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Pseudo-Outbreak of “Mycobacterium paraffinicum” Infection and/or Colonization in a Tertiary Care Medical Center

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Shu-Hua Wang ,
Preeti Pancholi ,
Kurt Stevenson ,
Mitchell A. Yakrus ,
W. Ray Butler ,
Larry S. Schlesinger  and
Julie E. Mangino
Shu-Hua Wang*
Affiliation:
Center for Microbial Interface Biology, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
Preeti Pancholi
Affiliation:
Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
Kurt Stevenson
Affiliation:
Center for Microbial Interface Biology, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
Mitchell A. Yakrus
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, Atlanta, Georgia
W. Ray Butler
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, Atlanta, Georgia
Larry S. Schlesinger
Affiliation:
Center for Microbial Interface Biology, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
Julie E. Mangino
Affiliation:
Center for Microbial Interface Biology, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
*
N-1120 Doan Hall, 410 West 10th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (Shu-Hua.Wang@osumc.edu)
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Abstract

Objective.

To investigate a pseudo-outbreak of “Mycobacterium paraffinicum” (unofficial taxon) infection and/or colonization, using isolates recovered from clinical and environmental specimens.

Design.

Outbreak investigation.

Setting.

University-affiliated, tertiary-care hospital.

Methods.

M. paraffinicum, a slow-growing, nontuberculous species of mycobacteria, was recovered from 21 patients and an ice machine on a single patient care unit over a 2.5-year period. The clinical, epidemiological, and environmental investigation of this pseudo-outbreak is described.

Results.

Twenty-one patients with pulmonary symptoms and possible risk factors for tuberculosis were admitted to inpatient rooms that provided airborne isolation conditions in 2 adjacent hospital buildings. In addition, 1 outpatient had induced sputum cultured for mycobacteria in the pulmonary function laboratory. Of the samples obtained from these 21 patients, 26 isolates from respiratory samples and 1 isolate from a stool sample were identified as M. paraffinicum. Environmental isolates obtained from an ice machine in the patient care unit where the majority of the patients were admitted were also identified as M. paraffinicum.

Conclusions.

An epidemiological investigation that used molecular tools confirmed the suspicion of a pseudo-outbreak of M. paraffinicum infection and/or colonization. The hospital water system was identified as the source of contamination.

Information

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 30 , Issue 9 , September 2009 , pp. 848 - 853
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2009

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