الفهرس 
The Genus BacillusOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: B. cereus, a well-known cause of food poisoning, is increasingly being identified as the cause of serious and life-threatening infections in immunosuppressed patients. We investigated B. cereus infections and possible outbreaks in ICUs of Mansoura University Children’s Hospital. We also studied possible risk factors and virulence factors of clinical B. cereus isolates.
Methods: This study was conducted from January, 2009 to June, 2010 on 313 patients admitted to ICUs (NICU, PICU, ans SICU) in Mansoura University Children’s Hospital (MUCH). B. cereus isolates were identified by the API 50 CH. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined using the disk diffusion method. Biofilm assay was done by the polyvinylchloride microtiter plate. During investigation of the outbreak typing of the isolates was done by biotyping, antibiotyping and molecular typing by RAPD patterns generated by AP-PCR
Results: Nosocomial B. cereus isoaltes accounted for 4.8% of all isolated pathogens. The significant risk factors were preterm, LBW, mechanical ventilation, PCVC utilization, and TPN administration.We found that, 38.9% of B. cereus isolates had the ability to form biofilm, prolonged endotracheal intubation, vascular catheterization, and hospital stay were significant risk factors for biofilm formation. We present 3 antibiotypes, 2 biotypes, and 4 genotypes of the 9 B. cereus isolates collected during the outbreak..
Conclusion: B. cereus can cause nosocomial infections and outbreaks in ICUs of MUCH. Biofilm production suggests its role in the pathogenesis of infections. AP-PCR technique is a highly discriminatory and reproducible method for the epidemiological investigation of B. cereus infections