Burkholderia cepacia complex in Indian cystic fibrosis patients

In India, there are no precise reports of the prevalence of Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) infections due to the lack of awareness and difficulty in identification by routine clinical laboratories. In most cases, BCC has been ambiguously reported as nonfermentative Gram-negative bacilli (NFGNB) or simply Pseudomonas spp.1,2. For this reason, reports of disease due to BCC are rare and BCC has been reported from only a few tertiary care centres in north India2-6. BCC is an established pathogen in two patient populations with genetic diseases viz. cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic granulomatous disease, where it causes increased morbidity and mortality7. Moreover, BCC has become an increasingly common nosocomial pathogen due to its high intrinsic and acquired antimicrobial resistance, lack of effective antibiotics, and survival ability in the environment for prolonged periods of time.