An outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ventilator-associated respiratory infections due to contaminated food coloring dye--further evidence of the significance of gastric colonization preceding nosocomial pneumonia.

An outbreak of ventilator-associated Pseudomonas aeruginosa respiratory infections in an intensive care unit of a teaching hospital was found to be associated with contaminated food coloring dye. Serotyping and bacteriocin typing indicated that the same strain of Pseudomonas was isolated from the food dye and from the respiratory cultures of the majority of patients. This observation lends credence to the importance of gastric colonization preceding pneumonia in ventilated patients.