Identification, epidemiological relatedness, and biofilm formation of clinical Chryseobacterium indologenes isolates from central Taiwan

Background: The clinical impact of Chryseobacterium indologenes infection is increasing; nevertheless, most studies had been conducted in northern Taiwan, but rarely in central Taiwan. Methods: Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, 34 isolates of C. indologenes were identified at the Central Region Hospital Alliance between 2007 and 2011. Vitek 2 and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionizationetime-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) methods were compared for the feasibility to identify this bacterium. Drug susceptibility test, biofilm formation, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were also performed. Results: All isolates were collected from hospitalized patients with an average age of 70.8 +/- 18.5years. The most prevalent sample was urine (50.0%), followed by sputum (32.4%). The accuracy rate of species-level identification reached 94.1% using the Vitek 2 method and 85.3% using the MALDI-TOF MS method. All of the isolates were resistant to gentamicin, amikacin, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, colistin, and imipenem, but completely susceptible to minocycline. While analyzing biofilm-forming ability, 38.2% (13/34) of C. indologenes isolates displayed a positive phenotype using the LuriaeBertani (LB) medium. However, 80.0% (4/5) of invasive isolates were biofilm producers. Based on PFGE analysis, several clusters were found, and the possible intrahospital spread of this bacterium in this area could not be excluded. Conclusion: Both Vitek 2 and MALDI-TOF MS methods showed good ability in the determination of C. indologenes. Among the examined drugs, minocycline was the most potent one. As many as 38.2% C. indologenes isolates showed biofilm-forming ability. PFGE analyses revealed the possible intrahospital transmission of this bacterium in central Taiwan. Copyright (C) 2014, Taiwan Society of Microbiology. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.