Research Article Dissemination and Genetic Relatedness of Multidrug-Resistant and Extensively Drug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates from a Burn Hospital in Iraq Aras A. K Shali , Paywast J Jalal , and Sehand K Arif Dept of Biology, College of Science, University of Sulaimani, Al Sulaymaniyah, Iraq Correspondence should be addressed to Aras A. K Shali; aras.kamal@univsul.edu.iq Received 14 February 2022; Revised 14 March 2022; Accepted 20 May 2022; Published 27 May 2022 Academic Editor: Abdelaziz Ed-dra Copyright © 2022 Aras A. K Shali et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Acinetobacter baumannii is an aggressive opportunistic bacterial pathogen that causes severe nosocomial infections, especially among burn patients. An increasing number of hospitals-acquired infections have been reported all over the world. However, little attention has been paid to the relatedness between A. baumannii isolates from different hospital environments and patients. In this study, 27 isolates were collected from the Burn and Plastic Surgery Hospital of Al Sulaymaniyah City, Iraq, from January through December 2019 (11 from patients and 16 from the wards environment), identified to species level as A. baumannii using Vitek 2 system and molecular detection of 16S rRNA gene, and then confirmed by targeting the bla OXA-51 gene. Moreover, the isolates were characterized by means of automated antimicrobial susceptibility assay, antimicrobial-resistant patterns, a phenotypic method using a combined disk test, and molecular methods for the detection of class A and C β-lactamase genes, and finally, the genetic relatedness was classified. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that 63% (17/27) of the retrieved A. baumannii isolates were extensively drug-resistant to 8/9 antimicrobial classes. Furthermore, 37% (10/27) of the isolates were classified as multidrug-resistant; 8 isolates exhibited similar resistant patterns and the other two isolates showed 2 different patterns, while resistance was greater in isolates from patients than from the ward environment. Combined disk test showed that two isolates contained extended-spectrum β-lactamase. All isolates carried bla TEM-1 , and two copies of the bla CTX-1 gene were indicated in one isolate, while bla SHV was absent in all isolates. Twenty-four isolates carried the bla AmpC gene; among them, 3 isolates harbored the insertion sequence ISAba-1 upstream to the gene. Using Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus PCR, the isolates were clustered into 6 distinct types; among them, two clusters, each of four strains, were classified to contain isolates from both patients and environments. e clusters of similar genotypes were found in inpatients as well as the environments of different wards during time periods, suggesting transmission within the hospital. Identification of possible infection sources and controlling the transmission of these aggressive resistance strains should be strictly conducted. 1. Introduction Multiantibiotic resistance to bacterial pathogens has increased worldwide which is considered a public health hazard. e development of multidrug-resistant MDR and extensively drug- resistant XDR bacteria is reported in several recent studies which require urgencies to upgrade the currently in-use anti- microbial agents or to create new alternatives [1]. Besides, there should be frequent monitoring of the antimicrobial suscepti- bility testing to indicate the antibiotic of choice and to identify the resistance patterns [2]. A. baumannii has over the last several years gained recognition as being an opportunistic pathogen. While usually a benign component for inpatients, it causes about 10% of nosocomial infections in intensive care units (ICUs), leading to a wide range of infections such as bacteremia, secondary meningitis, pneumonia, burns, wounds, and urinary tract infections [3]. Clinically, its significance has been forced by its capacity to acquire resistance determi- nants which makes it a highly threatening organism within the field of antibiotics. A. baumannii has high intrinsic resistance to several antibiotics and a tendency to acquire Hindawi Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology Volume 2022, Article ID 8243192, 10 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/8243192