Prevalence and clonality of Burkholderia cepacia complex genomovars in UK patients with cystic fibrosis referred for lung transplantation.
BACKGROUND
It has previously been reported that patients infected with Burkholderia cenocepacia (genomovar III) before lung transplantation have a poorer outcome than those with other B. cepacia complex infections.


METHODS
An extensive study was conducted to determine the prevalence and clonality of B. cepacia complex genomovars isolated from patients referred for transplant assessment between 1989 to the present and, where appropriate, whether strain type was related to transplant outcome.


RESULTS
Isolates from 29 patients were identified as B. cepacia complex organisms by molecular analysis. Thirteen patients (45%) were infected with the highly transmissible ET-12 strain of B. cenocepacia recA lineage III-A, while all remaining patients were infected with genetically unique B. cenocepacia, B. multivorans, and B. vietnamiensis strains. All previously reported deaths following transplantation were associated with ET-12 infection.


CONCLUSIONS
The ET-12 strain is the predominant cause of B. cenocepacia infections in patients with cystic fibrosis referred to our pulmonary transplant centre and is associated with poor transplant outcomes using standard treatment regimens.
De Soyza
A
A
Transplantation and Immunobiology Group, The Freeman Hospital, High Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7DN, UK. de-soyza@ncl.ac.uk
Morris
K
K
McDowell
A
A
Doherty
C
C
Archer
L
L
Perry
J
J
Govan
J R W
JR
Corris
P A
PA
Gould
K
K
D019121:Burkholderia Infections / Q000235:genetics*; D002999:Clone Cells; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D006801:Humans; D016040:Lung Transplantation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology