Epidemic spread of Pandoraea pulmonicola in a cystic fibrosis center. Issue 1 (December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Degand, Nicolas; Lotte, Romain; Decondé Le Butor, Célia; Segonds, Christine; Thouverez, Michelle; Ferroni, Agnès; Vallier, Christine; Mély, Laurent; Carrère, Jacqueline
• Is Part Of: BMC infectious diseases. Volume 15:Issue 1(2015)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 7
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Subjects: Pandoraea pulmonicola -- Epidemic -- Cystic fibrosis; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Sexually Transmitted Diseases -- Periodicals; 616.905
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-015-1327-8
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1471-2334

Abstract

Abstract Background Pandoraea spp. are recently discovered bacteria, mainly recovered from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, but their epidemiology and clinical significance are not well known. We describe an epidemic spread ofPandoraea pulmonicola from 2009 in our CF center, involving 6 out of 243 CF patients. Methods Bacterial identification used amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and 16S rDNA gene sequencing. The clonal link between strains was assessed with pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using XbaI. Clinical data were gathered for all patients. Results The index case was chronically colonized since 2000. The main hypothesis for this bacterial spread was a droplet cross-transmission, due to preventive measures not being strictly followed. Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed resistance to beta-lactams, ciprofloxacin and colistin. However, there was susceptibility to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. All patients were chronically colonized withPseudomonas aeruginosa, and the acquisition ofP. pulmonicola resulted in chronic colonization in all patients. Three patients died, and two patients remained clinically stable, whereas one patient had a decline in lung function. Conclusions This study, which is the first to describe an epidemic spread ofP. pulmonicola, notes the potential transmissibility of this bacterial species and the need for infection control measures.