Increase in Hospital-Acquired Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Infection and Colonization in an Acute Care Hospital During a Surge in COVID-19 Admissions — New Jersey, February–July 2020

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) causes health care–associated infections that are challenging to contain and often linked to infection prevention and control (IPC) breaches.

A New Jersey hospital reported a cluster of 34 CRAB cases that peaked during a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations. Strategies to preserve continuity of care led to deviations in IPC practices; CRAB cases decreased when normal operations resumed.

Hospitals managing surges of patients with COVID-19 might be vulnerable to outbreaks of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infections. Maintaining IPC best practices (e.g., MDRO surveillance and hand hygiene and environmental cleaning audits) to the extent possible could mitigate spread.