MDR-AB Bacteria Found In 48% Of All Patient Rooms

[Gert van der Hoek]

MDR-AB Bacteria Found In 48% Of All Patient Rooms

02 Nov 2011 -
Healthcare Prof:

A new study has revealed that Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB) was found in almost half (48%) of patients rooms who were infected or colonized with the germ. The report is published in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Acinetobacter baumannii is a species of pathogenic bacteria (aerobic gram-negative bacterium) that is resistant to the majority of antibiotics. MDR-AB has caused outbreaks of infection in healthcare environments over the last 10 years, raising significant concern among those in the medical community. Infections from this germ primarily occur in individuals who are very ill, wounded or immunocompromised. Destroying the germ is difficult as it can survive for long periods of time on surfaces.

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine analyzed the prevalence of contamination in the environment surrounding the patient in addition to which surfaces are most frequently contaminated.

Read more - Medical News Today

Hospital Rooms Crawling With Drug-Resistant Germs: Study
Nearly half of patient rooms sampled tested positive for Acinetobacter baumannii

The study, published in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, also found that patients with a recent history of MDR-AB were no more likely to contaminate their hospital room than those with a remote history.

"For patients with MDR-AB, the surrounding environment is frequently contaminated, even among patients with a remote history of MDR-AB," the researchers concluded in a journal news release. "In addition, surfaces often touched by health care workers during routine patient care are commonly contaminated and may be a source of (hospital-based) transmission. The results of this study are consistent with studies of other important hospital pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus and Clostridium difficile."

However, the study does not show which came first -- MDR-AB or environmental contamination.

Also, the researchers noted that since they conducted their study, new methods of reducing transmission of MDR-AB have helped decrease infections.

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