Objectives

To investigate and describe an outbreak of Burkholderia cepacia in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and to report the interventions leading to the cessation of the outbreak.

Design

We conducted an epidemiologic investigation of an outbreak of B. cepacia colonization or infection in two clinical wards during a 35-month period (December 1998 to October 2001).

Setting

A 500-bed, university hospital-affiliated, tertiary-care pediatric institution in Paris, France, with a 22-bed PICU and 31-bed NICU.

Methods

Ribotyping was used to determine the genotypes of B. cepacia isolates. Procedures for the maintenance and disinfection of respiratory therapy devices were reviewed.

Results

Thirty-two children were colonized (n = 14) or infected (n = 18) by B. cepacia in 2 wards (28 in the PICU and 4 in the NICU). In the PICU, a single ribotype was found among the isolates obtained from all of the patients except 1, and from the 6 isolates obtained from respiratory therapy devices (ie, heated humidifier water). In the NICU, the isolates obtained from the patients harbored a single ribotype unrelated to that of the epidemic strain isolated in the PICU; no environmental source of infection was found.

Conclusion

Two different outbreaks appeared to be associated with 2 ribotypes, 1 of which was linked to patient-to-patient transmission via respiratory therapy devices. Complete elimination of the outbreak was achieved only when disposable, sterilizable, or easy-to-disinfect materials were used in the PICU. The source of infection in the NICU was not found.