On Oct. 4, Nurse Assist — a Fort Worth, Texas-based medical device manufacturer for long-term care facilities — announced a voluntary recall of its pre-filled saline flushes which have been linked to clusters of Burkholderia cepacia bloodstream infections across four states.
State health departments and the CDC are currently investigating the infections. While the source of the illnesses has yet to be confirmed, all sickened parties contracted the infection in long-term care facilities that use Nurse Assist I.V. Flush Syringes. Infected individuals also had a history of central line use.
The recall applies to four types of flush syringes that were distributed between Feb. 16 and Sept. 30 this year.
So far, the Delaware Division of Public Health has detected infections in three residents, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has identified 10 cases, the New Jersey Department of Health has identified two cases and the Pennsylvania Department of Health has reported 20 cases.
"Bloodstream infections linked to B. cepacia can be quite serious," said Karyl Rattay, MD, the director of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. "We are encouraging all medical providers to determine if they have used any of the potentially contaminated products and be vigilant in testing to identify such infections in patients who may have been exposed and are acutely ill. We are continuing to work closely with the CDC and other federal agencies as this situation evolves."
According to the CDC, B. cepacia can be found in soil and water. Though B. cepacia poses limited risk to healthy individuals, people with weakened immune systems may be susceptible to severe respiratory infections caused by the bacteria, which are often resistant to common antibiotics.
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