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Acinetobacter baumannii can be isolated from different animal species, and because of its highly pathogenicity, control measures should be taken to lessen the animal sources and decrease the spread of this pathogen to the public. The present study aimed to evaluate the phylogenetic status of this pathogen isolated from different veterinary sectors using the 16S rRNA gene so as to determine the extent of genetic relatedness of this bacterium between these sectors. Eight strains of A. baumannii were previously isolated from different veterinary necessities (slaughter houses, private veterinary clinics, and public veterinary centers). The isolates were confirmed at the species level through PCR amplification of 16S–23S ribosomal DNA using real-time PCR. The phylogenetic tree was constructed utilizing the sequences of the 16S rRNA gene for these strains and for A. baumannii from the gene bank. The data showed that all isolates were genetically similar, and the genetic similarity of the current study isolates was closely related to those from different countries including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Brazil, UK, Spain, Iran, and Iraq. The present data suggest that A. baumannii from this study could have come from those countries during the course of animal importation, in addition, there was a cross-transmission of these strains between various veterinary sectors. This will recommend good hygiene practices to minimize the risk of bacterial transmission between different veterinary sectors.
Ahmed et al. (Thu,) studied this question.