DETECTION OF Burkholderia cepacia EPIDEMIC STRAIN MARKER (BCESM) AND THE CABLE PILIN SUBUNIT GENE (CBLA) IN Burkholderia contaminans LOCAL ISOLATES

C. PRIETO,; P. MARTINA,; M. LEGUIZAMON; M.L. CAZZOLA; F. RENTERIA; G. DIEZ; N. BITAR; M. C. RUEDA; S.S. PEREZ; O. YANTORNO

Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires

Congreso; X Congreso Argentino de Microbiología General SAMIGE 2014; 2014

SOCIEDAD ARGENTINA DE MICROBIOLOGIA GENERAL (SAMIGE)

Pulmonary infection with bacteria belonging to Burkholderia cepacia complex species (Bcc) in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are usually chronic and resistant to antibiotic therapy. Previous studies identified transmissibility markers in Bcc bacteria, which were associated with certain epidemic strains, having an increased ability to spread. These markers included the cable pili (cblA) gene (1) and the B. cepacia epidemic strain marker (BCESM) (2), which is part of a genomic island encoding genes linked to metabolism and virulence such as quorum sensing signals (AHLs) (3). The prevalence of infection in CF population world while has shown that B. multivorans, B. cenocepacia, and B. cepacia are the most predominant Bcc pathogens, causing on average 80% of the Bcc infections. However, in a previous study, we demonstrate that in Argentina 8, out of the 18 Bcc species could be recovered from CF patients, with a remarkably high representation of B. contaminans, detected in 60% of the CF patients analyzed (4). Thus, despite the implementation of strict infection control protocols, B. contaminans species have been recovered from both CF and non-CF patients, industrial products, and environmental samples.