1,2; Gabriel K. Innes, VMD, PhD2; Maroya Spalding Walters, PhD3; Jason Mehr, MPH2; Jessica Arias2; Rebecca Greeley, MPH2; Debra Chew, MD4 (View author affiliations)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.