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Case Reports
. 2018 Oct;23(42):1800540.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2018.23.42.1800540.

Outbreak of Burkholderia cepacia complex infections associated with contaminated octenidine mouthwash solution, Germany, August to September 2018

Sören L Becker  1 , Fabian K Berger  1 , Susanne K Feldner  2 , Irem Karliova  2 , Manfred Haber  3 , Alexander Mellmann  4 , Hans-Joachim Schäfers  2 , Barbara Gärtner  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Outbreak of Burkholderia cepacia complex infections associated with contaminated octenidine mouthwash solution, Germany, August to September 2018

Sören L Becker et al. Euro Surveill. 2018 Oct.

Abstract

Three German patients developed nosocomial pneumonia after cardiac surgery and had Burkholderia cepacia complex detected in respiratory specimens. Two patients died of septic multi-organ failure. Whole-genome sequencing detected genetically identical B. cepacia complex strains in patient samples, from a batch of octenidine mouthwash solution, which had been used for nursing care, as well as in samples obtained from the manufacturer during production. Contamination of medical products during manufacturing may lead to international outbreaks.

Keywords: Burkholderia cepacia; Hygiene; Infection prevention; Outbreak investigation; Whole-genome sequencing.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Timeline of three patients who underwent cardiac surgery and had Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) detected in respiratory specimens during inpatient treatment in a German University hospital, August–September 2018
Figure 2
Figure 2
Minimum-spanning tree displaying the clonal relationship of the Burkholderia cepacia complex isolates detected during a hospital-based outbreak investigation in Germany, August–September 2018
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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