Characterization of Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Strains Isolated from Hospitalized Patients in Palestine

Abstract

The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizes Acinetobacter baumannii as a source of global outbreaks and epidemics especially due to its increasing resistance to commercially available antibiotics. In this study, 69 single patient multidrug resistant isolates collected from all over Palestine, except Gaza, were studied. All the isolates were resistant to all the β–lactam antibiotics including the carbapenems. Of the 69 isolates, 82.6% were positive for blaOXA-23, 14.5% were positive for blaOXA-24, and 3% were positive for blaOXA-58. None were positive for blaOXA-143 and blaOXA-235. In addition, 5.8% and 0% were positive for blaNDM and blaKPC, respectively. Of the 69 isolates, none were positive for the aminoglycoside aphA6 gene while 93% were positive for the aphA1 gene. The acetyltransferases aacC1 and aacA4 genes tested positive in 22% and 13% of the isolates, respectively. The ompA biofilm-producing virulence gene was detected in all isolates. Finally, Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) of 13 isolates revealed that more than one strain of A. baumannii was circulating in Palestinian hospitals as results revealed that 7 isolates were of ST208, 2 isolates ST218, 1 isolate ST231, 1 isolate ST348, and 2 new Sequence Types. The detection of these drug resistant pathogens is a reminder of the importance of active surveillance for resistant bacteria in order to prevent their spread in hospital settings.

Clonal expansion of colistin-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates in Cape Town, South Africa

“…The four isolates that underwent WGS showed low SNP diversity, yet were obtained from different wards in the tertiary hospital. The sequence type of these clonally related isolates is ST1, which is part of global clone 1, one of the dominating clones worldwide (Ewers et al, 2016;Martins et al, 2012;Ghaith et al, 2017;Handal et al, 2017;Hamidian et al, 2014). Given the discriminatory power of rep-PCR, it is almost certain that all of the clonal isolates belong to ST1.…”

Combating Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens with Host-Directed Nonantibiotic Therapeutics

“…In pneumonic plague, for which the therapeutic window in both humans and rodents is narrow (25,26), all three drugs were effective when administered at up to 24 h p.i. (Fig.…”

“…Additionally, other MAR pathogens of high public health importance include Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which are currently classified as serious and urgent threats by the CDC, respectively (1). Both of these pathogens are associated with several hospital-acquired complications, including urinary tract infections (UTIs), bloodstream infections, wound infections, meningitis, the formation of liver abscesses and endophthalmitis, and ventilator-associated pneumonia (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30).…”

Molecular Characterization of Carbapenem-ResistantAcinetobacter baumanniiClinical Isolates from Egyptian Patients

“…baumannii investigated isolates (22,36,37). However, another Egyptian study couldn't find the former gene among any of their studied carbapenem resistant A. baumannii isolates (38).…”