Burkholderia cepacia

Burkholderia cepacia is a bacterium originally parasitizing on garlic plants. It is currently gaining in importance as a causative agent of nosocomial infections. High resistance to hospital disinfectants such as Ajatin, Septonex or chlorhexidine makes it exceptional. The bacteria can bind atmospheric carbon dioxide and thanks to this property it can also multiply in distilled water. B. cepacia produces exo substances that damage macroorganisms.

It is especially dangerous for patients with artificial heart valves or vascular implants and for patients with cystic pulmonary fibrosis. Among other things, it contributes to infections of the urogenital tract of women caused by nosocomial transmission via a gel used for gynecological examination. Effective treatment has been demonstrated with piperacillin and its protected variants with tazobactam, as well as with ceftazidime, carbopenems or fluoroquinolones. Cultivation of Burkholderia cepacia is not demanding, but selective soils are used to exclude the growth of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa colony.

Taxonomy
The taxonomy of the genus Burkholderia is constantly renewed, the current classification is as follows:
 * class Betaproteobacteria
 * order Burkholderiales
 * family Burkholderiaceae
 * genus Burkholderia

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