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Gut colonization by multidrug-resistant and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in neonates

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Abstract

Infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii are a threat to neonates because of its resistance to antimicrobials, including carbapenems. In 2007, A. baumannii emerged as an important aerobic Gram-negative bacillus (12.5%, 4/32) that caused sepsis in our unit. A. baumannii from the gut of the neonates was analyzed, as this could be indicative of the antibiotic resistance of the organisms. The study attempts to understand the gut colonization with multidrug-resistant A. baumannii among hospitalized neonates with special reference to carbapenem resistance. A. baumannii was found in the gut of 11% of babies. Interestingly, 60.7% (17/28) and 21.4% (6/28) of the isolates from the gut were multidrug-resistant and carbapenem-resistant, respectively. The number of multidrug-resistant and carbapenem-resistant isolates from blood cultures were 3/4 and 1/4, respectively. The study reports for the first time OXA-23 and OXA-58 carbapenemases in A. baumannii from India. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns indicated that the strains were diverse and no epidemic clone existed. Though A. baumannii gut colonization could not be implicated as a risk factor for subsequent sepsis, the high rate of isolation of multidrug-resistant and carbapenem-resistant isolates indicates that these therapeutic options might be drastically reduced among neonates in the future.

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Acknowledgment

Subhasree Roy was supported by a fellowship from the Collaborative Research Center of Okayama University for Infectious Diseases in India and this study was supported by institutional funding (Indian Council of Medical Research).

The authors would like to thank Dr. K. Rajendran for the statistical analysis, Mr. Subhadeep De for his laboratory assistance and the staff of the Department of Neonatology, SSKM Hospital, who cared for the neonates. The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

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None to be declared.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bacteriology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P33, CIT Road, Scheme XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata, 700010, India

    S. Roy, P. Das & S. Basu

  2. Department of Neonatology, Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research, SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, 700020, India

    R. Viswanathan & A. Singh

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  1. S. Roy
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  2. R. Viswanathan
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  3. A. Singh
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  4. P. Das
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  5. S. Basu
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Correspondence to S. Basu.

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Roy, S., Viswanathan, R., Singh, A. et al. Gut colonization by multidrug-resistant and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in neonates. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 29, 1495–1500 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-010-1030-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-010-1030-z

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