IS BURKHOLDERIA (PSEUDOMONAS) CEPACIA DISSEMINATED FROM CYSTIC-FIBROSIS PATIENTS DURING PHYSIOTHERAPY

Burkholderia cepacia is well recognized as a potential respiratory pat hogen in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and there is increasing concern about nosocomial acquisition. Environmental contamination with B. cep acia before, during and after physiotherapy was studied in eight adult CF patients. Air was sampled using a surface air sampler, and horizon tal surfaces and pillows were sampled with moistened swabs and contact plates, respectively. Thirty-nine (40%) of 97 air samples were positi ve and counts ranged from 1-63 cfu/m(3). Forty-four percent of samples taken after physiotherapy were positive. B. cepacia was not recovered from sinks or horizontal surfaces but the pillows of three patients w ere positive. B. cepacia is disseminated into the immediate environmen t by adult CF patients receiving physiotherapy. The potential risk of person-to-person transmission during hospitalization justifies the rec ommendation that B. cepacia-positive patients should be segregated fro m other CF patients.