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Molecular Surveillance of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

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Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacterial strain which demonstrates an elevated wide range multidrug resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics, has been linked to recent major global outbreaks, raising a major clinical concern. Its reduced antibiotic susceptibility is closely related to the acquisition of a potent carbapenemase and/or intrinsic gene “over expression” through insertion sequences. Hence, this study aimed at investigating the antimicrobial susceptibility and molecular mechanisms underlying β-lactam resistance in A. baumannii, isolated at an academic medical centre. To understand the basis of resistance, 103 multidrug-resistant (MDR) A. baumannii isolates were collected, their antibiotic susceptibility was tested phenotypically, and then molecular analyses were performed, by testing a range of commonly encountered carbapenemases—OXA-51, OXA-23, NDM, VIM, and KPC. All strains demonstrated pan-resistance to most of the advanced antibiotics tested, including piperacillin/tazobactam, ceftazidime, cefepime, and ciprofloxacin. Moreover, majority of isolates exhibited resistance to imipenem (98.1%) and trimethoprim (90.3%). Approximately 50% of the strains showed meropenem, amikacin, and gentamycin resistance; however, lower resistance rate to tigecycline (4.9%) was noted. Moreover, isolates contained potent carbapenemases such as the intrinsic OXA-51 (89.3%), as well as the acquired resistant genes OXA-23 (68.9%), NDM (84.5%), and VIM (88.3%). The insertion sequence element ISAba1 was only detected in 35.9% of the strains. Potent resistant genes known to be carried on mobile genetic elements that aid the spread of highly resistant phenotypes were observed in a majority of isolates. These findings enforce the need for vigilant infection control measures and continuous surveillance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the deanship of scientific research, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia (IRB-PGS-2018-03-178). We would like to thank the technical staff at the Microbiology Lab of King Fahad University Hospital, especially Mr. Untoy Rashan, for his help with isolate collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia

    Aisha M. AlAmri

  2. Department of Lab. Medicine, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

    Ameerah M. AlQurayan

  3. Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia

    Tunny Sebastian

  4. Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia

    Amani M. AlNimr

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  1. Aisha M. AlAmri
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  2. Ameerah M. AlQurayan
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  4. Amani M. AlNimr
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Correspondence to Aisha M. AlAmri.

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AlAmri, A.M., AlQurayan, A.M., Sebastian, T. et al. Molecular Surveillance of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Curr Microbiol 77, 335–342 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-019-01836-z

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