Surveillance of Multidrug-resistant Iraqibacter Isolated from Patients with Urinary Tract Infection at a Baghdad Urology Center

Background: We dealt with Multidrug- resistant Acinetobacter baumanniiisa “red alert” pathogen that is included in the acronym “ESKAPE” along with other five dangerous bacteria. The moniker “Iraqibacter” was given to this resistant bacterium isolated from American soldiers in Iraq during 2003. This is a surveillance study intended mainly to detect the antibiogram profile of this bacterium in Iraqi patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) attending a major urology center. Materials and Methods: Two hundred ninety urine samples with positive culture results were examined for the detection of A. baumannii in a hospital-based cross-sectional studyfrom January to the end of June 2021. Isolation and identification of the bacteria, the prevalence of this bacterial infection, antibiotic sensitivity, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and extended-spectrum β- lactamase (ESBL) enzyme detection were performed using conventional methods along with Vitek 2- compact 15 system (Biomerieux®). Results: A. baumannii was isolated in 13 out of 290 UTI cases (about 4.5 %). Total resistance to ceftriaxone and cefazolin was noticed (100%), with high sensitivity to colistin and minocycline (100% and 92.3%, respectively). Nine cases of Iraqibacter isolates (about 77%) exhibited the presence of ESBL enzyme. The highest MIC value was for Trimethoprim/ sulphamethoxazole (i.e. 176.92 ± 114.56), while the least MIC detection was for colistin (0.384 ± 0.129). Conclusion: Iraqibacter represents 4.5% of bacterial strains in UTI. Most have multidrug-resistantbehavior, with a high resistance rate to trimethoprim/ sulphamethoxazole and B-lactams, that should not be used when physicians prescribe antimicrobials to manage UTI caused by Iraqibacter.