Acinetobacter /Ac·i·net·o·bac·ter/ (as?i-ne?to-bak´ter) a genus of bacteria (family Neisseriaceae), consisting of aerobic,
gram-negative, paired coccobacilli, it is widely distributed in nature and part of the normal mammalian flora, but can
cause severe primary infections in compromised hosts. The type species, A. calcoaceticus, can cause fatal
Necrotizing fasciitis has conventionally been associated with the streptococci, and when it is caused by other organisms,
it is most often the result of a polymicrobial infection. We report on two cases of fatal monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis
due to Acinetobacter baumannii, an unusual finding that may be an indication of enhanced virulence of the organism.
Notwithstanding the continuing taxonomic confusion, it is clear that acinetobacters are common, free-living saprophytes
found in soil, water, sewage and foods. They are also ubiquitous organisms in the clinical environment, where
they can be isolated as commensals from the skin of hospital staff and patients. They have increasingly
been recognized as important nosocomial pathogens involved in outbreaks of hospital infection, particularly in
high-dependency or intensive care units, where they rapidly develop resistance to even the most potent antimicrobials
(Bergogne-Bérézin and Towner, 1996).
Environmental sources of A baumannii include soil and foods such as vegetables, meat, and fish. In healthy humans,
skin colonization may occur at a low density and for a short time, but colonization of the throat, nares, and intestinal tract
Acinetobacter Baumannii also known as THE IRAQIBACTER
Acinetobacter species: A. baumannii can be linked to many hospital acquired infections including skin and
wound infections, pneumonia, and meningitis. A. lwoffi, in particular, is responsible for most cases of
meningitis caused by Acinetobacter.
eMedicine - Acinetobacter : Article by Burke A CunhaA baumannii is a multiresistant aerobic gram-negative
bacillus sensitive to relatively few antibiotics. Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter is not a new or ...
www.emedicine.com/med/topic3456.htm - 89k - Cached - Similar pages
A 4-year-old, neutered female, domestic shorthair cat admitted to the animal hospital for recurrent constipation
presumed to be due to post-traumatic injuries, went into shock with signs including fever and ataxia followed by stupor.
On the fifth day of hospitalization, the cat developed severe, diffuse oedema of the ventral abdomen with multifocal to
coalescing erythematous areas and small vesicle formation. The results of bacteriological cultures of liver, spleen and
kidney specimens led to the diagnosis of Acinetobacter baumannii sepsis. Histopathological findings of skin samples
taken during necropsy showed an extensive epidermal and dermal necrosis with septic vasculitis and numerous
intralesional gram-negative bacteria. Detection of the bla(OXA-51-like) gene specific for A. baumannii by PCR,
performed retrospectively on samples of the deep layers of the skin, confirmed the presence of A. baumannii also in the
cutaneous lesions. To our knowledge this is the first report of a necrotizing fasciitis with septic shock in a cat
caused by A. baumannii.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Feb. 1982, p. 424-429 Vol. 43, No. 2
UV Light-Induced Survival Response in a Highly Radiation-
Resistant Isolate of the Moraxella-Acinetobacter Group
Some members of the Moraxella-Acinetobacter group that are common contaminants of meat are highly
radiation resistant (14, 15). Organisms of this group are also particularly prominent in the surviving
microflora of beef which has been dehydrated.
LEWIS C. KELLER,' THOMAS L. THOMPSON,2 AND R. BURT MAXCYl*
Department of Food Science and Technology' and School of Life Sciences,2 University of Nebraska,
Lincoln, Nebraska 68583
Received 23 April 1981/Accepted 29 September 1981