Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from patients hospitalised in Cairo, Egypr

The current study investigated the emergence and mechanisms of colistin resistance among carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates in Egypt. Whole genome sequence analyses performed on seven strains suggests that colistin resistance was associated with multiple mutations in the pmrCAB genes. Carbapenem resistance was associated with OXA-23 and/or NDM-1. Furthermore, genome analysis revealed six isolates belonged to international clone 2 (IC2) while the remaining isolate was a singleton. The emergence and high incidence of colistin resistance among CRAB clinical isolates in Egypt is alarming because it further limits therapy options and requires prudent antimicrobial stewardship and stringent infection control measures. The high incidence of the high-risk lineage IC2 harbouring blaOXA-23-like as well as blaNDM is also of concern.