75 A single clone of Achromobacter xylosoxidans colonizes Belgian cystic fibrosis patients from different centres

Abstract

Objective Several major infection problems with Achromobacter xylosoxidans were observed for CF patients in Belgium. We tried to assess the epidemiology. Methods We typed 50 strains from 24 CF patients – from Ghent University Hospital (UZG, n=17) and from the University of Antwerp Hospital (UZA, n=7), most of which (14 from Ghent and 5 from Antwerp) had stayed at the rehabilitation centre. CF-related strains had been collected over a period of 10 years. We also included 8 unrelated strains: 7 clinical strains from non-CF patients and the type strain. McRAPD (arbitrarily primed PCR in combination with melting curve analysis)(Deschaght et al. 2011. Res Microbiol 162: 386–392), nrdA gene sequencing (Spilker et al. 2013. J Cystic Fibrosis 12: 298–301) and MALDI-TOF typing (newly developed) were used for typing. Results Typing revealed that most isolates from CF patients were indistinguishable by any of the three approaches. Only 6 CF patients had invididual types of A. xylosoxidans . Non-CF strains, including the one isolated from a non-CF patient at the rehabilitation centre, belonged to separate genotypes. The major clone observed in this study had previously been recognized as a major cluster (10 patients) in the rehabilitation centre of De Haan and its distinctness from a previously established minor cluster in De Haan (4 patients, Van Daele et al. 2005. J Clin Microbiol 43: 2998–3002) was confirmed in this study. Conclusion These data indicate that most CF patients from different CF centres in Belgium are colonized by a single clone of genuine A. xylosoxidans , that is spreading since at least 10 years. We thank the MucoVereniging Belgium