Elizabethkingia anophelis outbreak in France

Objective: We report an outbreak of Elizabethkingia anophelis infections in France. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first outbreak described in Europe.

Methods: Each E. anophelis-positive microbiological sample was considered a case. All patients were hospitalized in an infectious diseases unit. Clinical, environmental, and microbiological investigations (MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, PCR, E-test) were performed for each case.

Results: Twenty cases were reported from September 2020 to September 2021, mainly community-acquired infections, responsible for nine deaths. The phylogenetic analysis showed a clonal origin and excluded nosocomial transmission. Despite the analysis of multiple environmental specimens, no source of contamination was identified. All strains were highly resistant to cefotaxime, ceftazidime, and imipenem.

Conclusions: Clinicians and microbiologists should be aware of this multidrug-resistant bacterium, capable of causing severe infections. Most strains showed the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration values for cotrimoxazole and ciprofloxacin, making them the best choice for empirical antibiotic therapy.