Polyclonal outbreak of bacteremia caused by Burkholderia cepacia in the intensive care unit

Abstract

Aim: Burkholderia cepacia is a multidrug-resistant, opportunistic pathogen of humans and outbreaks of infection in hospitals have been described. In this study, we aimed to report an outbreak in patients without cystic fibrosis or chronic granulomatous disease involving different species of Burkholderia cepacia. Material and Methods: A small outbreak of nosocomial Burkholderia cepacia complex occurred in a 6-bed intensive care unit. We isolated Burkholderia cepacia from blood cultures of the patients admitted to our intensive care unit. All isolates from patients and the environment were identified by standard microbiological techniques and VITEK system. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using Kirby Bauer's disk diffusion method and the VITEK system Results: All isolates exhibited identical patterns of antibiotic susceptibility and all isolates were sensitive to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ceftazidime and meropenem. The isolates were typed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis using the restriction enzymes XbaI and SpeI. Accordingly, while 4 strains were similar, one was different. Discussion: The experience from this outbreak reminded us of the importance of outbreak investigation in such small outbreaks and keeping the health care workers educated and constant attention on this issue. The results of this study emphasized once again the necessity to maintain our sensitivity to the basic principles of sanitation and to raise our awareness of such outbreaks.