Fourteen-year survival of Pseudomonas cepacia in a salts solution preserved with benzalkonium chloride

Abstract

A strain of Pseudomonas cepacia that survived for 14 years (1963 to 1977) as a contaminant in an inorganic salt solution which contained commercial 0.05% benzalkonium chloride (CBC) as an antimicrobial preservative, was compared to a recent clinical isolate of P. cepacia. Ammonium acetate was present in the concentrated stock CBC solution, and served as a carbon and nitrogen source for growth when carried over into the salts solution with the CBC. The isolate's resistance to pure benzalkonium chloride was increased step-wise to a concentration of 16%. Plate counts showed 4 x 10(3) colony-forming units per ml in the salts solution. Comparison of growth rates, mouse virulence, antibiotics resistance spectra, and substrate requirements disclosed no differences between the contaminant and a recently isolated clinical strain of P. cepacia. The results indicate that it is critical that pharmaceutical solutions containing benzalkonium chloride as an antimicrobial preservative be formulated without extraneous carbon and nitrogen sources or be preserved with additional antimicrobial agents.

Recovery of Pseudomonas cepacia and Other Pseudomonas Species from the Environment

“…Person-to-person transmission of P cepacia among individuals with cystic fibrosis has been demonstrated,4 and recent observations suggest that the environment also may serve as a source for the acquisition of this bacterium.'" Although P cepacia commonly is regarded as "ubiquitous" in nature, 2,9,[12][13][14][15] potential environmental sources of P cepacia outside of the hospital have not been investigated. The data presented in this report indicate that P cepacia is found infrequently within homes.…”

Isolation medium for the recovery of Pseudomonas cepacia from respiratory secretions of patients with cystic fibrosis

“…In cases in which it is recognized, the spectrum of disease can range from long-term colonization to rapidly progressive (1 to 3 weeks) fatal illness. Unlike P. aeruginosa, P. cepacia is relatively avirulent in animal models (4,11). Although isolates from CF patients have both proteolytic and lipolytic activities, they produce neither elastase nor toxins similar to P. aeruginosa toxin A, both of which are postulated to be important virulence factors in pulmonary disease in CF patients (10; P. H. Gilligan, W. H. Yeung, D. Yucht, and D. Schidlow, Cystic Fibrosis Club 25:113, 1984).…”

Burkholderia cepacia complex bacteria: opportunistic pathogens with important natural biology

“…One aspect of Bcc biology that may play a significant role in allowing these organisms to cause infection is their ability to survive within a number of man-made products such as pharmaceuticals , cosmetics and toiletries (Perry 2001), disinfectants and preservatives (Geftic et al 1979). Bcc bacteria have a remarkable ability to survive for very long periods in solutions containing high concentrations of antimicrobials (Geftic et al 1979). Even solutions with minimal nutrients such as saline used in hospitals may become contaminated and cause large outbreaks, such as reported for B. cepacia among Portugese CF patients (Cunha et al 2007).…”

“…One aspect of Bcc biology that may play a significant role in allowing these organisms to cause infection is their ability to survive within a number of man‐made products such as pharmaceuticals (Mahenthiralingam et al. 2006), cosmetics and toiletries (Perry 2001), disinfectants and preservatives (Geftic et al. 1979).…”

“…1979). Bcc bacteria have a remarkable ability to survive for very long periods in solutions containing high concentrations of antimicrobials (Geftic et al. 1979).…”