Dissemination of OXA-23-producing and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in a university hospital in Tunisia

Ninety-nine carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates were obtained from patients hospitalized between October 2005 and January 2007 at the University Hospital Sahloul, Sousse, Tunisia. Thirteen of those isolates produced the carbapenem-hydrolyzing oxacillinase OXA-23. All the OXA-23-positive isolates were clonally related, and the blaOXA-23 gene was found to be chromosomally located and associated with an upstream-located insertion sequence ISAba1. This study further highlights the worldwide emergence of OXA-23-producing A. baumannii isolates. © Copyright 2008, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.