Misidentification of Burkholderia pseudomallei and Other Burkholderia Species From Pediatric Infections in Mexico

Abstract

Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia cepacia complex are poorly studied in Mexico. The genotypic analysis of 38 strains isolated from children with pneumonia were identified and showed that both Burkholderia groups were present in patients. From our results, it is plausible to suggest that new species are among the analyzed strains.

Description of two fatal cases of melioidosis in Mexican children with acute pneumonia: case report

“…Recently, several reports [ 7 – 9 ] described the occurrence of melioidosis in different regions of Mexico, but none of them have been able to confirm the environmental presence of the bacteria. Of note, B. pseudomallei has been recently reported in children with pneumonia in Mexico City, but melioidosis disease was not diagnosed [ 6 ].…”

“…In the Americas, melioidosis has been declared endemic in several countries, including Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Colombia [ 5 ]. This bacterium has been isolated from children with pneumonia in Mexico City, but melioidosis disease has not been commonly diagnosed [ 6 ]. Historically, Mexico is considered a country with sporadic melioidosis cases but with no environmental evidence of the bacterium [ 7 ]; however, there are documented cases of disease in Mexican patients with no history of traveling overseas or to established endemic areas [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Burkholderia species in human infections in Mexico: Identification of B. cepacia, B. contaminans, B. multivorans, B. vietnamiensis,B. pseudomallei and a new Burkholderia species

“…strains was provided by Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea González (HGMGG). These strains were isolated from different human sources, such as bronchus secretions, expectorations, feces, blood, cervical wounds, cultures from catheters and pharyngeal exudates of patients 1-88 years old between 2009 and 2011 (9 patients from 1 to 8 years old, 5 from 20 to 29 years old, 3 from 34 to 39 years old, 6 from 45 to 50 years old, 6 from 52 to 60 years old, 5 from 62 to 70 years old and 7 from 72 to 88 years old) (Tables 1 and S1 second group comprised 26 strains isolated in Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez (HIMFG) from children with pneumonia and initially identified as B. cepacia [12]. These strains were included in this study to identify them at the species level (Table 1).…”

“…B. contaminans is an emerging CF pathogen, having been found in Argentina, Spain, United Kingdom, Portugal and Ireland [6]. In México, few Bcc species, including B. cepacia, B. cenocepacia and non-identified Bcc strains at the species level, have been isolated from urinary tract, hemocultures, chronic granulomatous disease lung biopsy, catheter and clinical gel [7,8,9,10,11,12].…”

“…Yet, these events are not reported, and melioidosis has been described in only a few cases [17,19]. B. pseudomallei has been isolated from pediatric patients with pneumonia in Mexico, but melioidosis was not diagnosed at any time [12]. We recently related environmental B. pseudomallei to two fatal cases of melioidosis in Sonora, Mexico [20].…”