Clinical and molecular epidemiology of Acinetobacter baumannii bloodstream infections in an endemic setting

The transmission dynamics of Acinetobacter baumannii in endemic settings, and the relation between microbial properties and patients' clinical outcomes, are yet obscure and hampered by insufficient metadata.

Of 20 consecutive patients with A. baumannii bloodstream infection that were thoroughly analyzed at a single center, at least one transmission opportunity was evident for 85% of patients. This implies that patient-to-patient transmission is the major mode of A. baumannii acquisitions in health facilities. Moreover, all patients who died immediately (<24 h of admission) were infected with a single clone (ST457; relative risk = 1.6; p = 0.05).

This preliminary analysis should prompt further investigation by mapping genomic virulence determinants among A. baumannii ST457 lineage compared with other strains.