Assessment of motility and hemolytic activity in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii from University of Kentucky hospital, Lexington, KY

<p><em>Acinetobacter baumannii</em> is a pathogen rising in notoriety worldwide due to outbreaks linked to multi-drug resistant strains. Research is currently focused on identifying virulence factors, which may contribute to increased ability to cause human disease, such as hemolytic activity and surface motility. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of these two virulent traits in clinical isolates. Forty-eight clinical isolates were recovered from University of Kentucky hospital in Lexington, KY. No hemolytic activity was observed for any of the isolates. Evidence of surface motility was observed in 13 isolates. The brand and concentration of media used allowed for better observation of motility. There is potentially a multifactorial component to virulence not examined in this study, which contribute to increased ability of <em>A. baumannii</em> to cause disease. Preliminary statistical tests did not indicate a relationship between surface motility and multi-drug resistance or being part of a complex of <em>A. calcoaceticus-A. baumannii</em>. The lack of results indicates a need for further research to be performed on <em>A. baumannii</em> to further classify virulence factors and examine the potential for a multifactorial component resulting in its virulence. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biological Sciences

Grantor dc:publisher

Eastern Kentucky University

Year

2013

Author dc:creator

• Stanton, Amber R.

• Acinetobacter baumannii
• Hemolytic Activity
• Surface Motility
• Virulence Factors
• Microbiology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2013 Amber R. Stanton

Repository record dc:identifier

https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/134

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1133