Abstract
Background/Objectives: The genus Acinetobacter demonstrates resistance to antibiotics and has been shown to spread in the hospital environment causing epidemic outbreaks among hospitalized patients. The objectives of the present study was to investigate the antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, and clonality among Acinetobacter baumannii strains. Materials and Methods: The study involved 6 (I Outbreak) and 3 (II Outbreak) A. baumannii strains isolated from patients hospitalized in vascular surgery unit. Results: All tested A. baumannii strains were extensively drug resistant (XDR) and all the isolates were carbapenem-resistant and among them, all carried the blaOXA-51 gene, the blaOXA-24 gene, as well as the blaOXA-23 gene. All of the investigated strains had the ability to form a biofilm, but all of them produced less biofilm than the reference strain. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) showed that all strains belonged to the ST2 clone. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) divided the tested outbreak strains into two clones (A and B). Conclusion: This study shows a nosocomial spread of XDR A. baumannii ST2 having the blaOXA-51 gene, the blaOXA-24 gene, as well as the blaOXA-23 gene, low biofilm formers, that was prevalent in the vascular surgery unit. To identify the current situation of vascular surgery departments targeted epidemiological investigation was needed. Effective implementation of infection control prevented the spread of the epidemic outbreaks.
Highlights
Acinetobacter baumannii has become one of the most difficult healthcare associated infection pathogens to control and treat
The study involved 6 (I Outbreak, IO) and 3 (II Outbreak, IIO) clinically significant nonduplicate A. baumannii isolates isolated from surgical site infections (SSIs) and wounds derived from patients hospitalized in the vascular surgery unit in a specialist hospital in Kraków
The epidemic outbreaks analyzed in our study were caused by the strains of A. baumannii belonging to type ST2, which is a characteristic and dominant clone in Poland and Europe [39,40,41]
Summary
Acinetobacter baumannii has become one of the most difficult healthcare associated infection pathogens to control and treat. It has, recently, demonstrated a rapid increase in resistance to antimicrobials, being multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drugresistant (XDR) [1]. A. baumannii can cause pneumonia, bloodstream, urinary tract, and surgical site infections [2,3]. It has been shown to spread in the hospital environment.
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More From: International journal of environmental research and public health
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