transfers. After patients with CRAB were discharged, terminal cleaning was performed using bleach and environmental cultures were collected; rooms were closed to new patients until CRAB was not isolated. Whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatics analyses were performed.ResultsFrom January through October, CRAB was isolated from clinical cultures among 20 patients; 6 OXA-72-positive cases were identified during June and July. We found practices for cleaning and disinfection of shared medical equipment were not clearly delineated among nursing and environmental services staff and we ensured responsibilities were well defined. W restricted all patients with CRAB to certain medical units in order to limit the spread. In total, 248 environmental cultures were collected; 151 (61%) from inside patient rooms and 97 (39%) from shared medical equipment or surfaces outside patient rooms. Overall, Acintobacter baumannii was isolated from 39 (16%) environmental cultures (21 from inside rooms and 18 from outside rooms); 5 isolates were confirmed to contain OXA-72. Using WGS, we compared 6 clinical and 5 environmental OXA-72 CRAB isolates; all were determined to be genetically related (0–6 single nucleotide polymorphisms, 88.4% core genome) (figure). No additional cases were identified after these interventions.ConclusionWe identified widespread CRAB environmental contamination, illustrating the challenges of eradicating CRAB from the hospital environment. We developed a comprehensive approach focusing on infection control, environmental cleaning and culturing, and patient movement to stop the outbreak. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.