Acinetobacter baumannii, genomic species 3 and 13TU are being increasingly reported as the most important Acinetobacter species that cause infections in hospitalized patients. These Acinetobacter species are grouped in the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus- Acinetobacter baumannii (Acb) complex. Differentiation of the species in the Acb-complex is limited by phenotypic methods. Therefore, in this study, amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) was applied to confirm the identity A. baumannii strains as well as to differentiate between the subspecies. One hundred and eighty-five strains from Intensive Care Unit, Universiti Malaya Medical Center (UMMC) were successfully identified as A. baumannii by ARDRA. Acinetobacter genomic species 13TU and 15TU were identified in 3 and 1 strains, respectively. ARDRA provides an accurate, rapid and definitive approach towards the identification of the species level in the genus Acinetobacter. This paper reports the first application ARDRA in genospecies identification of Acinetobacter in Malaysia.

The increased frequency of antibiotic resistance is known to be associated with the dissemination of integrons in the Enterobacteriaceae. This study determined the prevalence and type of integrons amongst 160 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing enterobacterial isolates kept in our culture collection. Integrons were detected in 98(61.3%) isolates, including 28(62.2%) Escherichia coli, 34(64.2%) Klebsiella spp., 27(61.4%), Enterobacter spp. and 9(50.0%) Citrobacter spp. investigated in this study. Restriction analysis of the integron gene fragments revealed that class I integron was the principal integron detected in 92(57.5%) of our isolates. Class II integron was detected in 6(3.8%) of our isolates, while no class III integron was detected in this study. The high rates of integron prevalence particularly of the class I integron in the E. coli and Klebsiella spp. concur with previous studies in other geographical regions. The higher (>50%) integron prevalence of Citrobacter and Enterobacter isolates comparing to previous studies suggests the potential of these isolates as sources for dissemination of resistance determinants. The finding in this study serves as a basis for further study on the antibiotic resistance mechanisms of enterobacterial species in this teaching hospital.

Background: In an academic setting due to financialconstrain, it is not uncommon during non-surgicalprocedures dental students and clinical supervisorswash their gloved hands with disinfectants in betweenpatients or when touching on non-contaminatedobjects. Whether this practice could cause anydeterioration of the glove and expose clinicians andpatients to infectious micro-organisms was a concern.Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectof multiple washes of gloved hands with a disinfectanton the integrity of the gloves. Methods: Three brandsof commonly used gloves in a dental school weretested for leaks after multiple washes with adisinfectant. Thirty pairs of each type of gloves weresubjected to 0, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 washes with adisinfectant solution at a 5-minute interval betweeneach wash. After each washing cycle, the gloves werefilled with 1L of water and hanged for 2 minutes toobserve any signs of water leaks. Results: The resultsshowed that the type of gloves and number of washeswere significantly associated with the leakage rates(p<0.001). Washing of gloves for more than 5 timeswere at least 6 times higher to suffer from leakage(OR=6.23, 95% CI=2.14–18.08). Powdered gloves werealmost 13 times higher to leak in all washes(OR=12.78, 95% CI= 4.40–37.14) and were almost 25times more likely to leak when washed for more than5 times (OR = 24.92, 95% CI = 5.79 – 107.21) whencompared to the non-powdered gloves. Conclusion:The practice of washing gloved hands with adisinfectant deteriorates the integrity of the gloves.