Background
Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) is a group of common environmental bacteria that preferentially colonize and infect
patients with cystic fibrosis but are also emerging as nosocomial pathogens, possibly
due to their resistance to disinfectants and antimicrobials.
Methods
We investigated a 3-month outbreak of Bcc bacteremia among hospitalized hematology patients. Environmental investigation and
infection control measures were implemented. A retrospective, cross-sectional study
was conducted to identify risk factors.
Results
Bcc was repeatedly isolated from the blood of 9 patients without central venous catheter
who did not easily respond to targeted antibiotic treatment and 3 died of the infection.
A point source was not identified and horizontal spread was suspected. Strict infection
control measures terminated the outbreak. Interestingly, diagnosis of acute myeloid
leukemia but not neutropenia or prior chemotherapy was a risk factor for infection
acquisition. Neutropenia was positively correlated with infection duration.
Conclusions
Bcc is not only a serious threat among immunocompromized hematology patients, but is
also transmissible in clinical settings. Acute myeloid leukemia appears to confer
additional risk for infection acquisition.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 08, 2012
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
