Virulent genes related to the synthesis of community interaction factors among clinical samples of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in Iran.

INTRODUCTION

Acinetobacter (A.) baumannii poses a significant threat of resistance to multiple antibiotics. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of the abaI and bap genes in clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii collected from 10 cities in Iran.

METHOD: Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method, and multidrug resistance was confirmed using specific criteria. The presence of abaI and bap genes was identified through conventional PCR.

RESULTS

Of 50 samples total, 62% were from males, and 38% were from females, with most isolates originating from ICUs and obtained from the tracheobronchial tract. The abaI gene was present in 94% of samples, while the bap gene was present in 88%. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences in gene frequencies and antibiotic resistance patterns.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of abaI or bap genes was not related to antibiotic resistance. However, the frequency of these virulent genes was relatively high among multi-drug resistant A. baumannii samples. The differences in antibiotic resistance patterns of this bacterium show the need for future research in this field.