title: Dissemination of multiple carbapenem-resistant clones of Acinetobacter baumannii in the Eastern District of Saudi Arabia.
abstract: It has previously been shown that carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii are frequently detected in Saudi Arabia. The present study aimed to identify the epidemiology and distribution of antibiotic resistance determinants in these bacteria. A total of 83 A. baumannii isolates were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and screened by PCR for carbapenemase genes and insertion sequences. Antibiotic sensitivity to imipenem, meropenem, tigecycline, and colistin were determined. Eight different PFGE groups were identified, and were spread across multiple hospitals. Many of the PFGE groups contained isolates belonging to World-wide clone 2. Carbapenem resistance or intermediate resistance was detected in 69% of isolates. The bla VIM gene was detected in 94% of isolates, while bla OXA-23-like genes were detected in 58%. The data demonstrate the co-existence and wide distribution of a number of clones of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii carrying multiple carbapenem-resistance determinants within hospitals in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Faisal University , Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulrahman A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al-Sultan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Forensic Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Anglia Ruskin University , Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Benjamin A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Faisal University , Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Elsayed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aboulmagd
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection and Immunity, Research Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Alfaisal University College of Medicine , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ; Liver Disease Research Center, King Saud University , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ahmed A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al-Qahtani
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection and Immunity, Research Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Marie Fe F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Bohol
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection and Immunity, Research Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Alfaisal University College of Medicine , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammed N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Al-Ahdal
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Investigación en Agentes Antibacterianos, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción , Concepción, Chile.
authors.forename: Andres F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Opazo
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Sebastian G B
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Amyes
keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii; OXA; PFGE; Saudi Arabia; VIM; carbapenem resistance