The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy

A. baumannii is becoming less susceptible to this highly effective drug combination 

BACKGROUND

Drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative bacteria found primarily in hospital settings, where it frequently dwells on IV and catheter lines of ICU patients. Because of Acinetobacter’s low virulence, few colonized patients develop a disease. However, when an infection does occur, it often results in hospital-wide outbreaks and relatively high rates of mortality. In the outpatient setting, the pathogen has been associated with wound infections among soldiers, earning it the name “Iraqibacter.”

Ampicillin-sublactam is a combination of a beta-lactam antibotic and a beta-lactamase inhibitor and has proven to be a viable option for the treatment of Acinetobacter infections resistant to multiple drugs. Although this treatment shows lower resistance levels than other antibiotics, reported in vitro rates tripled between 1999 and 2006.

RESISTANCE BY U.S. CENSUS DIVISION, 1999-2010