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Bacillus cereus infections among oncology patients at a children's hospital

J C Christenson1, C Byington, E K Korgenski

  • 1University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Divisions of Infectious Diseases, Salt Lake City 84132, USA.

American Journal of Infection Control
|December 10, 1999
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Bacillus cereus infections can be severe in immunocompromised individuals. Investigations found no common source for three oncology patient cases, indicating sporadic infections.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Bacillus cereus is a pathogen capable of causing severe infections, particularly in immunocompromised individuals.
  • Oncology patients represent a vulnerable population susceptible to serious bacterial infections.

Observation:

  • Three cases of bacteremia/septicemia, including one fatality, occurred in pediatric oncology patients within a 10-day period.
  • The close temporal occurrence of these cases raised suspicion for a common source outbreak within the hospital setting.

Findings:

  • Despite an extensive epidemiologic investigation, no common hospital source for the Bacillus cereus infections was identified.
  • Molecular analysis using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) demonstrated that the patient and environmental isolates were not related, ruling out a clonal outbreak.

Implications:

  • These findings suggest that sporadic Bacillus cereus infections can occur in immunocompromised hosts, even without an identifiable common source.
  • Such infections can lead to significant morbidity and mortality in vulnerable patient populations.
  • The study highlights the importance of vigilance for Bacillus cereus infections in immunocompromised patients, even when outbreak conditions are not apparent.

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