Ice and water contaminated with B. multivorans bacteria were found in machines at the first two Southern California hospitals linked to the initial outbreak, and the additional infections have now been linked to the same brand of hospital ice and water machine products.
Outbreaks of bacteria have previously been linked to contaminated medications, medical products and devices. The use of ice and water at hospitals has been recognized as a potential transmission route for water-related pathogens like B. multivorans, since ice machines contain mechanical components that support the bacteria’s growth.
To help reduce patient infection risks, the CDC recommends hospitals create a water management plan to control the growth and spread of bacteria in ice machines and other water systems.
If there is a water-related bacteria outbreak at a hospital, the CDC says the facility should consider avoiding the use of any tap water, including ice and water that comes from ice machines. Health care personnel should also notify public health officials of any bacterial outbreaks at their facilities.
Hospital Bacterial Infections Often Spread Through Contaminated Water
This is not the first time bacterial infections have been linked to hospital ice and water machines, as a 2023 report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that an outbreak of Mycobacterium abscessus at a Boston-area hospital could be linked to the specific hospital tower’s commercial water purifier.
In this instance, four patients fell ill after undergoing heart surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2017 and 2018. All four patients were housed in the same hospital tower and used the same water purifying system. Patients in the hospital’s other two towers, which were on a different water purifying system, did not fall ill.
Researchers eventually found high levels of the mycobacteria and low levels of sanitizing agents in the water and ice machines in the tower where the infections occurred, but not in the machines in the other two towers.