Hospital Water Supply as a Source of Disseminated Mycobacterium fortuitum Infection in a Leukemia Patient

Abstract

AbstractNosocomial acquisition ofMycobacterium fortuitumled to a disseminated infection in a leukemia patient. A linkage to shower-head water was supported by molecular typing of clinical and environmental isolates. Contamination of the hospital water system with microbes that are relatively resistant to common sanitation processes poses an increased risk of infection to neutropenic patients.