RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Recovery of Burkholderia cenocepacia strain PHDC from cystic fibrosis patients in Europe JF Thorax JO Thorax FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society SP 952 OP 954 DO 10.1136/thx.2003.019810 VO 59 IS 11 A1 T Coenye A1 T Spilker A1 A Van Schoor A1 J J LiPuma A1 P Vandamme YR 2004 UL http://thorax.bmj.com/content/59/11/952.abstract AB Background:Burkholderia cenocepacia can cause life threatening respiratory tract infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and has a significant impact on survival. There is extensive evidence for patient to patient spread and nosocomial transmission of this organism, and several widespread B cenocepacia strains have been described including the transatlantic ET12 clone. A study was performed to compare B cenocepacia isolates recovered from CF patients receiving care in several European countries and strains isolated from other clinical samples and the environment, with reference isolates from the epidemic B cenocepacia strain PHDC which has so far only been recovered from CF patients and soil in the USA. Methods: A large collection of B cenocepacia isolates, including a large number recovered from CF patients receiving care in several European countries, Canada and the USA, were genotyped by means of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA typing (RAPD) and rep-PCR using the BOX-A1R primer (BOX-PCR). Results: Nineteen Burkholderia cenocepacia isolates cultured from clinical samples in Europe (18 recently recovered from CF patients in France and Italy and one recovered in 1964 from urine in the UK) showed RAPD fingerprinting patterns that were similar to patterns obtained from isolates of B cenocepacia strain PHDC. Subsequent analysis of these isolates using BOX-PCR confirmed that the European isolates and strain PHDC represent the same clone. Conclusion: Strain PHDC represents a second transatlantic B cenocepacia clone capable of colonising patients with CF.