Prevalence of Digestive Tract Colonization of Carbapenem Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in Hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

This study aims to detect the prevalence of Acinetobacter baumannii colonization of the gastrointestinal tract of patients admitted to the intensive care units in two hospitals in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it aims to characterize the molecular mechanisms of carbapenem resistance in such isolates. From January to June 2014, 565 rectal swab specimens were screened for Acinetobacer strains and carbapenem resistance using chromagar Acinetobacter and chromagar KPC agar plates, respectively. Organism identification and susceptibility were detected using vitek2 system. A total of 47 Acinetobacter spp were detected and 35 of them were resistant to carbapenem making the prevalence of Acinetobacter spp 8.3% (47/565) and carbapenem resistance (6.2%, 35/565). The 47 strains had remarkable clonal diversity as revealed by pulse field gel electrophoresis. Using PCR, OXA-51, a chromosomal marker for Acinetobacter baumannii, was detected in 46 strains. OXA-23 beta lactamase was detected in all 35 carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. No IMP-, VIM-, SPM-, SIM-, GIM, KPC-, and NDM-beta lactamases were detected in these isolates. OXA-23 is the main mechanism of carbapenem resistance in these isolates. To our knowledge, this is the first study to detect the prevalence of Acinetobacter colonization in the digestive tract of ICU patients in Saudi Arabia. This study reveals the importance of having well established protocols for early identification of these multi drug resistant organisms, ...
Source: Journal of Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: J Med Microbiol Source Type: research