Dissemination of class I integron in Acinetobacter baumliannii isolated from ventilator-associated pneumonia patients and their environment

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2009 Nov;40(6):1284-92.

Abstract

Multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii has become the most common cause of health care-associated infections at Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital, Thailand. The objective of the study was to detect integrons using PCR-based method from 96 A. baumannii isolates from ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) patients and their environment. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined using a disk diffusion technique. Forty-six isolates exhibited integrase genes, with only class I and class II integron detected in 43 and 3 A. baumannii isolates, respectively. Twenty-seven of 52 clinical and 19 of 44 environmental isolates were integron-positive. Detection rate of integron-positive A. baumannii isolated from VAP patients increased from 25% to 83% over the 4 month study period. The majority (91%) of integron-positive A. baumannii showed resistance to 6 or more of 11 antibiotics tested and 72% of class I integron-positive isolates were imipenem-resistant. Thus, class I integron-positive A. baumannii had spread among the VAP patients and into hospital environment, the latter acting as reservoirs of potential pathogens possessing drug resistance genes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acinetobacter Infections / drug therapy
  • Acinetobacter Infections / enzymology
  • Acinetobacter Infections / genetics
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / drug effects
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / enzymology
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / genetics
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / isolation & purification*
  • Bacterial Typing Techniques
  • Cross Infection / drug therapy
  • Cross Infection / enzymology
  • Cross Infection / genetics
  • Cross Infection / microbiology*
  • DNA Primers
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / drug effects
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / genetics
  • Humans
  • Integrases / genetics
  • Integrons / genetics
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / drug therapy
  • Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / enzymology
  • Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / genetics
  • Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / microbiology*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Thailand / epidemiology
  • Trachea / microbiology

Substances

  • DNA Primers
  • Integrases