Abstract
Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates have the ability to survive in the hospital niche for prolonged time periods and to develop resistance against multiple antimicrobial agents. Therefore, A. baumannii has emerged as an important cause of nosocomial outbreaks worldwide, especially in critical-care environments such as intensive care units. In the present communication, we report a multi-drug-resistant A. baumannii outbreak that occurred in an orthopedics department in Greece after the admission of a patient previously hospitalized in the intensive care unit of a Greek tertiary care hospital. Despite the implementation of infection control measures, 29 patients were infected, significantly raising their hospitalization periods and treatment costs. Interestingly, the outbreak was put under control after the department’s previously programmed relocation.
Highlights
Outbreaks caused by Multi-Drug-Resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii consider mainly burn and intensive care units (ICUs) around the world
We report here an A. baumannii outbreak in the orthopedic department of Veroia General Hospital, a regional hospital in Northern Greece, which was put under control only after the department’s relocation
The first MDR A. baumannii isolation was made in our hospital in 2007 from a patient of the orthopedic department; isolation rates of the microorganism remained low until the beginning of the outbreak in 2010
Summary
Outbreaks caused by Multi-Drug-Resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii consider mainly burn and intensive care units (ICUs) around the world. In Greece, carbapenem resistance among gram negative nosocomial pathogens has become a major public health problem in the last decade [1]. Several outbreaks of carbapenem resistant A. baumannii infections have been described in tertiary care. Microorganisms 2013, 1 hospitals, mainly due to OXA (Oxacillinase-Class D β-lactamase)-carbapenemase-producing isolates [2,3,4] whereas VIM (Verona Integron-encoded Metallo-β-lactamase)-producers have been detected sporadically [5,6,7]. We report here an A. baumannii outbreak in the orthopedic department of Veroia General Hospital, a regional hospital in Northern Greece, which was put under control only after the department’s relocation
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