Acinetobacter baumannii, an aerobic, gram-negative bacillus that normally colonizes aquatic environments is on the rise. Drosos E. Karageorgopoulous, MD [Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences (AIBS), Athens, Greece] and Matthew Falagas, MD (Alfa Institute and Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston) report in the December 2008 issue of The Lancet: Infectious Disease (1) that antibiotic resistant infections related to this bacteria are increasing world-wide and currently account for about 30% of hospital acquired infections. These physicians also note that A. baumannii is more resistant to pharmacological treatment than MRSA.

In the past, A. baumannii has been reported to colonize irrigating and intravenous solutions. Infections related to these bacteria were rare in the past, and usually limited to systems with a high fluid content such as the respiratory tract, the urinary tract, CSF and peritoneal fluids. Nosocomial pneumonia associated with peritoneal dialysis and catheter-associated bacteruria due to A. baumannii have also been identified (2).

Karageorgopoulous and Falagas note that strict environmental cleaning, sterilization of reusable medical equipment, proper hand hygiene practices, administrative guidance, and use of contact precautions are required to contain an outbreak of A. baumannii. Nursing faculty should continue to emphasize to our students the significance of these basic strategies for infection control. Additionally, effective antibiotic treatment to this increasing problem has yet to be conclusively established (1).

Source: Reuters (November 18, 2008) Dangerous drug-resistant bacteria on the rise.MSNBC Health: Infectious diseases.Available athttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27783613/. Accessed November 19, 2008.

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