Colonization of a hand washing sink in a veterinary hospital by an Enterobacter hormaechei strain carrying multiple resistances to high importance antimicrobials

Abstract

Background Hospital intensive care units (ICUs) are known reservoirs of multidrug resistant nosocomial bacteria. Targeted environmental monitoring of these organisms in health care facilities can strengthen infection control procedures. A routine surveillance of extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers in a large Australian veterinary teaching hospital detected the opportunistic pathogen Enterobacter hormaechei in a hand washing sink of the ICU. The organism persisted for several weeks, despite two disinfection attempts. Four isolates were characterized in this study. Methods Brilliance-ESBL selective plates were inoculated from environmental swabs collected throughout the hospital..