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. 2006 Sep;50(9):2941-5.
doi: 10.1128/AAC.00116-06.

Multicity outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates producing the carbapenemase OXA-40

Karen Lolans  1 , Thomas W Rice, L Silvia Munoz-Price, John P Quinn
Affiliations

Multicity outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates producing the carbapenemase OXA-40

Karen Lolans et al. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2006 Sep.

Abstract

During 2005 we detected a multicity outbreak of infections or colonization due to high-level imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MIC, 64 microg/ml). One hundred isolates from diverse sources were obtained from seven acute-care hospitals and two extended-care facilities; 97% of the isolates belonged to one clone. Susceptibility testing of the first 42 isolates (January to April 2005) revealed broad resistance profiles. Half of the isolates were susceptible to ceftazidime, with many isolates susceptible only to colistin. The level of AmpC beta-lactamase expression was stronger in isolates resistant to ceftazidime. PCR and subsequent nucleotide sequencing analysis identified bla(OXA-40). The presence of an OXA-40 beta-lactamase in these isolates correlated with the carbapenem resistance. By Southern blot analysis, a bla(OXA-40)-specific probe revealed that the gene was both plasmid and chromosomally located. This is the first time in the United States that such carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii has been attributable to a carbapenemase.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Localization of blaOXA-40 gene in I-CeuI-generated chromosome fragments of ACB20 pulsotype A. baumannii separated by PFGE. (A) Electrophoretic pattern after I-CeuI digestion; (B) hybridization with a probe specific for rRNA genes; (C) hybridization with a probe specific for blaOXA-40 gene. Lanes: 1, imipenem-susceptible ACB1 type; 2 and 3, imipenem-resistant ACB20 types. Marker sizes are indicated to the left.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Plasmid localization of the blaOXA-40 gene in ACB20-type A. baumannii. (A) Undigested plasmid profiles; (B) hybridization with a probe specific for the blaOXA-40 gene. Lanes: 1, imipenem-susceptible ACB1 type A. baumannii; 2 and 3, imipenem-resistant ACB20-type A. baumannii; M, molecular marker.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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