A Bacteria That Is Causing Talk Around the World

by Matt Kohlnhofer, UNT Student

Over the recent years, many bacteria have become resistant to many, if not all, antibiotics. These "supergerms," as they are being called, are very dangerous worldwide. The problem with "supergerms" is that today’s currently available antibiotics cannot treat them. Acinetobacter baumannii that is connected with the Iraq War is one of the most talked about “supergerms.”

This bacterium has been known around the world since the early 1970s. The existence that it had then is not the same that it has currently. Back then epidemiologists knew about it, but were not intensively studying it because it was not causing any significant harm. There was no need to study every strain in existence or to find out which antibiotics it was resistant. All this has changed over the last five years due to its emergence to the forefront of the epidemiologic world.

Acinetobacter baumannii was originally linked to Iraq when soldiers began showing up in hospitals here in the U.S.. The bacterium has been known to be an opportunistic pathogen, one that does no harm unless it resides within an immuno-compromised patient or gets into an infected wound. Essentially there was an outbreak during the current Iraq war, and it was not realized until these patients showed up in the U.S.

Once it was discovered as a potential problem, the Department of Defense (DoD) began investigating it in a limited capacity. The DoD has kept the files of soldiers who have perished as a result of the war, or any civilian that has perished because of contact with anyone involved in the war, confidential. This is clearly an attempt to cover up that large problem that this bacterium poses to the world. Yet the DoD stays clear of controversy by claiming that this is currently classified as only an infection and not an infectious disease.

Acinetobacter baumannii has gained its resistance to multiple, if not all, antibiotics because it has been repeatedly treated using broad-spectrum antibiotics. These are antibiotics that have a broad focus of attack on many different bacteria. The problem with continually using these types of antibiotics on any bacteria is that they possess the ability to adapt and modify their genetic code to include mechanisms of defense against certain medicines. When this occurs, doctors usually move on to a different medicine that works, at least for a little while, until the bacterium has the chance to adapt. There is an obvious cycle that takes place and, the longer it takes place, the more antibiotics a certain bacterium will become resistant. This is a problem because, if you cannot treat an infection because no medicine exists that will work, then you lose your ability to effectively treat patients and their diseases. This scenario can end up in an outbreak similar to, say, the famous Black Plague.

Many people are afraid of a worldwide epidemic, while others remain calm because it is an opportunistic pathogen. Doctors warn that the bacterium cannot affect the average person, only when that person becomes seriously ill, injured, or immuno-compromised does Acinetobacter baumannii move in for the kill.

Acinetobacter baumannii had been, and continues to be, the topic of intense study and research by the U.S. government and the British government. The DoD has tried identifying the exact source. The bacteria’s origins could help lead to more effective treatments or strategies. First, it was thought it might come from the Iraqi soil. This was proven false. Then, maybe it came from the U.S. hospitals, but this was also rejected. Many Iraqi sources were tested. It was finally discovered that this organism does not originate from Iraqi soil, food, or water, but from the actual hospitals being used in Iraq.

Now obviously, this is not the direct source, but this is the closest "origin" that has been discovered. The bacterium has also been found to survive in U.S. hospitals for months alone on stethoscopes, catheters, bed sheets, and other clinical materials. Even the most intensive cleansing methods have been unsuccessful in removing the bacterium from these hospitals. This proves to be a serious threat to health not only in the U.S., but worldwide.

Image courtesy of Centers for Disease Control (http://phil.cdc.gov/PHIL_Images/9330/9330_lores.jpg) Photo Credit: Janice Carr, 2007