Typing of Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from hospital-acquired respiratory infections in a tertiary care centre in Southern India

In an attempt to define the epidemiology of Acinetobacter baumannii infecti on, 27 isolates, obtained from hospital-acquired respiratory infections, we re typed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profile and antimicr obial susceptibility patterns. Ten different patterns were obtained with ER IC2 primer: 14 isolates had a similar profile representing a single strain. Within RAPD types, isolates could be further classified based on their ant ibiogram; however, strains of different types had similar antibiograms. Thi s study showed that many different genetic types of A. baumannii are preval ent in our hospital. While antibiograms alone are not sufficiently discrimi nator); RAPD typing helps in identifying outbreaks and in assessing infecti on control procedures within a hospital. (C) 2001 The Hospital Infection So ciety.