Laboratory manual for the ECDC genomic-based survey of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii : version 1.2

For convenience, the full text of the survey's aim and public health objectives are specified here. The aim is to conduct a survey of CRAb identified in clinical laboratories in European countries, to acquire a snapshot of circulating strains for the purposes of genomic surveillance; and to support national activities to collect a representative sample of CRAb isolates, to support national CRAb infection prevention and control efforts. The primary objective is to describe the occurrence and geographic distribution of CRAb strains, and/or transmissible resistance/genetic elements of critical public health importance within CRAb strains, among patients in acute care hospitals in Europe, to inform prevention and control activities. The secondary objectives are: - To support EU/EEA countries, Western Balkan countries, and Türkiye in developing technical capabilities and proficiency in genomic-based surveillance and risk assessments of CRAb, to facilitate their identification of transmission chains, to enable targeted infection control interventions. - To estimate the cumulative incidence of CRAb infections in participating hospitals during the survey period, to provide additional contextual information for the genomic results. - To identify epidemiological factors for infection (or colonisation) with CRAb at clonal and sub-genomic level, to inform CRAb preparedness, prevention and control activities.