Two cases of Burkholderia cenocepacia in septicemic patients

We herein report repeated isolation of Burkholderia cenocepacia from two cases of septicemia admitted to cardiothoracic and bone marrow transplant (BMT) units. The two blood cultures taken from each patient grew B. cenocepacia. Both patients turned afebrile after appropriate antimicrobial therapy, and the subsequent blood cultures were sterile. However, both patients had recurrence of fever after about a week, and the patient in the BMT unit died due to respiratory failure. Environmental surveillance was conducted in both units. Non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli including Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from environmental samples in the cardiothoracic ward.