title: Susceptibility patterns and molecular epidemiology of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains from three military hospitals in China.
abstract: To date, little has been reported on the susceptibility patterns and molecular characterisation of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRAB) clinical isolates from different Chinese military hospitals. In this study, 49 MDRAB strains were collected from three military hospitals during 2007. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 13 antibiotics were determined for each strain. Genotyping and dendrogram analysis of MDRAB strains were performed using the repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) DiversiLab Microbial Typing System. PCR screening was carried out to investigate the distribution of various genes contributing to each resistance phenotype in the main clonal types. The rates of resistance to the majority of antibiotics tested varied between 75.5% and 100%, with the exception of polymyxin B. Two DiversiLab rep-PCR clones (A and B) were widespread in three hospitals in different cities, one clone (D) existed only in two hospitals located in the same city (Beijing), and the other two clones (C and E) were present in only one hospital. In addition, this study shows a high distribution of intI1, ISAba1, bla(OXA-23), bla(ADC), adeB, adeJ, abeM and tet(B) genes, which mediate resistance to structurally unrelated antimicrobials in MDRAB isolates. These results suggest that all isolates were resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics. In addition, clonal dissemination among the three hospitals located in two different cities in China, previously documented in many regions of Europe and Asia-Pacific nations, emphasises the epidemic potential of these MDRAB isolates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, General Hospital of People's Liberation Army, No. 28 Fu Xing Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100853, China. zhongqiangyan@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Zhong-Qiang
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Ding-Xia
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Jing-Rong
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Li-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiu-Li
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002681:China; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006772:Hospitals, Military; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial