Outbreak of blaOXA-72-producing Acinetobacter baumannii in South America.

Thirty-five Acinetobacter baumannii isolates were recovered from two medical centres in Guayaquil City, Ecuador, from November 2012 to October 2013. Isolates were identified using MALDI-TOF and confirmed by rpoB. PCR methods were employed for epidemiological analysis.Thirty-three A. baumannii isolates were resistant to all ß-lactams. The blaOXA-24/40-like gene was detected in 30 isolates. DNA sequencing identified the blaOXA-24/40-like amplicon as blaOXA-72. The 30 isolates harbouring blaOXA-72 strains showed the same PCR pattern. We report the first outbreak of blaOXA-72-producing A. baumannii in South America. This is the first study carried out in the Republic of Ecuador.