title: Molecular analysis of Acinetobacter baumannii strains isolated in Lebanon using four different typing methods.
abstract: This study analyzed 42 Acinetobacter baumannii strains collected between 2009-2012 from different hospitals in Beyrouth and North Lebanon to better understand the epidemiology and carbapenem resistance mechanisms in our collection and to compare the robustness of pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) and blaOXA-51 sequence-based typing (SBT). Among 31 carbapenem resistant strains, we have detected three carbapenem resistance genes: 28 carried the blaOXA-23 gene, 1 the blaOXA-24 gene and 2 strains the blaOXA-58 gene. This is the first detection of blaOXA-23 and blaOXA-24 in Lebanon. PFGE identified 11 types and was the most discriminating technique followed by rep-PCR (9 types), blaOXA-51 SBT (8 types) and MLST (7 types). The PFGE type A'/ST2 was the dominant genotype in our collection present in Beyrouth and North Lebanon. The clustering agreement between all techniques was measured by adjust Wallace coefficient. An overall agreement has been demonstrated. High values of adjust Wallace coefficient were found with followed combinations: PFGE to predict MLST types  = 100%, PFGE to predict blaOXA-51 SBT = 100%, blaOXA-51 SBT to predict MLST = 100%, MLST to predict blaOXA-51 SBT = 84.7%, rep-PCR to predict MLST = 81.5%, PFGE to predict rep-PCR = 69% and rep-PCR to predict blaOXA-51 SBT = 67.2%. PFGE and MLST are gold standard methods for outbreaks investigation and population structure studies respectively. Otherwise, these two techniques are technically, time and cost demanding. We recommend the use of blaOXA-51 SBT as first typing method to screen isolates and assign them to their corresponding clonal lineages. Repetitive sequence-based PCR is a rapid tool to access outbreaks but careful interpretation of results must be always performed.
authors.affiliation: L'UNAM Université, Université d'Angers, Groupe d'Etude des Interactions Hôte-Pathogène, UPRES EA3142, Institut de Biologie en Santé - IRIS, CHU, Angers cedex, France; Laboratoire de Santé et environnement, Centre AZM pour la recherche en Biotechnologie et ses applications, Université Libanaise, Tripoli, Liban.
authors.forename: Rayane
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rafei
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Santé et environnement, Centre AZM pour la recherche en Biotechnologie et ses applications, Université Libanaise, Tripoli, Liban.
authors.forename: Fouad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dabboussi
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Santé et environnement, Centre AZM pour la recherche en Biotechnologie et ses applications, Université Libanaise, Tripoli, Liban.
authors.forename: Monzer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamze
authors.affiliation: L'UNAM Université, Université d'Angers, Groupe d'Etude des Interactions Hôte-Pathogène, UPRES EA3142, Institut de Biologie en Santé - IRIS, CHU, Angers cedex, France; Laboratoire de Bactériologie, Institut de Biologie en Santé - PBH, CHU, Angers cedex, France.
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eveillard
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Bactériologie, Institut de Biologie en Santé - PBH, CHU, Angers cedex, France.
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lemarié
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Bactériologie, Institut de Biologie en Santé - PBH, CHU, Angers cedex, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Pierre
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Gaultier
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Santé et environnement, Centre AZM pour la recherche en Biotechnologie et ses applications, Université Libanaise, Tripoli, Liban.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mallat
authors.affiliation: Ain wa zein Hospital, Shouf, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Rima
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moghnieh
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Lebanese American University Medical Center Rizk Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Rola
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Husni-Samaha
authors.affiliation: L'UNAM Université, Université d'Angers, Groupe d'Etude des Interactions Hôte-Pathogène, UPRES EA3142, Institut de Biologie en Santé - IRIS, CHU, Angers cedex, France; Laboratoire de Bactériologie, Institut de Biologie en Santé - PBH, CHU, Angers cedex, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Laure
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Joly-Guillou
authors.affiliation: L'UNAM Université, Université d'Angers, Groupe d'Etude des Interactions Hôte-Pathogène, UPRES EA3142, Institut de Biologie en Santé - IRIS, CHU, Angers cedex, France; Laboratoire de Bactériologie, Institut de Biologie en Santé - PBH, CHU, Angers cedex, France.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kempf
mesh_terms: D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D015780:Carbapenems / Q000494:pharmacology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon / Q000453:epidemiology; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015780:Carbapenems