PÉREZ-ROMERO , Pilar

A real-time PCR assay was developed for detecting the presence of Acinetobacter baumannii on hospital equipment and compared to conventional bacterial culture using 100 hospital environmental samples. The real-time PCR detected contaminated surfaces in 4 h with high sensitivity (100%) compared to conventional culture. Thirty-eight percent of...

Infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii often occur in outbreaks during which the bacteria are spread through contact with clinical personnel harboring the bacteria and from colonized hospital equipment (2). Environmental sur¬veillance of hospital surfaces is useful in determining if equipment is colonized by A. baumannii and identifying...