INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS, cilt.62, sa.2, 2023 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Objectives: This study aimed to characterise carbapenemase-producing Acinetobacter baumannii ( A. baumannii ) isolates from Danish patients using whole genome sequencing (WGS). It also compared typing and epidemiological data for further investigation of the spread and origin of the carbapenemaseproducing A. baumannii isolates.Methods: From 1 January 2014 to 30 September 2021, 141 carbapenemase-producing A. baumannii isolates, received at the national reference laboratory at Statens Serum Institut, were investigated using WGS. Multilocus sequence typing (ML ST) and cgML ST data, obtained by SeqSphere + software, were linked to data related to source of isolation, patient age and sex, hospital admission and travel history.Results: Most of the carbapenemase-producing A. baumannii isolates were from males ( n = 100, 71%). Most patients ( n = 88, 63%) had travelled outside Scandinavia before admission to a Danish hospital. The most prevalent carbapenemase gene was bla OXA-23 ( n = 124). Isolates belonging to the dominating international clone IC2 accounted for 78% of all isolates. A new international ST164/OXA-91 clone, proposed to be named IC11, was recognised and described. The cgMLST analysis revealed 17 clusters, reflecting both sporadic travel to similar geographical areas and confirmed outbreaks in Danish hospitals.Conclusions: The occurrence of carbapenemase-producing A. baumannii in Denmark was still low; how-ever, isolates belonging to major international clones with a high potential to spread within hospitals, mainly IC2, dominated. OXA-23 was by far the most prevalent carbapenemase detected. Sporadic and travel-related introductions to Danish hospitals, also intra-hospital transmission, could be confirmed, em-phasising the need for continuing vigilance.(C) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )