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A pseudo-outbreak of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium
Renato Satovschi Grinbaum1, Thaís Guimarães, Elisa Kusano
1Hospital Infection Program, Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual de São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology
|June 28, 2003
Summary
Five vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) isolates from sterile samples were clonal. Despite no patient infections, laboratory contamination was suspected due to sample handling, highlighting potential risks in clinical microbiology.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Microbiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Molecular Epidemiology
Background:
- Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) poses a significant healthcare challenge.
- Surveillance for VRE is crucial to prevent outbreaks in hospital settings.
Observation:
- Five VRE isolates were recovered from sterile patient samples.
- No VRE infections were diagnosed in the affected patients across different hospital wards.
Findings:
- Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis confirmed all five VRE isolates were genetically identical (clonal).
- Despite consistent handling by a single laboratory worker, the contamination source remained unidentified.
- The likely source of contamination was traced to the manipulation of a specimen within the laboratory environment.
Implications:
- This case underscores the potential for laboratory-acquired contamination to generate false-positive results.
- Strict adherence to aseptic techniques in clinical laboratories is essential to prevent VRE dissemination.
- Further investigation into laboratory workflows may be necessary to identify and mitigate contamination risks.