Pseudomonas aeruginosa contamination of mouth swabs during production causing a major outbreak

Abstract

Background: In 2002 we investigated an outbreak comprising 231 patients in Norway, caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and linked to the use of contaminated mouth swabs called Dent-O-Sept. Here we describe the extent of contamination of the swabs, and identify critical points in the production process that made the contamination possible, in order to prevent future outbreaks.

Validation of constitutively expressed bioluminescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a rapid microbiological quantification tool

“…Microbial contamination by P. aeruginosa in pharmaceuticals, food and cosmetics has been a problem for several decades (Tan et al, 2013;Amiri et al, 2011;Zhu et al, 2011;Khanfar et al, 2009;Lundov and Zachariae, 2008;Iversen et al, 2007;Gras-Le Guen et al, 2003), partly due to the difficulty in detecting it. P. aeruginosa has been one of the most widespread opportunistic microbes to have been detected in various cosmetics.…”

Nationwide study of invasive Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in Norway: Importance of underlying disease

“…Only one hospital has instituted screening of all patients being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after a local outbreak. 25 During the investigation and follow-up of a large national outbreak of P. aeruginosa infection in 2001e2002, 26,27 we collected detailed information on all laboratory-confirmed invasive infections in the country. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of invasive P. aeruginosa infection in Norway, and to identify patient groups at increased risk of disease and of death from P. aeruginosa infection.…”

“…The monthly number of cases (40 cases (gray bars) belonged to an outbreak caused by a contaminated mouth swab26,27 ) of invasive P. aeruginosa infection in Norway 1992e2002.…”

Emerging Resistant Gram-Negative Aerobic Bacilli in Hospital-Acquired Infections

“…P. aeruginosa has also been linked to infectious outbreaks from contaminated medical devices. This is mainly due to the organism's ability to effectively produce a biofilm that allows adherence to plastic materials and catheters and helps prevent destruction by antibiotics [24][25][26] . This property, along with increasing broad-spectrum antibiotic use, especially in critical care settings, has led to an increase in MDR strains across the USA and the world [2] .…”