Acinetobacter infection – an emerging threat to human health

Abstract

SummaryThe genus Acinetobacter comprises a complex and heterogeneous group of bacteria, many of which are capable of causing a range of opportunistic, often catheter-related, infections in humans. However, Acinetobacter baumannii, as well as its close relatives belonging to genomic species 3 (''Acinetobacter pittii'') and 13TU (''Acinetobacter nosocomialis''), are important nosocomial pathogens, often associated with epidemic outbreaks of infection, that are only rarely found outside of a clinical setting. These organisms are frequently pandrug-resistant and are capable of causing substantial morbidity and mortality in patients with severe underlying disease, both in the hospital and in the community. Several epidemic clonal lineages of A. baumannii have disseminated worldwide and seem to have a selective advantage over non-epidemic strains. The reasons for the success of these epidemic lineages remain to be elucidated, but could be related to the potential of these organisms to achieve very dynamic reorganization and rapid evolution of their genome, including the acquisition and expression of additional antibiotic resistance determinants, under fluctuating environmental and selective conditions.

Presence of pathogenic bacteria in ice cubes and evaluation of their survival in different systems

“…Hospital outbreaks have been attributed mainly to Acinetobacter baumannii, but nosocomial infections caused by other species of this genus, including A. guillouiae, A. haemolyticus, Acinetobacter johnsonii and A. lwoffii, although rare and restricted to catheter-related bloodstream infections, have been reported (Wisplinghoff et al 2004). Most of Acinetobacter species identified in this study are isolated from human skin and/or soil (A. lwoffii, A. johnsonii and A. guillouiae), while A. haemolyticus is mainly isolated from human specimens (Visca et al 2011).…”

“…Infections by Acinetobacter represent an emerging threat to human health (Visca et al 2011). Hospital outbreaks have been attributed mainly to Acinetobacter baumannii, but nosocomial infections caused by other species of this genus, including A. guillouiae, A. haemolyticus, Acinetobacter johnsonii and A. lwoffii, although rare and restricted to catheter-related bloodstream infections, have been reported (Wisplinghoff et al 2004).…”

The Locus <i>PgaABCD</i> of <i>Acinetobacter junii</i> Putatively Responsible for Poly-<i>β</i>-(1,6)-<i>N</i>-Acetylglucosamine Biosynthesis Might Be Related to Biofilm Formation: A Computational Analysis

“…At present this genus comprises 34 validly published species and 11 species with provisional designations (http://www.bacterio.net/-allnamesac.html). Majority of the species of Acinetobacter are metabolically versatile and easy to grow on simple microbiological media [2]. Typical temperature range favouring optimum growth of the representative bacterial species under this genus is mesophilic, however, clinically important species grow optimally at 37˚C [2].…”

“…Majority of the species of Acinetobacter are metabolically versatile and easy to grow on simple microbiological media [2]. Typical temperature range favouring optimum growth of the representative bacterial species under this genus is mesophilic, however, clinically important species grow optimally at 37˚C [2]. Among disease-causing species, Acinetobacter baumannii have been found as an important causative agent for outbreaks of variety of nosocomial infections, such as bacteremia, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and urinary tract infections [3]- [5].…”

Structure of a short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) within a genomic island from a clinical strain ofAcinetobacter baumannii

“…The opportunistic pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gramnegative coccobacillus responsible for both community-acquired and nosocomial infections and is of growing concern owing to the recent emergence of multidrug-resistant forms (Towner, 2009;Visca et al, 2011). Colonization appears to be phenotypically associated with inherent systems for exopolysaccharide production, pilus formation and iron sequestration (Iwashkiw et al, 2012;Peleg et al, 2008), but specific virulence mechanisms remain poorly described (DuranteMangoni & Zarrilli, 2011).…”