An outbreak of Burkholderia stabilis colonization in a nasal ward

• A 7-month outbreak of Burkholderia stabilis colonization occurred in a nasal ward.
• Attention should be paid to a cluster of cultures positive for an opportunistic pathogen.
• Opportunistic pathogens in samples should be reported by the clinical microbiology laboratory.
• Asymptomatic colonization must be highlighted in order to identify outbreaks early.

SummaryObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe an outbreak of Burkholderia stabilis colonization among patients in a nasal ward.MethodsMultilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used for the molecular typing of B. stabilis isolates. Microbiological records were reviewed to delineate the colonization outbreak period. One hundred seventy-one cultures of environment and equipment samples from the nasal ward were performed to trace the source of contamination. Infection control measures were taken in order to end the outbreak.ResultsAll B. stabilis isolates were identified as a new MLST type, ST821. A total of 53 patients carried this B. stabilis in the nasal ward between March and September 2013, which was defined as the outbreak period. The source of the colonization was not determined because all environment cultures were negative for Burkholderia cepacia complex. No further B. stabilis carriers have been found in the ward since the implementation of interventions.ConclusionsAttention must be paid to asymptomatic colonization in order to identify outbreaks early.