MOLECULAR TYPING OF ACINETOBACTER-BAUMANNII FROM 10 DIFFERENT IN INTENSIVE-CARE UNITS OF A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Thirty-one isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii were collected from ten intensive cave units of an Austrian university hospital. All isolates were typed by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus polymer ase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR). Two strains colonizing 13 infants in th e neonatal intensive care unit were identified by ERIC-PCR. All other Acinetobacter baumannii isolates had highly divergent ERIC-PCR pattern s, despite having the same antibiogram. Thus, a hospital-wide clonal d istribution, as suggested by identical antibiogram patterns, was exclu ded by ERIC-PCR.