Occurrence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clones at multiple hospitals in London and Southeast England.

From late 2003 to the end of 2005, the Health Protection Agency's national reference laboratories received approximately 1,600 referrals of Acinetobacter spp., including 419 and 58 examples, respectively, of two carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii lineages, designated OXA-23 clones 1 and 2. Representatives of these clones were obtained from 40 and 8 hospitals, respectively, in London or elsewhere in Southeast England.

Identification of Acinetobacter baumannii by detection of the blaOXA-51-like carbapenemase gene intrinsic to this species.

bla(OXA-51-like) was sought in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter species in a multiplex PCR, which also detects bla(OXA-23-like) and class 1 integrase genes. All isolates that gave a band for bla(OXA-51-like) identified as A. baumannii.

Detection and typing of integrons in epidemic strains of Acinetobacter baumannii found in the United Kingdom.

Integrons were sought in Acinetobacter isolates from hospitals in the United Kingdom by integrase gene PCR. Isolates were compared by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and most belonged to a small number of outbreak strains or clones of A. baumannii, which are highly successful in the United Kingdom.