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Received May 25, 2017; Revised Oct 31, 2017; Accepted Dec 14, 2017
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1. Introduction
Acinetobacter baumannii is a strictly aerobic, nonmotile, Gram-negative, nonfermentative, oxidase-negative, and catalase-positive organism. Within the healthcare settings, Acinetobacter baumannii has become a common pathogen, which can infect the respiratory tract, blood, soft tissues, and urinary tract of an individual. It is the etiological agent of nosocomial infections resulting in septicemia, meningitis, endocarditis, pneumonia, wound, and urinary tract infections [1, 2]. There are 32 Acinetobacter named and unnamed species, which have been identified [3]. The Acinetobacter species cause infections, which are associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates [4, 5].
A. baumannii is tolerant to wide ranges of temperature, pH, and humidity. Studies have shown that this bacterium can survive on dry surfaces for 5 months, posing a challenge to hospital infection control measures [4]; therefore, this pathogen is considered as progressively important nosocomial pathogen, which can cause outbreak of serious infections. Despite the fact that the organism is often nosocomial, initial infection can be transmitted by patients, admitted from other hospitals [6, 7].
Almost 25 years ago, A. baumannii was found to be resistant against antimicrobial drugs, such as aminopenicillins, cephalosporins, first- and second-generation cephalosporins, cephamycins, aminoglycosides, ureidopenicillins, chloramphenicol, and tetracyclines. Strains of A. baumannii have started to acquire resistance to newly developed antimicrobial drugs and become prevalent in many hospitals [8]. More recently, the term “extensively drug-resistant” A. baumannii (XDRAB) has been used to characterize bacterial isolates resistant to all authorized antibiotics except two categories of antibiotic such as tigecycline and polymyxins [9].
The possibility of A. baumannii isolation from hospitalized patients is related to some important factors, such as bacterial colonization, medical staff-to-patient ratio, and other ward characteristics [10]. The current study was designed to determine the prevalence of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii in Aseer Region. Bacterial strains were isolated from patients who attended Aseer Central Hospital, Aseer Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
2. Materials and Methods
2. 1. Ethical Approval
This research was approved by Research Ethics Committee, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
2.2. Bacterial...