Medical tourists to the Dominican Republic contract Mycobacterium infection associated with cosmetic surgery

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Source: http://outbreaknewstoday.com/medica...-infection-associated-cosmetic-surgery-51139/


Medical tourists to the Dominican Republic contract Mycobacterium infection associated with cosmetic surgery
by News Desk
June 23, 2017

The New York City Health Department announced Thursday that it has identified a cluster of Mycobacterium abscessus/chelonae skin/soft tissue infections associated with cosmetic surgery performed in the Dominican Republic. There have been eight cases identified in New York City and two in Connecticut this year. All 10 of these patients reported having undergone cosmetic procedures in the Dominican Republic, and eight had received plastic surgery at Centro International de Cirug?a Est?tica (CIPLA) in Santo Domingo between March 2, 2017 and April 27, 2017. All New York City patients are women between the ages of 28 and 39 years old. The procedures included liposuction, tummy tucks, and breast augmentations, lifts or reductions.

?We urge anyone who has received cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic and developed a skin infection to seek medical care immediately,? said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. ?It is important for people who may have an infection to come forward, seek medical attention or contact the Health Department via 311. Just as important is to remind anyone who seeks elective cosmetic surgery in New York City, other U.S. states or abroad to make sure they choose a doctor and a medical facility that is licensed.?...

 

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An earlier study of the risks of infection:

Source: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/22/8/15-1938_article
[h=4]Volume 22, Number 8?August 2016[/h] [h=4]Synopsis[/h] [h=1]Multistate US Outbreak of Rapidly Growing Mycobacterial Infections Associated with Medical Tourism to the Dominican Republic, 2013?2014[/h] David Schnabel , Douglas H. Esposito, Joanna Gaines, Alison Ridpath, M. Anita Barry, Katherine A. Feldman, Jocelyn Mullins, Rachel Burns, Nina Ahmad, Edith N. Nyangoma, Duc B. Nguyen, Joseph F. Perz, Heather Moulton-Meissner, Bette J. Jensen, Ying Lin, Leah Posivak-Khouly, Nisha Jani, Oliver Morgan, Gary W. Brunette, P. Scott Pritchard, Adena H. Greenbaum, Susan M. Rhee, David Blythe, Mark Sotir, and the RGM Outbreak Investigation Team
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (D. Schnabel, D.H. Esposito, J. Gaines, A. Ridpath, J. Mullins, N. Ahmad, E.N. Nyangoma, D.B. Nguyen, J.F. Perz, H.A. Moulton-Meissner, B.J. Jensen, O.W. Morgan, G.W. Brunette, M. Sotir); Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, Maryland, USA (D. Schnabel, K.A. Feldman, D. Blythe); New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, New York, USA (A. Ridpath, Y. Lin); Boston Public Health Commission, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (M.A. Barry); Connecticut Department of Public Health, Hartford, Connecticut, USA (J. Mullins); Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston (R. Burns); New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York (N. Ahmad); Montgomery County Health Department, Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA (L. Posivak-Khouly); Newark Department of Child and Family Well-Being, Newark, New Jersey, USA (N. Jani); Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, Florida, USA (P.S. Pritchard); Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore (A.H. Greenbaum); Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore (S.M. Rhee)
[h=3]Abstract[/h] During 2013, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in Baltimore, MD, USA, received report of 2 Maryland residents whose surgical sites were infected with rapidly growing mycobacteria after cosmetic procedures at a clinic (clinic A) in the Dominican Republic. A multistate investigation was initiated; a probable case was defined as a surgical site infection unresponsive to therapy in a patient who had undergone cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic. We identified 21 case-patients in 6 states who had surgery in 1 of 5 Dominican Republic clinics; 13 (62%) had surgery at clinic A. Isolates from 12 (92%) of those patients were culture-positive for Mycobacterium abscessus complex. Of 9 clinic A case-patients with available data, all required therapeutic surgical intervention, 8 (92%) were hospitalized, and 7 (78%) required ≥3 months of antibacterial drug therapy. Healthcare providers should consider infection with rapidly growing mycobacteria in patients who have surgical site infections unresponsive to standard treatment...