Diversity of Acinetobacter baumannii strains isolated in humans, companion animals, and the environment in Reunion Island: an exploratory study

Abstract : OBJECTIVES: Acinetobacter baumannii can be responsible for community-acquired infections in tropical climates like that of Reunion Island. The epidemiology of these community-acquired A. baumannii infections is not well understood. The aim of this study was to characterize A. baumannii strains isolated from patients at the time of admission to the university hospital of Saint-Denis, from environmental samples, and from pets. METHODS: In this exploratory study, samples were collected by swabbing the rectum and mouth. A. baumannii isolates from positive samples were identified by VITEK 2 system, blaOXA-51-like gene PCR, and partial sequencing of the rpoB gene. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was then performed. Strains were further analysed by multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: A high prevalence of A. baumannii carriage was found in pets (8.5%). Only one A. baumannii isolate was resistant to carbapenems (isolated from a patient). A wide variety of A. baumannii, assigned to different sequence types, were isolated from pets, humans, and the environment. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that A. baumannii strains are present outside the hospital setting in Reunion Island and show great diversity. Further studies are needed to explore these extra-hospital reservoirs of A. baumannii in Reunion Island in greater detail and to determine their possible means of dissemination.