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Volume 22, Number 10—October 2016
Dispatch

Reemergence of Mycobacterium chimaera in Heater–Cooler Units despite Intensified Cleaning and Disinfection Protocol

Peter W. Schreiber, Stefan P. Kuster, Barbara Hasse, Cornelia Bayard, Christian Rüegg, Philipp Kohler, Peter M. Keller, Guido V. Bloemberg1, Francesco Maisano, Dominique Bettex, Maximilian Halbe, Rami Sommerstein, and Hugo SaxComments to Author 
Author affiliations: University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland (P.W. Schreiber, S.P. Kuster, B. Hasse, C. Bayard, C. Rüegg, P. Kohler, F. Maisano, D. Bettex, M. Halbe, H. Sax); University of Zurich, Zurich (P.W. Schreiber, S.P. Kuster, B. Hasse, C. Bayard, C. Rüegg, P. Kohler, F. Maisano, D. Bettex, H. Sax); National Centre for Mycobacteria at University of Zurich, Zurich (P.M. Keller); Institute of Medical Microbiology at University of Zurich, Zurich (P.M. Keller, G.V. Bloemberg); University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland (R. Sommerstein); University of Bern, Bern (R. Sommerstein)

Main Article

Table

Microbiology test results for heater–cooler unit water samples from University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland*

Type of circuit No. samples Microbiology results, no. (%) samples
Any NTM growth Mycobacterium chimaera NTM other than M. chimaera
Cardioplegia† 48 14 (29.2) 10 (20.8)‡ 5 (10.4)‡
Patient† 49 19 (38.8) 12 (24.5)‡ 8 (16.3)‡
Circuit not specified 37§ 5 (13.5) 2 (5.4) 3 (8.1)

*NTM, nontuberculous mycobacteria.
†No statistically significant different results for water samples from cardioplegia and patient circuit (Fisher exact test, p = 0.554).
‡One culture had growth of both M. chimaera and M. gordonae.
§Six (16.2%) samples had bacterial overgrowth.

Main Article

1Current affiliation: Unilabs, Dübendorf, Switzerland.

Page created: September 20, 2016
Page updated: September 20, 2016
Page reviewed: September 20, 2016
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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