Persistent nasal carriers of Acinetobacter baumannii in long-term-care facilities

Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii and Staphylococcus aureus have persisted as 2 major pathogens worldwide. We designed a prevalence study to investigate the prevalence of nasal carriage of S aureus and A baumannii in long-term-care facilities (LCTFs) and their collaborative community hospitals. In addition, we aimed to clarify persistent or nonpersistent carriage of the 2 organisms among residents of LTCFs. We performed a prevalence study concerning nasal carriers of A baumannii and S aureus in 3 LTCFs and 1 collaborative community hospital. Seventy subjects were enrolled and clustered into 3 groups: the elderly sick group (n = 24), the elderly healthy group (n = 33), and the healthy health care worker group (n = 13). Nasal samples were collected, and the nuc and mecA genes of S aureus and the blaOXA gene of A baumannii were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. Among the 3 groups, the rate of nasal carriage of S aureus was approximately 0%-15%. However, the rate for A baumannii was approximately 54%-92%. Notably, the persistent carrier rate of A baumannii in the elderly sick group was 83.3% (20 out of 24) despite a 12.5% (3 out of 24) rate of carbapenem-resistant A baumannii. We emphasized that the persistent nasal carriage of A baumannii in LTCFs could be another portal of exit to cause A baumannii infection in Taiwan.