The recent outbreak of Paraburkholderia fungorum in four U.S. states and two countries abroad is associated with two ultrasound gel products, as stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report from May 13th. At present, 40 isolates of P. fungorum have been traced back to two ultrasound gels manufactured by New Jersey-based NEXT Medical Products Co. These gels are sold under the brands MediChoice and ClearImage.
The Minnesota Department of Health alerted the CDC about the discovery of P. fungorum, a bacterium that is seldom connected to human diseases, across multiple healthcare facilities. In most instances, the infected patients didn’t display signs of clinical infection. However, some had undergone ultrasound-guided percutaneous procedures prior to the bacterium’s detection.
The CDC has warned overall patient safety could be threatened when non-sterile ultrasound gel products are used before or during percutaneous operations. The agency’s recommended protocol states that only products marked as ‘single-use’ and ‘sterile’ should be used for percutaneous procedures. A backward glance at 2021 reveals a parallel outbreak over 10 states where a nonsterile, multiuse ultrasound gel product led to the proliferation of 119 Burkholderia cepacia complex cases, culminating in the fatality of two patients due to Burkholderia stabilis infection.