Endemic Carbapenem Resistance Associated with OXA-40 Carbapenemase among Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates from a Hospital in Northern Spain

Abstract

Eighty-two carbapenem-resistant isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii from a single hospital in Bilbao were typed into two major clusters and several subclusters. Disk synergy tests and PCR indicated the production of a zinc-independent OXA-class carbapenemase. Sequencing identified this enzyme, OXA-40, as a variant of the OXA-24-OXA-25-OXA-26 cluster.

Regional Occurrence of Plasmid-Mediated Carbapenem-Hydrolyzing Oxacillinase OXA-58 in Acinetobacter spp. in Europe

“…The carbapenem-hydrolyzing oxacillinase gene bla OXA-23 was also identified in two A. baumannii isolates and the A. junii isolate collected from Romania (Table 1). In addition, bla OXA-40 was found in several isolates recovered from Barcelona and Madrid (Table 1), strengthening the notion of endemicity of oxacillinase OXA-40 in Spain (5,12).…”

Carbapenemases: the Versatile β-Lactamases

“…For example, OXA-23 has been identified in outbreaks of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Korea, and Tahiti (37,85,142,211). OXA-24 and OXA-40, which differ by two amino acids, were found in clonal Acinetobacter outbreaks in hospitals from Spain and Portugal (12,40,119). OXA-40 was also the first carbapenem-hydrolyzing oxacillinase reported in the United States (116).…”

Outbreak of Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Producing the Carbapenemase OXA-23 in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Papeete, French Polynesia

“…Carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii strains have been isolated in Europe, Asia, and North and South America (1,2,4,5,8,13,16). Outbreaks of OXA-23-producing A. baumannii isolates have also been reported in Spain and in Brazil (2,4,8).…”

“…Whereas the metalloenzymes are of IMP and VIM types, the carbapenem-hydrolyzing oxacillinases are members of three subgroups of enzymes: the OXA-23, OXA-24, and OXA-58 enzymes (2,5,9,15,16,17). Outbreaks of OXA-type carbapenemase-producing A. baumannii strains have been reported worldwide: OXA-24 in Madrid, Spain (4,5); OXA-23 in Spain and in Curitiba, Brazil (2,8); OXA-58 in Toulouse, France (11); and OXA-40 in Bilbao, Spain (13). The aim of this study was to analyze the molecular mechanism of carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii strains isolated at the Centre Hospitalier de Polynésie Française (CHPF), the main hospital of Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia, that is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.…”