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Characterizing Multidrug Efflux Systems in Acinetobacter baumannii Using an Efflux-Deficient Bacterial Strain and a Single-Copy Gene Expression System
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Outbreak of extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii indigo-pigmented strains

Elisabet Vilacoba1, Marisa Almuzara, Lucia Gulone

  • 1Instituto de Microbiología y Parasitología Médica (IMPaM, UBA-CONICET), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology
|August 30, 2013
PubMed

Insights

An outbreak of rare indigo-pigmented Acinetobacter baumannii strains occurred in Argentina. These extensively drug-resistant bacteria belonged to a specific clonal complex and carried various genetic elements facilitating drug resistance.

Area of Science:

  • Clinical microbiology
  • Infectious disease epidemiology
  • Antimicrobial resistance

Background:

  • Pigmented strains of Acinetobacter baumannii are infrequently identified in clinical environments.
  • Acinetobacter baumannii is a significant nosocomial pathogen, often associated with multidrug resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize an outbreak of indigo-pigmented Acinetobacter baumannii in an Argentine acute care hospital.
  • To investigate the genetic relatedness and antimicrobial resistance mechanisms of the outbreak strains.

Main Methods:

  • Pan-PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assays were employed to determine the genetic profiles of the isolates.
  • Analysis of genetic elements associated with horizontal genetic transfer and drug resistance was performed.

Main Results:

  • The outbreak was caused by indigo-pigmented Acinetobacter baumannii strains belonging to the CC113(B)/CC79(P) clonal complex.
  • All outbreak strains exhibited extensive drug resistance.
  • Genetic elements including Tn2006, class 2 integrons, AbaR-type islands, and specific insertion sequences and resistance genes (strA, strB, florR, sul2) were identified.

Conclusions:

  • This study highlights a rare outbreak of extensively drug-resistant, indigo-pigmented Acinetobacter baumannii in Argentina.
  • The findings underscore the importance of molecular surveillance for identifying and controlling the spread of specific bacterial clones and their resistance determinants.

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