Outbreak of Burkholderia cenocepacia in an intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital identified by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

Mahalakshmi Kumaresan; Meerabai Manoharan; Madhan Sugumar; Sujatha Sistla

doi:10.1016/j.ijmmb.2024.100655

Outbreak of Burkholderia cenocepacia in an intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital identified by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

Indian J Med Microbiol. 2024 Jul-Aug:50:100655. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmmb.2024.100655. Epub 2024 Jun 24.

Authors

Mahalakshmi Kumaresan¹, Meerabai Manoharan², Madhan Sugumar³, Sujatha Sistla⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, 605006, India. Electronic address: mahalakshmik2013@gmail.com.
² Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, 605006, India. Electronic address: meerammb@yahoo.com.
³ Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, 605006, India. Electronic address: micromadhan@gmail.com.
⁴ Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, 605006, India. Electronic address: sujathasistla@gmail.com.

PMID: 38914312
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmmb.2024.100655

Abstract

Nosocomial outbreaks of Burkholderia cepacia complex, transmitted through contaminated medical surfaces or equipment have been reported. Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) is recognized as the "gold standard" for molecular subtyping, yet studies on clonal relationships in India are limited. PFGE was used to study the clonal relationships of 22 isolates of Burkholderia cenocepacia from 12 patients admitted to a critical care unit during 2 months (November and December 2021). PFGE revealed three different profiles with 15 isolates belonging to a single cluster suggesting a common source within the hospital, emphasizing the need for preventive measures to control B. cenocepacia transmission.

Keywords: Burkholderia cenocepacia; Outbreak; PFGE.

MeSH terms

Adult
Burkholderia Infections* / epidemiology
Burkholderia Infections* / microbiology
Burkholderia cenocepacia* / classification
Burkholderia cenocepacia* / genetics
Burkholderia cenocepacia* / isolation & purification
Cross Infection* / epidemiology
Cross Infection* / microbiology
Disease Outbreaks*
Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field*
Female
Humans
India / epidemiology
Intensive Care Units*
Male
Middle Aged
Molecular Typing / methods
Tertiary Care Centers*