A. Horrevorts et al., CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS OF ACINETOBACTER GENOMOSPECIES-3 IN A NEONATAL INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT, Journal of clinical microbiology, 33(6), 1995, pp. 1567-1572
A prospective study of Acinetobacter isolates from a neonatal intensiv
e care unit was performed for 24 months. Fifty-six isolates were obtai
ned from 21 patients, and another eight were obtained from environment
al specimens. Infection due to Acinetobacter organisms was established
for 16 patients, 6 with septicemia, 9 with pneumonia, and 1 with a wo
und infection. Further investigations were performed with 38 represent
ative isolates. Twenty-nine isolates were identified as unnamed DNA-DN
A hybridization group (genomospecies) 3, three were identified as geno
mospecies 2 (Acinetobacter baumannii), one was identified as genomospe
cies 5 (Acinetobacter junii), three were identified as genomospecies 1
4, and two were unclassified. Eight distinguishable protein profiles,
coded I through VIII, were found by cell envelope protein electrophore
sis. Profile V, a common profile, was observed for 17 isolates that ha
d been recovered from 11 patients and 1 dust specimen. These isolates,
all of which belonged to genomospecies 3, had similar antibiograms an
d biotypes. This study has revealed that genomospecies 3 can be associ
ated with infection and be spread in hospitals.