Virulence Factors of Acinetobacter baumannii Environmental Isolates and Their Inhibition by Natural Zeolite

Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging human pathogen causing great concern in hospital environment over the last two decades. A. baumannii expresses the resistance to multiple antibiotics as well as disinfectants, and survives in adverse conditions, leading to long-term persistence in the hospital environment (Espinal et al., 2012; Towner, 2009). Additionally, virulence factors that influence the success of A. baumannii as a pathogen are its surface motility on solid/semisolid media and the ability to form biofilm on abiotic or biotic surfaces (McConnell et al., 2013).