Outbreak of bla_OXA-72-producing Acinetobacter baumannii in South America

Abstract

Thirty-five Acinetobacter baumannii isolates were recovered from two medical centres in Guayaquil City, Ecuador, from November 2012 to October 2013. Isolates were identified using MALDI-TOF and confirmed by rpoB. PCR methods were employed for epidemiological analysis.Thirty-three A. baumannii isolates were resistant to all β-lactams. The bla_OXA-24/40-like gene was detected in 30 isolates. DNA sequencing identified the bla_OXA-24/40-like amplicon as bla_OXA-72. The 30 isolates harbouring bla_OXA-72 strains showed the same PCR pattern. We report the first outbreak of bla_OXA-72-producing A. baumannii in South America. This is the first study carried out in the Republic of Ecuador.

Keywords:

• OXA-72
• Acinetobacter baumannii
• OXA-type β-lactamase
• America
• Carbapenem-resistance

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica de la Universidad de Buenos Aires [grant number UBACyT 20020130100167BA] to Angela Famiglietti.