JMM Profile: Achromobacter xylosoxidans: the cloak-and-dagger opportunist
Benjamin M. Bonis, Ryan C. Hunter
Abstract
Achromobacter xylosoxidans is associated with resilient nosocomial infections, with bacteraemia, pneumonia and chronic cystic fibrosis lung infection being the most common clinical presentations. Innate multi-drug resistance and a suite of virulence factors select for A. xylosoxidans infection during long-term antibiotic therapy, contributing to its persistence, treatment recalcitrance, association with poor clinical outcomes and emergence as a problematic pathogen. Horizontal gene transfer and maintenance of large genomes underpin the resilience and cosmopolitan lifestyle of A. xylosoxidans , and complicate its phylogenetic characterization.
Topics & Concepts
Achromobacter xylosoxidansPneumoniaCystic fibrosisPersistence (discontinuity)BiologyMicrobiologyIntensive care medicineMedicineBacteriaInternal medicineGeneticsEngineeringGeotechnical engineeringInfections and bacterial resistanceStreptococcal Infections and TreatmentsPancreatitis Pathology and Treatment