Antimicrobial susceptibility profiling and genomic diversity of Acinetobacter baumannii isolates: A study in western Iran

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Acinetobacter baumannii is an aerobic non-motile Gram-negative bacterial pathogen that is resistant to most antibiotics. Carbapenems are the most common antibiotics for the treatment of infections caused by this pathogen. Mechanisms of antibiotic-resistance in A. baumannii are mainly mediated by efflux pumps-lactamases. The aim of this study was to determine antibiotic susceptibility, the possibility of existence of OXAs genes and fingerprinting by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) among clinical isolates of Acinetobacter collected from Kermanshah hospitals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and four isolates were collected from patients attending Imam Reza, Taleghani and Imam Khomeini hospitals of Kermanshah (Iran). Isolates were identified by biochemical tests and API 20NE kit. The susceptibility to different antibiotics was assessed with Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. PCR was performed for detection of bla (OXA-23), bla (OXA-24), bla (OXA-51) and bla (OXA-58) beta-lactamase genes. Clonal relatedness was estimated by PFGE (with the restriction enzyme Apa I) and DNA patterns were analyzed by Gel compare II 6.5 software. RESULTS: All isolates showed high-level of resistance to imipenem, meropenem as well as to other antimicrobial agents, while no resistance to polymyxin B, colistin, tigecylcine and minocycline was observed. The bla (OXA-23like) and bla (OXA-24 like) were found among 77.9% and 19.2% of the isolates, respectively. All isolates were positive for bla (OXA-51), but none produced any amplicon for bla (OXA-58). PFGE genotype analysis suggested the existence of eight clones among the 104 strains [A (n = 35), B (n = 29), C (n = 19), D (n = 10), E (n = 4), F (n = 3), G (n = 3), H (n = 1)]. Clone A was the dominant clone in hospital settings particularly infection wards so that the isolates in this group, compared to the other clones, showed higher levels of resistance to antibiotics. CONCLUSION: The bla (OXA-51-like) and bla (OXA-23like) were the predominant mechanisms of resistance to imipenem in A. baumannii. A high prevalence of clone A, B and C in different parts of the healthcare system showed that hospitalized patients should be safeguarded to prevent the spread of these clones. Early recognition of the presence of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii clones is useful for preventing their spread within the hospital environment.