Saad B Almasaudi - Biology Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University (KAU), P.O. Box ۸۰۲۰۳, Jeddah ۲۱۵۸۹, Saudi ArabiaReceived ۷ November ۲۰۱۵; revised ۵ February ۲۰۱۶; accepted ۷ February ۲۰۱۶

The genus Acinetobacter is a major cause of nosocomial infections; it is increasinglybeing associated with various epidemics and has become a widespread concern in a variety of hospitalsworldwide. Multi-antibiotic resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, is now recognized to be ofgreat clinical significance. Numerous reports relay to the spread of A. baumannii in the hospital settingswhich leads to enhanced nosocomial outbreaks associated with high death rates. However,many other Acinetobacter spp. also can cause nosocomial infections. This review focused on the roleof Acinetobacter spp. as nosocomial pathogens in addition to their persistence, antimicrobial resistancepatterns and epidemiology. 2016 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open accessarticle under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

Acinetobacter; Nosocomial infections; Multi-drug resistance; Epidemiology; Characteristics