A Bundle of Measures to Control an Outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Associated With P-Trap Contamination

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2018 Feb;39(2):164-169. doi: 10.1017/ice.2017.304.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To describe an outbreak of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in which the hospital waste-pipe system was the likely source of contamination and to report the bundle of measures that facilitated the long-term control of the outbreak. DESIGN Outbreak investigation. SETTING The hematology unit of a tertiary-care referral center. PATIENTS Patients who were colonized or infected with P. aeruginosa belonging to the clonal outbreak. METHODS Patients admitted to our 15-bed stem-cell transplantation hematology unit were screened for P. aeruginosa carriage. Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were also obtained from diagnostic samples. We assessed the microbiological contamination of P-traps, water and toilets for 42 months. Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) were screened and identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. Molecular typing of ESBL- or MBL-producing isolates was carried out using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). RESULTS From 2009 to 2013, a biclonal outbreak of IMP-19-producing ST235 (11 cases) and IMP-29-producing ST111 (10 cases) of P. aeruginosa occurred. The environmental investigation strongly suggested that P-traps were the reservoirs for the outbreak strains. A bundle of infection control measures, including engineering interventions on water outlets and disinfection of P-traps, controlled the outbreak. CONCLUSIONS We report a prolonged outbreak of IMP-producing high-risk clones of P. aeruginosa, for which P-traps seems to play a major role in cross-transmission. It appears essential to implement proactive measures to limit the bacterial load in water fittings of high-risk units. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:164-169.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cross Infection / epidemiology
  • Cross Infection / microbiology*
  • Cross Infection / prevention & control
  • Cross Infection / transmission*
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
  • Equipment Contamination* / prevention & control
  • France / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Infection Control / methods
  • Multilocus Sequence Typing
  • Pseudomonas Infections / diagnosis
  • Pseudomonas Infections / epidemiology
  • Pseudomonas Infections / prevention & control
  • Pseudomonas Infections / transmission*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / genetics
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / isolation & purification*
  • Tertiary Care Centers
  • Water Microbiology*
  • beta-Lactamases

Substances

  • beta-Lactamases