Case report: Identification of intra-laboratory blood culture contamination with Staphylococcus aureus by whole genome sequencing

Anushia Ashokan; Lito E Papanicolas; Lex E X Leong; Maria Theodossi; Santhosh Daniel; Steve L Wesselingh; Geraint B Rogers; David L Gordon

doi:10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2019.02.016

Case report: Identification of intra-laboratory blood culture contamination with Staphylococcus aureus by whole genome sequencing

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2019 Aug;94(4):331-333. doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2019.02.016. Epub 2019 Feb 23.

Authors

Anushia Ashokan¹, Lito E Papanicolas², Lex E X Leong², Maria Theodossi³, Santhosh Daniel⁴, Steve L Wesselingh², Geraint B Rogers², David L Gordon⁵

Affiliations

¹ Infection and Immunity Theme, South Australia Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia; SAHMRI Microbiome Research Laboratory, Flinders University School of Medicine, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia; University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia. Electronic address: Anushia.Ashokan@sa.gov.au.
² Infection and Immunity Theme, South Australia Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia; SAHMRI Microbiome Research Laboratory, Flinders University School of Medicine, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia.
³ South Australia(SA) Pathology, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia.
⁴ Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia.
⁵ South Australia(SA) Pathology, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia; Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia.

PMID: 30885397
DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2019.02.016

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus in blood cultures is rarely considered a contaminant. We report a case of intra-laboratory contamination between blood culture bottles which was confirmed by whole genome sequencing, highlighting the importance of molecular analysis in the clinical laboratory setting.

Keywords: Bacteremia; Clinical isolates; MRSA; Metagenomics.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adult
Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
Bacteremia / diagnosis
Bacteremia / drug therapy
Bacteremia / microbiology
Blood Culture*
Clinical Laboratory Techniques*
Equipment Contamination*
Humans
Male
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / genetics*
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification*
Staphylococcal Infections / drug therapy
Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
Vancomycin / therapeutic use
Whole Genome Sequencing*

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Vancomycin