Characterization of Carbapenemases in Extensively Drug Resistance Acinetobacter baumannii in a Burn Care Center in Iran

The emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) and extensively drug resistance (XDR) in Acinetobacter baumannii has made an important challenge in the treatment of infections caused by this organism. The ability of carbapenemase production is one of the main mechanisms for the emergence of MDR and/or XDR in A. baumannii. The aim of this study was to detect carbapenemase producer A. baumannii. In this study, 65 imipenem resistant A. baumannii were collected from burned patients. Biochemical identification, antibiotic susceptibility test and multiplex polymerase chain reactions for the detection of carbapenemases genes were performed. The results showed that all strains carried blaOXA-51. 83%, 12.5% and 9.23% strains harbored blaOXA-23, blaVIM and blaKPC genes, respectively. None of the isolates carried blaIMP, blaOXA-48, blaNDM-1 and blaSPM-1 genes. The results of this study indicate the emergence of Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase (KPC) in A. baumannii causing nosocomial infections in burned patients which can be important for hospital infection prevention systems in Iran.