title: Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii outbreak: an investigation of the possible routes of transmission.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish the possible sources and routes of transmission of a multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii outbreak involving 22 patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive, retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  An environmental investigation was undertaken, monitoring surfaces, air and water. Reconstruction of the spread of the infection took several factors into account such as intrahospital movements of patients and healthcare personnel, hospitalization of patients in the same ward and in chronologically compatible periods, and length of stay. A. baumannii clinical samples were typed using the Multilocus Sequence Typing scheme.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The outbreak originated from a patient admitted to the sub-intensive care unit, and the infection subsequently spread to other wards. The allelic profile proved to be the same for all the clinical isolates. Environmental monitoring yielded negative results for A. baumannii.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that this epidemic spread through cross-transmission involving healthcare workers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Via Pastore 1, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Cristina
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Spagnolo
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cenderello
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fabbri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sartini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ottria
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Orlando
mesh_terms: D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D010360:Patient Transfer; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult