Upgrading of Ralstonia pickettii to risk group 2

Ralstonia pickettii is a flagellated, gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium from the family Burkholderiaceae , which was first isolated from a patient in 1973. The species was initially (before 1995) assigned to the genera Pseudomonas or Burkholderia Based on phylogenetic analyses, it was later assigned to the genus Ralstonia. The ubiquitous bacterium grows obligately aerobically and chemoorganotrophically, with a growth optimum at 35 °C. Genome sequence data and infection experiments in cell cultures show that R. pickettii has different Virulence factors , including invasins and extracellular proteases. R. pickettii is a opportunistic pathogen of respiratory diseases, bloodstream infections and inflammation of the inner lining of the heart and bones in immunosuppressed patients . However, R. pickettii occasionally causes infection-related inflammation of the vertebral bodies and joints, sepsis, and bacteremia in immune-compromised individuals. The bacterium is frequently transmitted during invasive medical procedures (e.g., the insertion of venous catheters) or through contaminated intravenous injections. One possible reason for this is that R. pickettii can pass through sterile filters with a pore size of 0.2 µm. Infections with the bacterium are generally treatable with antibiotics, but there are also isolated reports of specific antibiotic resistance. TRBA 466 According to the "Classification of Prokaryotes (Bacteria and Archaea) into Risk Groups," R. pickettii is classified in Risk Group 2. However, the bacterium was previously assigned to Risk Group 1 in the ZKBS list of donor and recipient organisms.

In its current statement, the ZKBS now an upgrade of Ralstonia pickettii as a donor and recipient organism according to § 5 para. 1 GenTSV in the Risk group 2 . This upgrade is based on findings that show that R. pickettii can cause infections in mostly immunosuppressed individuals, but in individual cases also in individuals with a healthy immune system, but that these infections are generally easy to treat.

The complete ZKBS statement can be found at File number 45241.0251 can be retrieved.