Emergence of resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in critically ill patients within an acute care teaching hospital and a long-term acute care hospital.

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii is a gram-negative, coccobacillus found in water and is a significant nosocomial pathogen in hospitals. This report chronicles the appearance in June 2003 of a multidrug-resistant A baumannii (MDR-AB) strain, its dissemination, and interventions used to control it in an acute care hospital (ACH) and long-term acute care facility (LTAC).

Methods: Molecular typing using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) showed that 88 of 99 strains (89%) gave an identical banding designated as clone A.