Bacterial Contamination Detected in Ultrasound Gels

A study has demonstrated the contamination of sonographic transducers, which can result in outbreaks of hospital infection. All the gels in the hospital were collected to exclude bacterial contamination.

Dr. M. Eyigor and colleagues, from the departments of microbiology and clinical microbiology, Medical Faculty, Adnan Menderes University (Aydin, Turkey), presented their findings at the 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona, Spain, in April 2008. Six hundred sixty-nine unopened bottles of gels from two different brands were sampled for cultures. In one of the brands--the most expensive one at € 6 per bottle--no bacterial growth was seen in 364 of the bottles sampled, so these gels were distributed back to the hospital. Three hundred five bottles of the second brand--the least expensive one at € 1 per bottle--were evaluated, and in 222 (72.8%) of these, bacterial contamination was detected.

The study identified 21 isolates of Burkholderia spp, and this was the most frequent contaminant. Pulse gel electrophoresis was performed for all 21 isolates confirming that all originated from the same clone. An increase in wound infection rates was also seen.

It should be noted, according to the investigators, that ultrasound gels may be contaminated during production and/or packaging and may be a source of nosocomial infections even today.