Abstract

Background and Objectives: Acinetobacter baumannii has been known as a major pathogen causing nosocomial infections. The aim of this study was to develop multiplex PCR for rapid and simultaneous detection of metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) genes in clinical isolates of A. baumannii. Materials and Methods: In this study, we used three sets of primers to amplify the MBL genes including bla(OXA-48), bla(OXA-23) and bla(NDM). The multiplex PCR assay was optimized for rapid and simultaneous detection of MBL genes in A. baumannii strains recovered from clinical samples. Results: A. baumannii strains recovered from clinical samples were subjected to the study. The multiplex PCR produced 3 bands of 501 bp for bla(OXA-23), 744 bp for bla(OXA-48) and 623 bp for bla(NDM) genes. In addition to, no any cross-reactivity was observed in multiplex PCR. Conclusion: Based on obtained data, the multiplex PCR had a good specificity without any cross reactivity and it appears that the multiplex PCR is reliable assay for simultaneous detection of MBL genes in A. baumannii strains.