Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Razique Anwer

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Guest Editor

Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh 13317-4233, Saudi Arabia
Interests: antimicrobial resistance; infectious disease; applied microbiology; global burden of disease

Dr. Sunil Kumar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Kampala International University, Western Campus, Ishaka 256, Uganda
Interests: medical bacteriology; immunology; pharmaceutical microbiology; antimicrobial resistance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

According to the WHO, antibiotic resistance has become one of the major global threats to mankind due to the emergence of new resistance mechanisms by bacteria that enable them to overcome both natural and chemical elimination systems, such as the immune system and antibiotics. Since the 1940s, medical experts have warned about the aimless use of antibiotics, but the outlay on antibiotics has continued to increase.

An opportunistic pathogen called Acinetobacter baumannii is known for its high mortality rate, associated with hospital-acquired infections. In 2017, the WHO global priority list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria listed A. baumannii as a critical priority pathogen; scientists around the world will be guided on what must be accomplished so that new treatments can be found in an urgent for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant A. baumannii. The prevalence of A. baumannii infections and outbreaks emphasizes the direct need for the use of effective therapeutic agents for treating such infections. Due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains, existing antimicrobials like carbapenems, tigecycline, and colistin cannot provide adequate effectiveness. Alternative and novel therapeutic remedies are therefore needed. It is important to have knowledge of recent discoveries regarding the virulence factors and the mechanisms of the antimicrobial resistance of A. baumannii.

Dr. Razique Anwer
Dr. Sunil Kumar
Guest Editors

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Keywords

antibiotic therapy
antimicrobial resistance
multidrug resistance mechanisms
virulence factors
host–pathogen interaction
immune system
biofilm
pathophysiology
nosocomial infections
laboratory diagnosis
rapid analysis
vaccine

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1312 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Laboratory Surveillance of Acinetobacter spp. Bloodstream Infections in a Tertiary University Hospital during a 9-Year Period

by Anastasia Spiliopoulou, Ioanna Giannopoulou, Stelios F. Assimakopoulos, Eleni Jelastopulu, Christina Bartzavali, Markos Marangos, Fotini Paliogianni and Fevronia Kolonitsiou

Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2023, 8(11), 503; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed8110503 - 19 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1412

Abstract

Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections have become a threat for public health worldwide. The aim of the present study was to follow-up resistance patterns of Acinetobacter spp. bloodstream isolates in a Tertiary University Hospital over the last nine years, from 2014 to 2022. Susceptibility patterns were followed for the following antimicrobial agents: amikacin, gentamicin, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, imipenem, meropenem, tigecycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and colistin. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values to ampicillin/sulbactam, cefepime, ceftazidime, minocycline, piperacillin/tazobactam were evaluated from 2020 to 2023. During the study period, 853 Acinetobacter spp. bloodstream infections (BSIs) were recorded, accounting for 5.36% of all BSIs. A. baumannii was isolated in 795 cases (93.2%), during the study period. Most BSIs were recorded in adult intensive care units (ICU) (46.2%) and medical wards (42%). Among A. baumannii isolates, 4.5% were multidrug-resistant, 84.7% were extensively drug-resistant, and 8.5% were pandrug-resistant. Resistance to carbapenems was over 95%. Resistance to tigecycline increased significantly during the last years of the study (2020–2022); A. baumannii isolates with MIC ≤ 2 μg/mL accounted for 28.5% of all isolates. Resistance to colistin exhibited an increasing pattern up to 42.2% in 2022. Increasing resistance rates and the evolution of pandrug-resistant isolates call for the urgent application of preventive and response actions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress in Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii)

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Figure 1

11 pages, 426 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Occurrence of Multidrug-Resistant Strains of Acinetobacter spp.: An Emerging Threat for Nosocomial-Borne Infection in Najran Region, KSA

by Abdullah I. Aedh, Ali Dhafer Al-Swedan, Asiri Ahmed Mohammed, Batool Mubarak Alwadai, Ahlam Yahya Alyami, Esraa Amer Alsaaed, Nouf Mubarak Almurdhimah, Mohamed Soliman Zaki, Alyaa E. Othman and Abdulkarim Hasan

Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2023, 8(2), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed8020108 - 09 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2093

Abstract

Multidrug-resistant strains are frequent causes of nosocomial infections. The majority of nosocomial infections, particularly in critical care units (ICU), have been linked to A. baumannii, which has major clinical significance. The current paper attempts to identify the potential risk and prognosis factors for acquiring an infection due to A. baumannii compared to that of other nosocomial bacteria. In our study, we employed antibiotics generally prescribed for the initial course of treatment such as colistin, meropenem, amikacin, trimethoprime-sulfamethoxazole, levofloxacin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, and piperacillin-tazobactam. We found that the isolated A. baumannii were resistant at a high rate to meropenem, piperacillin–tazobactam, amikacin, levofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin, while they were partially susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Our study revealed that A. baumannii was most susceptible to gentamicin and colistin at 85.8% and 92.9%, respectively, whereas the combination of colistin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was 100% active. The patients were the primary source of infection with A. baumannii, followed by inanimate objects present in the ICU and hospital premises, and then the hospital staff who were taking care of the ICU patients. Gentamicin and colistin were the most sensitive antibiotics; of the 13 tested in total, the rate of drug resistance was above 50%. The very high rate of antibiotic resistance is alarming. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress in Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii)

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