Molecular epidemiology of an outbreak of imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii carrying the ISAba1-bla(OXA-51-like) genes in a Korean hospital.

Between January 2004 and December 2004, an outbreak of imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (IRAB) in 2 intensive care units (ICU) of Chosun University Hospital, Korea affected 77 patients. A case-control study revealed that the time spent in the hospital and mechanical ventilation practices were risk factors. IRAB was isolated from the hands of 4% (5/124) of healthcare workers; 27.3% (21/77) of the samples obtained from the ICU environment. A pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis showed that 82.1% (23/28) of clinical IRAB isolates and 85.7% (6/7) of environmental IRAB isolates were type A. The ISAba1F/OXA-51-likeR PCR showed that 93.7% (30/32) of IRAB strains had the ISAba1 gene upstream of the bla(OXA-51-like) gene. Two ISAba1F/OXA-51-likeR PCR-negative IRAB strains were bla(IMP-1) positive. All of the IRAB strains tested by PCR were negative for bla(VIM), bla(SIM), bla(GIM-1), bla(SPM-1), bla(GES), bla(OXA-23-like), bla(OXA-24-like), and bla(OXA-58-like) carbapenemase genes. After implementing an infection control strategy, a steady reduction in the attack rate of IRAB infection was observed.