Nosocomial outbreak of Burkholderia stabilis related to the use of ultrasound gels in the Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid.

INTRODUCTION

Burkholderia cepacian complex (Bcc) is a group of bacterial species which are phenotypically diverse and ubiquitous in the environment. They are gram-negative bacilli and opportunistic pathogens, infecting patients that are immunosuppressed, hospitalized and/or diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. In October 2024, an outbreak of five patients with positive blood culture for Burkholderia stabilis was detected in the Intensive Care Unit of a terciary care hospital.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this article is to describe the outbreak from its detection to the identification of the reservoir and its resolution.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

A case was defined as any patient with a positive blood culture for Bcc, admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (UCI) for more than 48 h. Samples were collected from the patient's environment and of ultrasound gels (GU) to search for reservoirs. The outbreak was confirmed by genomic sequencing of strains isolated from positive samples at the National Centre for Microbiology (Instituto de Salud Carlos III).

RESULTS

All cases required ultrasound scanning and guidance techniques for the insertion of central catheters. Blood cultures from the five patients and the samples of GUs in use and one batch in the warehouse, factory sealed, tested positive to Burkholderia stabilis ST-1565.

CONCLUSIONS

Once detected the contamination of the GUs, the contaminated batch was removed from both warehouses and clinical units. After the implementation of the control measures no new cases were detected.