Isolation of Acinetobacter spp including A-baumannii from vegetables:: implications for hospital-acquired infections

A. baumannii is rarely recovered from the skin of patients or healthy European subjects as other genospecies predominate, but it is a significant nosocomial pathogen. The natural reservoir of this organism is therefore uncertain. We determined the isolation rates of Acinetobacter spp. from vegetables (as an indicator of the natural environment) using a selective technique and classified the genospecies by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). Of the 177 samples of vegetables examined, 30 yielded Acinetobacter, with genospecies 2 and 11 being the most common, each with a frequency of 27%. MIC assays showed that strains of genospecies 1, 2, 3, and 13TU (the A. Calcoaceticus-A.. baumannii complex) were significantly more resistant than other genospecies to ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. Vegetables may therefore be a natural habitat of A. baumannii and provide a route by which these bacteria are introduced into hospitals with obvious implications for infection control.