Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: A Wily, Existential Threat to Modern Healthcare

Acinetobacter baumannii, a Gram-negative WHO critical priority pathogen, is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen associated with increasing hospital- and community-acquired infections. The emergence of a multidrug-resistant pathogen, especially the carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB), has left us with extremely limited treatment options and, consequently, very high morbidity and mortality rates. As per WHO, the transmissibility of A. baumannii is considered between moderate to high. This review provides a unique comprehensive insight into pathogen's global epidemiology, pathogenesis, host-pathogen interaction, tools to study the pathogen, associated diseases, available treatment options, and how the pathogen is becoming resistant to almost all the treatment options available, thus presenting a holistic picture.