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A new study by Chinese researchers suggests a highly resistant, healthcare-associated bacterial pathogen could be transmitted through the air. In the study , published yesterday in the American Journal of Infection Control, researchers from Sichuan University investigated the extent of air contamination with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) in an intensive care unit (ICU) at West China Hospital. CRAB is a multidrug-resistant pathogen that tends to infect severely ill hospital patients, and is known to spread in ICUs through contact with contaminated high-touch surfaces and shared medical devices. The study authors note that while CRAB air contamination has been detected in previous studies or infected or colonized patients, airborne transmission has not been documented. On February 26, 2025, the researchers collected air samples from five rooms in the ICU that had at least one patient who had CRAB recovered from a clinical specimen or screening swab, along with nasal or rectal swabs.

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