Contamination of Bone Marrow Products with an Actinomycete ResemblingMicrobacteriumSpecies and Reinfusion into Autologous Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Transplant Recipients

Abstract

Bacterial contamination of bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplant products typically occurs with skin flora or, rarely, gram-negative organisms. We describe a clonal outbreak of contamination in transplant products caused by contamination with an aerobic actinomycete that occurred at our institution during the summer of 2001. From 1 July through 12 September 2001, 73 peripheral blood or bone marrow stem cell products were obtained from 39 patients, and 34 products were found to be contaminated with the outbreak strain. Fourteen patients were reinfused with contaminated cells, and the outbreak strain was isolated from the blood cultures for one patient. Investigation revealed multiple potential sources for contamination during the product cryopreservation process. The outbreak of contamination was aborted upon modification of the cryopreservation process.

Phenotypic and genotypic properties of Microbacterium yannicii, a recently described multidrug resistant bacterium isolated from a lung transplanted patient with cystic fibrosis in France

“…Indeed Microbacterium spp. have been described as a causative agent of infections in immunocompromised patients such as, cancer patients [28,29], endophthalmitis patients [21], interstitial pulmonary infection after heart transplantation [30], bone marrow transplant recipients [31], and bacteremia [32-34]. To the best of our knowledge, such infection with Microbacterium spp has not been previously described in the double context of lung transplantation and in cystic fibrosis.…”

Microbial contamination of hematopoietic progenitor cell products: clinical outcome

“…Microbial contamination of HPC products has been described in frequencies varying from close to 1% up to high contamination rates. [1][2][3][4] Harvesting, ex vivo processing, cryopreservation and the pre-infusion thawing process [5][6][7] can be responsible for contamination, owing to inadequate decontamination of skin at the needle puncture site, indwelling catheter site for peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) collection or owing to contamination by laboratory personnel or equipment. Commonly documented species are part of the normal flora of the skin.…”

Identities of Microbacterium spp. Encountered in Human Clinical Specimens

“…Despite this large number of species, only in the mid1990s was the presence of microbacteria in human clinical specimens recognized (7,8,11). Since then, only eight other reports on microbacteria have appeared in the relevant clinical microbiology literature (1,2,9,(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). The aim of the present study was to reveal the distribution of individual Microbacterium species in human clinical specimens by applying phenotypic and molecular genetic methods.…”