Abstract
Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for nosocomial infections due to biofilm formation on the surface of implantable medical devices. Thirty (30) strains of A. baumannii were isolated from medical devices and tested for their ability to form a biofilm. The factors that may influence this process, such as the hydrophobicity of the bacterial wall, temperature, duration of implantation and the nature of the medical device, were also investigated. Strains were able to form a biofilm; however this process was more substantial at 30°C than at 37°C and was maximal after 96 h of incubation. Strains seem to adhere better to silicone and latex than to polyvinylchloride (PVC) and no apparent relationship was found between hydrophobicity and biofilm formation. Key words: Acinetobacter baumannii, biofilm, medical devices.
Highlights
Biofilm is a microbially derived sessile community which is characterized by cells that are irreversibly attached to a substratum or interface with each other, and embedded in a matrix of self-produced extracellular polymeric substances (Lee et al, 2008)
Biofilm formation has been linked to the survival of pathogenic bacteria in the hospital environment and has been connected to infections associated with indwelling medical devices (Martí et al, 2011)
With regard to the role of A. baumannii in medical device-related infections, the purpose of this paper is to study for the first time in Algeria, the ability of clinical A. baumannii isolated from medical devices to form biofilm
Summary
Biofilm is a microbially derived sessile community which is characterized by cells that are irreversibly attached to a substratum or interface with each other, and embedded in a matrix of self-produced extracellular polymeric substances (Lee et al, 2008). Biofilm formation has been linked to the survival of pathogenic bacteria in the hospital environment and has been connected to infections associated with indwelling medical devices (Martí et al, 2011). More than 60% of hospital-acquired infections worldwide are due to bacteria forming biofilms on medical devices (Lichter et al, 2009; Treter and Macedo, 2011). The medical consequence of these devices-related infections can be life threatening and may lead to device removal. In such a situation, the management of these devices can be a difficult and costly affair (Singh et al, 2011)
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