Outbreak of nosocomial Acinetobacter baumannii bacteremia in a high risk ward

Acinetobacter baumannii is emerging as a major cause of nosocomial infectio ns particularly in high risk patients, Being resistant to adverse environme ntal conditions, it can stay for prolonged periods in the hospital environm ent. We report an outbreak in the medical oncology ward where nine patients suspected of bacteraemia were blood culture positive for A, baumannii from the two samples each, one collected through the i.v. cannula and another t hrough the peripheral veneous puncture. The bacteria was also isolated from the environmental sources from the various samples collected, The biotype, antibiogram, cellular protein profiles on SDS-PAGE and the restriction enz yme analysis patterns of the patient isolates and the environmental isolate s were similar.: This points to the environment as a source of infection. W ith reinforcement of proper barrier nursing and use of disposable heparine ampoules it was possible to control the outbreak.