Molecular characterization of clinical multiresistant isolates of Acinetobacter sp. from hospitals in Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
BACKGROUND
Hospitals around the world have presented multiresistant Acinetobacter sp. outbreaks. The spread of these isolates that harbor an increasing variety of resistance genes makes the treatment of these infections and their control within the hospital environment more difficult. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence and dissemination of Acinetobacter sp. multiresistant isolates and to identify acquired resistance genes.


METHODS
We analyzed 274 clinical isolates of Acinetobacter sp. from five hospitals in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. We evaluated the susceptibility to antimicrobial, acquired resistance genes from Ambler's classes B and D, and performed molecular typing of the isolates using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) technique.


RESULTS
A high (68%) percentage of multiresistant isolates of Acinetobacter sp. was observed, and 69% were resistant to carbapenems. We identified 84% of isolates belonging to species A. baumannii because they presented the gene blaOXA-51. The gene blaOXA-23 was detected in 62% of the isolates, and among these, 98% were resistant to carbapenems. Using the ERIC-PCR technique, we identified clones of Acinetobacter sp. spread among the four hospitals analyzed during the sampling period.


CONCLUSIONS
The data indicate the dissemination of Acinetobacter sp. isolates among hospitals and their permanence in the hospital after one year.
Programa de Pos Graduacao em Microbiologia Agricola e do Ambiente, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.
Alessandra Einsfeld
AE
Ferreira
Desirée Padilha
DP
Marchetti
Gabriela Rosa da
GR
Cunha
Lyvia Moreira de
LM
Oliveira
Daiane Bopp
DB
Fuentefria
Aline Gehlen
AG
Dall Bello
Afonso Luis
AL
Barth
Gertrudes
G
Corção
D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001938:Brazil; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D052978:Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial