CRAB Information for Health Professionals

On this page:
Required Disease Reporting
Infection Prevention and Control
Annual Summary Statistics

Required Disease Reporting

In 2011, MDH initiated sentinel surveillance for carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) in Hennepin and Ramsey counties. On March 1, 2020, MDH expanded surveillance for CRAB to statewide under 4605.7080 of the Communicable Disease Reporting Rule.

• Reporting CRAB
  CRAB must be reported to MDH within one working day after the test result is finalized.
• CRAB Isolate Submission and Laboratory Testing
  Isolate must be submitted to MDH for additional testing.

Infection Prevention and Control

Patients colonized or infected with CRAB can spread the bacteria to other patients via the contaminated hands of healthcare workers, through contaminated medical equipment, or a contaminated health care environment. Implementing infection prevention and control measures is critical to preventing CRAB transmission in health care facilities.

• Place patients with CRAB infection or colonization in a private room using Contact Precautions.
  • Patients can remain colonized with CRAB for long periods of time. Discontinuing Contact Precautions for patients with a history of CRAB is generally not recommended. Consult with MDH if you have any questions about the need for Contact Precautions.
• To reduce the risk of transmission from shared equipment, dedicate as much equipment as possible to patients with CRAB infection or colonization. Ensure thorough cleaning between uses of equipment that must be shared.
• Staff should adhere to policies related to performing hand hygiene and environmental cleaning of the patient care environment, including medical equipment.
• Refer to CDC: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) Infection Control for full infection prevention guidance.
• If a case of carbapenemase-producing CRAB (CP-CRAB) is identified in a health care facility, MDH will work with that facility to implement additional containment strategies. 

Annual Summary Statistics

• Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), Acinetobacter baumannii (CRA), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA): Annual Summary of Reportable Diseases
  The Minnesota Department of Health collects information on infectious diseases for the purposes of determining disease impact, assessing trends in disease occurrence, characterizing affected populations, prioritizing control efforts, and evaluating prevention strategies, and reports statistics annually.  Note: There are no listings for years in which there were no cases reported. The annual summary archives available on the web go back to 1997.