부산대학교 도서관

Ralstonia species is an emerging pathogen, and an opportunistic gram-negative bacterium that often exists in water, soil, and plants causing healthcare-associated infections or outbreaks through contaminated solutions. We report a pseudo-outbreak of Ralstonia species infections resulting from a contaminated saline dispenser in the microbiological laboratory at a hospital in central Taiwan. A cluster of five cases with Ralstonia species infections was noted from April to July in 2020. The investigation revealed that contamination of the dispensed saline solution by the Ralstonia species used for damping desiccated surgical specimens in the microbiological laboratory may have caused the pseudo-outbreak. After using single-used saline vials instead of dispensed saline solution for the laboratory procedure and implementation of education program on sterile technique for the microbiological laboratory staffs, no new case of infection by Ralstonia species was identified. Thus, rapid identification and correction of flaws in running processes in a microbiological laboratory is crucial to avoid misdiagnoses and treatments in clinical patients.