Update on Burkholderia nomenclature and resistance

The number of species within the genus Burkholderia has increased dramatically during the past several years. Although most of these are not pathogenic for healthy persons, several species have been associated with human infection and are being increasingly recognized as nosocomial and opportunistic pathogens. The rapidly changing taxonomy of this genus and the limitations of commercially available microbial identification systems present a challenge to the clinical microbiology laboratory. The inherent and inducible broad-range resistance of these species to currently available antimicrobial agents severely limits therapeutic options for the management of human infection.