Authors: Linju Joy, Anita K B, Ashwin Chitrabanu N
Background: The genus Burkholderia which was earlier considered as a soil saprophyte, is now gaining importance as a human pathogen. The pathogenic species include B. pseudomallei, B.cepacia, B.mallei, B.gladioli and B.thailandensis. Ongoing studies on Bukholderia spp. have resulted in the isolation of newer subspecies from human samples. Aim: The study was undertaken to know the prevalence of Burkholderia spp among the clinical isolates in our hospital setup, to identify and also to evaluate their antibiogram. Materials and Methods: Various clinical samples from patients were analysed along with their demographic data. All the specimens were processed according to the standard microbiology procedures. Results: In a total of 4115 culture positive samples, 951 (23.11%) were identified as Non Fermenting Gram Negative Bacilli (NFGNB). 30 (3.2%) of these NFGNB were identified as Burkholderia spp. with an overall prevalence rate of 0.72%. 12 (40%) were further identified as B.pseudomallei and 18 (60%) as B.cepacia complex. 76.7% of the patients were above 40 years and a male preponderance was also observed (80%). Diabetes mellitus was found to be the major risk factor (60%) and fever was the commonest presentation (53.3%). Antibiotic sensitivity testing showed highest sensitivity to minocycline and cotrimoxazole and the least to imipenam. Conclusion: This study provides a baseline data of the present scenario of Burkholderia infections in our hospital. A continuing study will be beneficial in identifying a number of cases as this is a grossly under-reported organism. Keywords:Â NFGNB, Burkholderia infection, Risk factors, Prevalence, Antibiogram.
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