Description

INTENDED USE

A medium for the selective isolation of Burkholderia cepacia from the respiratory secretions of patients with cystic fibrosis and routine testing of non-sterile inorganic salt solutions containing preservatives.

SUMMARY AND EXPLANATION

Burkholderia cepacia (formerly known as Pseudomonas cepacia) is a motile aerobic oxidase-positive Gram-negative bacillus commonly found in liquid reservoirs and moist environments. The cells are 0.5 to 1.0mm wide and 5mm in length. It is an important opportunistic pathogen and causes pulmonary infection among individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). Isolates from CF patients often display multidrug resistance and as many as 20% of colonized individuals will succumb to Burkholderia cepacia syndrome, necrotizing pneumonia associated with fever that culminates into a rapid and fatal clinical deterioration¹. Oxoid’s Burkholderia cepacia Agar is based on PC Medium originally devised by Gilligan et al. where it was shown to be superior for the growth of Burkholderia cepacia after 48 hours when compared to MacConkey².