Community-acquired bacteremic Acinetobacter pneumonia in tropical Australia is caused by diverse strains of Acinetobacter baumannii, with carriage in the throat in at-risk groups.

Abstract

Acinetobacter isolates from eight subjects with community-acquired Acinetobacter pneumonia (CAAP), a major cause of fatal community-acquired pneumonia in tropical Australia, were phenotypically and genotypically confirmed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis to be broadly diverse Acinetobacter baumannii strains. Wet-season throat carriage of A. baumannii was found in 10% of community residents with excess levels of alcohol consumption, the major at-risk group for CAAP.