Prevalence of Carbapenem Resistance Genes among <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> Isolated from a Teaching Hospital in Taiwan

The problem of antibiotic-resistant strains has become a global public issue; antibiotic resistance not only limits the choice of treatments but also increases morbidity, mortality and treatment costs. The multi-drug resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> is occurring simultaneously in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pai-Wei Su, Emirlyn Cheng Yang, Sin-Hua Moi, Cheng-Hong Yang, Li-Yeh Chuang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-08-01
Series:Antibiotics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/12/9/1357
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Summary:The problem of antibiotic-resistant strains has become a global public issue; antibiotic resistance not only limits the choice of treatments but also increases morbidity, mortality and treatment costs. The multi-drug resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> is occurring simultaneously in hospitals and has become a major public health issue worldwide. Although many medical units have begun to control the use of antibiotics and paid attention to the issue of drug resistance, understanding the transmission pathways of clinical drug-resistant bacteria and drug-resistant mechanisms can be effective in real-time control and prevent the outbreak of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. In this study, a total of 154 isolates of <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> obtained from Chia-Yi Christian Hospital in Taiwan were collected for specific resistance genotyping analysis. Ten genes related to drug resistance, including <i>bla</i>OXA-51-like, <i>bla</i>OXA-23-like, <i>bla</i>OXA-58-like, <i>bla</i>OXA-24-like, <i>bla</i>OXA-143-like, <i>tnp</i>A, IS<i>Aba</i>1, <i>bla</i>PER-1, <i>bla</i>NDM and <i>bla</i>ADC, and the repetitive element (ERIC2) were selected for genotyping analysis. The results revealed that 135 <i>A. baumannii</i> isolates (87.6%) carried the <i>bla</i>OXA-51-like gene, 4.5% of the isolates harbored the <i>bla</i>OXA-23-like gene, and 3.2% of the isolates carried the <i>bla</i>OXA-58-like gene. However, neither the <i>bla</i>OXA-24-like nor <i>bla</i>OXA-143-like genes were detected in the isolates. Analysis of ESBL-producing strains revealed that <i>bla</i>NDM was not found in the test strains, but 38.3% of the test isolates carried <i>bla</i>PER-1. In addition, <i>bla</i>ADC, <i>tnp</i>A and IS<i>Aba</i>1genes were found in 64.9%, 74% and 93% of the isolates, respectively. Among the carbapenem-resistant strains of <i>A. baumannii</i>, 68% of the isolates presenting a higher antibiotic resistance carried both <i>tnp</i>A and IS<i>Aba</i>1 genes. Analysis of the relationship between their phenotypes (antibiotic resistant and biofilm formation) and genotypes (antibiotic-resistant genes and biofilm-related genes) studied indicated that the <i>bap</i>, <i>omp</i>A, IS<i>Aba</i>1and <i>bla</i>OXA-51 genes influenced biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance patterns based on the statistical results of a hierarchical clustering dendrogram. The analysis of the antibiotic-resistant mechanism provides valuable information for the screening, identification, diagnosis, treatment and control of clinical antibiotic-resistant pathogens, and is an important reference pointer to prevent strains from producing resistance.
ISSN:2079-6382