Boral Jale, Tellapragada Chaitanya, Thofte Oskar, Öhnström Valdemar, Magda Michal, Matuschek Erika, Nazarchuk Oleksandr, Giske Christian, Blom Anna M, Riesbeck Kristian
Clinical Microbiology, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
J Infect. 2025 Aug;91(2):106561. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2025.106561. Epub 2025 Jul 25.
Multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii remains a global concern with its ability to adhere, disperse and sustain in areas involving suboptimal infection control measures, particularly in war areas. In this study we aimed to evaluate the susceptibility profiles, molecular epidemiology and pathogenesis of A. baumannii isolates from conflict zones in Ukraine.
A. baumannii wound isolates (n=46) were tested to comparatively assess antimicrobial resistance, molecular epidemiology, pathogenesis and infectivity. Briefly, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, whole genome sequencing, biofilm and capsule formation, as well as serum survival and bacterial viability in G. mellonella and a mouse infection model were performed.
Dominating sequence types were ST2, ST19, ST78 and ST400 while 65.21% of isolates were from international clones. All isolates were multidrug resistant (MDR), and 7 isolates were extensively drug resistant (XDR). ST19 isolates had higher encapsulation, lower serum survival and missing T6SS, omp33-36 and biofilm production associated genes. However, bacteria expressed higher virulence and lethality during early infection compared to later stages in vivo.
We report the first results characterizing the pathogenesis and infectivity of the emerging A. baumannii ST19. High MDR and XDR rates alongside clonally related isolates are concerning and highlight the importance of infection prevention and control measures in conflict zones.
多重耐药鲍曼不动杆菌凭借其在感染控制措施欠佳的地区（尤其是战区）黏附、扩散和存活的能力，仍然是一个全球关注的问题。在本研究中，我们旨在评估乌克兰冲突地区分离出的鲍曼不动杆菌菌株的药敏谱、分子流行病学和发病机制。
对46株鲍曼不动杆菌伤口分离株进行检测，以比较评估其抗菌药物耐药性、分子流行病学、发病机制和传染性。简要来说，进行了抗菌药物敏感性测试、全基因组测序、生物膜和荚膜形成检测，以及在米氏蜜蜂幼虫和小鼠感染模型中的血清存活和细菌活力检测。
主要的序列类型为ST2、ST19、ST78和ST400，而65.21%的分离株来自国际克隆。所有分离株均为多重耐药（MDR），7株为广泛耐药（XDR）。ST19分离株具有更高的荚膜形成能力、更低的血清存活率，且缺失T6SS、omp33 - 36和生物膜产生相关基因。然而，与体内感染后期相比，细菌在感染早期表现出更高的毒力和致死率。
我们报告了关于新兴的鲍曼不动杆菌ST19发病机制和传染性特征的首批结果。高多重耐药率和广泛耐药率以及克隆相关的分离株令人担忧，并凸显了冲突地区感染预防和控制措施的重要性。
