We accept putative Burkholderia cepacia complex and Burkholderia gladioli, as well as other species of interest to the CF community, including Pseudomonas, Achromobacter, Pandoraea, Ralstonia, Cupriavidus, Inquilinus, and Stenotrophomonas. 

No, we do not accept these Burkholderia species. Confirmation of these species is done by state labs.

Yes, we accept isolates from non-CF patients. Please contact us with questions about specific cases.

We are happy to analyze as many isolates as your microbiology lab prefers to send. Referral patterns vary by lab.  Some send us every Burkholderia isolate from every CF patient; others send select isolates. We suggest a minimum of one isolate per patient per year.

Yes, we perform genotyping of isolates to monitor for potential outbreaks and patient-to-patient transmission of these species within CF centers and more broadly.

We do not perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing for clinical care. Please refer to your institution’s clinical microbiology lab for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. 

We have experience in performing susceptibility testing for research purposes. Please see Research & Repository FAQs and contact Dr. Caverly or Dr. LiPuma to discuss.

For species identification: If the isolate is the first that we have received from a patient, the turnaround time is 2-4 business days from isolate receipt. If the isolate is a repeat (serial) isolate from a patient, the turnaround time is 1-2 business days from isolate receipt. You will receive a report with the species identification results.

For genotyping: The turnaround time is generally 7-10 business days.  You will receive a separate report with genotyping results.

Organisms within the Burkholderia cepacia complex have been given species names and are no longer referred to by numeric genomovar designations. 

Species identification results are sent in a PDF report file by secure email or as a paper report by US mail. 

Genotyping results are sent in a separate report, also either by secure email or US mail. 

To request that species identification and genoyping reports be sent by email rather than by USPS mail, please message us at peds-bcrlr@med.umich.edu with the name(s) and email address(es) for those who should receive patient reports. You will then be sent reports as attachments from the lab email "PEDS-BcRLR" peds-bcrlr@med.umich.edu with ‘[SECURE]’ in the Subject line. 

The BcRL is funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and performs clinical isolate identification and genotyping at no cost.

Yes. Please see the Phage Analysis Forms to submit an isolate.

We can be reached by email at peds-bcrlr@med.umich.edu or by phone at 734-936-9767.