An outbreak of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex infection in the US military health care system associated with military operations in Iraq.

Background: We investigated an outbreak of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex infection among US service members injured in Iraq.

Methods: The investigation was conducted in Iraq and Kuwait, in the 2 military hospitals where the majority of injured service members were initially treated. After initially characterizing the outbreak, we evaluated 3 potential sources of infection for the period March 2003 to December 2004.