Genetic and Biochemical Diversity of Clinical Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates in a Public Hospital in Brazil.

Life-threatening bacterial infections are a major concern in health care services worldwide. This retrospective study aimed to demonstrate genetic and biochemical diversity in isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa from a public hospital in Brazil. A total of 63 isolates collected from different sites of infection and hospital sectors were characterized, and their susceptibility profile to antibiotics was assessed for 18 drugs belonging to 8 antimicrobial categories using the automated BACTEC system. Genetic diversity was assessed using the multiple locus variable number tandem repeat analysis. Among the isolates of A. baumannii, 83% were classified as extensively drug resistant (XDR), and 17 genotypic profiles were identified. About 67% of P. aeruginosa isolates were susceptible to antimicrobials and were distributed into 37 genotypic profiles, revealing genetic heterogeneity. This study has demonstrated the multicolonization of investigated pathogens and the high frequency (95.8%) of multidrug-resistant and XDR, as well as high genetic diversity, among the isolates supporting the continuous need to monitor these species in the hospital environment.

The aquatic environment as a reservoir of Vibrio cholerae O1 in hydrographic basins of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.

After the worldwide cholera epidemic in 1993, permanent environmental monitoring of hydrographic basins was established in Pernambuco, Brazil, where cholera is endemic. After a quiescent period, 4 rfbN (serogroup O1) positive water samples that were culture negative were detected by multiplex single-tube nested PCR (MSTNPCR); 2 of these were also ctxA (cholera toxin) positive. From May to June 2012, 30 V. cholerae O1 isolates were obtained by culturing samples. These isolates were analyzed for the presence of virulence genes by PCR, intergenic spacer region 16S-23S PCR (ISR-PCR), and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The isolates were positive for the rfbN gene and negative for the assessed pathogenic genes and were classified into 2 groups by ISR and the same profile by PFGE. Close genetic similarity was observed between them (2012) and environmental strains from 2004 to 2005, indicating the permanence of endemic V. cholerae O1 in the region.