Risk of transmission of imipenem-resistantPseudomonas aeruginosa through use of mobile bathing service

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVES</b>The demand for mobile bathing service (MBS) is increasing in the Japanese society. Therefore, we assessed the risk of MBS-associated infection in MBS clients and their caregivers by examining the bacterial colonization of MBS equipment and utensils.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Bacterial isolates collected by the stamp agar culture method were examined by disk diffusion assay for their susceptibility to the following drugs: imipenem, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, azutreonam, ceftazidim, meropenem, piperacillin, tobramycin, ofloxacin and cefoperazone. Furthermore, these isolates were subtyped bySpeI-pulsed field gel electrophoresis (SpeI-PFGE).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Fifty-fourP. aeruginosa isolates were recovered from different sampling sites, and of these, 26 (47.3%) were isolated from pillows. Eighteen isolates (33.3%) were imipenem (IPM) resistant. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 17 isolates were between 16 and 32 μg/ml, and the MIC of one isolate was greater than 32 μg/ml. TheSpeI-PFGE typing of IPM-resistant isolates revealed that 13 of the 18 isolates were closely related (F=1.0-0.87).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our findings suggest that MBS equipment and utensils, particularly pillows, are the primary sources of bacterial contamination and transmission and that there is a risk of MBS-mediated infection among MBS clients and their caregivers.</p>