Acinetobacter Infections — Overview of Clinical Features

Acinetobacter spp. are Gram-negative coccobacilli that are distributed widely in the environment. Although Acinetobacter is an opportunistic organism of relatively low virulence, severe infections with these organisms do occur, especially in compromised patients after invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Acinetobacter spp. can be isolated from virtually all samples of soil and water. However, the skin of patients and staff serves as a reservoir for Acinetobacter spp. in hospitals and is the likely source for most outbreaks of hospital infection. Acinetobacter respiratory tract infection is usually acquired via aspi-ration. Colonisation of the oropharynx with Acinetobacter spp. occurs in only about 7% of healthy people, and in these cases the organism burden is small. Community-acquired pneumonia caused by Acinetobacter is relatively rare. Sporadic cases have been reported from the US, Papua, New Guinea and Australia.