Acinetobacter junii: an emerging One Health pathogen.

Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii is the most well-known species from the genus Acinetobacter. However, other much less studied Acinetobacter species could be important opportunistic pathogens of animals, plants and humans. Here, we conducted the largest genomic epidemiological study of A. junii, which has been described as a source not only of human but also of animal infections. Our analyses show that this bacterium has spread globally and that, in some instances, human and non-human isolates are not well differentiated. Remarkably, some non-human isolates have important antibiotic resistance genes against important antibiotics used in human medicine. Based on our results, we propose that this pathogen must be considered an issue not only for humans but also for veterinary medicine.