Dissemination of 16S rRNA Methylase ArmA-Producing Acinetobacter baumannii and Emergence of OXA-72 Carbapenemase Coproducers in Japan

Forty-nine clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii were obtained from 12 hospitals in 7 prefectures throughout Japan. Molecular phylogenetic analysis revealed the clonal spread of A. baumannii sequence type 208 (ST208) and ST455 isolates harboring the armA gene and ST512 harboring the armA and bla(OXA-72) genes. These findings show that A. baumannii isolates harboring armA are disseminated throughout Japan, and this is the first report to show that A. baumannii strains harboring bla(OXA-72) and armA are emerging in hospitals in Japan.