Burkholderia cepacia complex: beyond pseudomonas and acinetobacter.

Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) is an important nosocomial pathogen in hospitalised patients, particularly those with prior broad-spectrum antibacterial therapy. BCC causes infections that include bacteraemia, urinary tract infection, septic arthritis, peritonitis and respiratory tract infection. Due to high intrinsic resistance and being one of the most antimicrobial-resistant organisms encountered in the clinical laboratory, these infections can prove very difficult to treat and, in some cases, result in death. Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and those with chronic granulomatous disease are predisposed to infection by BCC bacteria. BCC survives and multiplies in aqueous hospital environments, including disinfectant agents and intravenous fluids, where it may persist for long periods. Outbreaks and pseudo-outbreaks of BCC septicaemia have been documented in intensive care units, oncology units and renal failure patients. BCC is phenotypically unremarkable, and the complex exhibits an extensive diversity of genotypes. BCC is of increasing importance for agriculture and bioremediation because of their antinematodal and antifungal properties as well as their capability to degrade a wide range of toxic compounds. It has always been a tedious task for a routine microbiological laboratory to identify the nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli, and poor laboratory proficiency in identification of this nonfermenter worldwide still prevails. In India, there are no precise reports of the prevalence of BCC infection, and in most cases, these bacteria have been ambiguously reported as nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli or simply Pseudomonas spp. The International Burkholderia cepacia Working Group is open to clinicians and scientists interested in advancing knowledge of BCC infection/colonisation in persons with CF through the collegial exchange of information and promotion of coordinated approaches to research.