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July 8, 2025
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July 8, 2025
Published
June 30, 2025
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Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii is a gram-negative coccobacillus and a critical global
health threat due to its high antibiotic resistance, particularly in hospital settings
and intensive care units (ICUs). As an ESKAPE pathogen, it causes severe
infections such as pneumonia, wound infections, and bloodstream infections,
especially in immunocompromised patients.This study aimed to characterize A.
baumannii clinical isolates in Southern Iraq, determine their antibiotic resistance
profiles, and identify key resistance genes. A total of 50 clinical isolates were
collected from Nasiriyah and Al-Hussein Hospitals, including sputum (28%),
burns (48.3%), and blood samples (24%). Identification and antimicrobial
susceptibility testing were performed using the VITEK-Compact system, while
molecular characterization was carried out using PCR to detect resistance genes.
Among the isolates, high resistance rates were observed in MDR strains,
particularly to ampicillin-sulbactam (95%), cefazoline (95%), piperacillin
(90%), doxycycline (90%), ceftazidime (80%), cefotaxime (80%), ciprofloxacin
(80%), levofloxacin (75%), ceftriaxone (75%), and imipenem (50%). Molecular
analysis confirmed the presence of resistance genes including blaOXA-51, BAP,
CsuE, and OmpA. The findings reveal an alarming prevalence of multidrug
resistant A. baumannii in clinical settings in Southern Iraq, highlighting the
urgent need for effective antimicrobial stewardship programs, strict infection
control measures, and the development of innovative therapeutic strategies to
combat these resistant pathogens.

Keywords

multiple antibiotic resistance A. baumannii, resistance genes ceftazidime ciprofloxacin, and imipenem

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Copyright (c) 2025 Ruqayah Taher Habash, Dhuha Mahdi Jabir

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