Researcher Information
Sharoni Michal
sharonim@mit.edu (123) 456-7890
The information provided below is for MIT researchers' use and is subject to change by EHS. For our legal disclaimer please see - http://ehs.mit.edu/site/content/legal-disclaimer
Agent Characteristics
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
Bacteria
  Yes   Yes     Yes  
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an aerobic Gram-negative rod, previously called Bacterium bookeri, Pseudomonas maltophilia, and Xanthomonas maltophilia. It is found in the environment (water, soil, plants and animals) and is able to form biofilms and adhere to plastics, including water lines and medical devices. It is an important nosocomial pathogen, especially given the common multi-drug resistance, and is capable of causing severe infections such as pneumonia and bacteremia.
HumansAnimalsAquatic animalsPlants
Aerosol / InhalationCut/ Needlestick / Non-intact skinMucous Membranes
unknown
Health Hazards
Pneumonia, cough, fever
None available
None available
Antibiotic treatment. Delay contributes to mortality. . The first line agent is Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX). Fluoroquinolones (levofloxacin) are alternative.  Antibiotic resistance is common.
Containment
BSL 1 or BSL 2
ABSL1 or ABSL2
Viability
10% household bleach (~0.5% sodium hypochlorite)70% ethanolActivated hydrogen peroxide (PREempt, Rescue)Quaternary ammonia (Quatricide, sklar, Lysol spray, etc.)Phenolic (Vesphene II)hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid (Peridox)Fresh 2% glutaraldehyde (Gluterate / CIDEX)
Drying at 50 °C, 2 hours; Autoclave for 30 minutes.
S. maltophilia is primarily a waterborne organism associated with wet surfaces and aqueous environments, including ultrapure water and antiseptic solutions; however it does not survive long on dry surfaces. It is highly resistant to disinfection due to biofilm formation, especially on plastic and glass surfaces (less so on PVC and stainless steel).
PPE/Containment
Wear gloves, lab coat, and appropriate lab attire (pants/long dress, closed toed shoes); eye protection, e.g. safety glasses, safety goggles recommended for liquids.
Spill Procedures
Notify others working in the lab.  Allow aerosols to settle. Don appropriate PPE.  Cover area of the spill with paper towels and apply an EPA approved disinfectant, working from the perimeter towards the center.  Allow 10 minutes of contact time. Cleanup spill materials and dispose as biowaste. Surface disinfect 5-10 minutes. Remove PPE and wash hands.
For large volume spills or biological spills in a public area, contact MIT's Biosafety Program or the EHS office (617-452-3477) during normal business hours.  If the spill occurs after hours or on weekends, activate the EHS ON CALL system by dialing Operations 3-4948 (617-253-4948) or MIT Police by dialing 100 from a campus phone or 617-253-1212 from a mobile phone.
Exposure Procedures
Flush eyes, mouth, or nose for 15 minutes at eyewash station.
Wash area with soap and water and rinse/scrub for 5-10 minutes.
Immediately report incident to supervisor, PI, or EHS Representative. PI/supervisor must submit incident report in Atlas within 24 hours.
Medical Follow-up
9:00am-4:00pm, weekdays:
contact MIT Occupational Health:
Phone: 617-253-8552
Address: 25 Carleton Street, Building E23, Cambridge, MA 02142
website		 8:00am-8:00pm, weekdays
10:00am-4:00pm, weekends
MIT Health Urgent Care
phone: 617-253-1311
address: 25 Carleton Street, Building E23, Cambridge, MA 02142
Or call MIT Police 617-253-1212		 Emergencies:
Call 100 from a campus phone or
617-253-1212 from a mobile phone
Additional comments
References
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/CMR.00019-11?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK572123/
https://www.uptodate.com/contents/stenotrophomonas-maltophilia
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19393961/
10-14-2022
DB:  If inhalation/aerosol is a route of transmission, shouldn't we be requiring BSC's for this one?  Or is it because it's both BL1 and BL2 (which is a bit ... odd - maybe source matters whether environmental or human isolate?). 
FIxed 

MMM: updated disinfectants
Created on June  6, 2022 at  3:10 PM (EDT). Last updated by Sharoni, Michal on Nov. 19, 2025 at 10:33 AM (EST). Owned by Marketon, Melanie.
Melanie Marketon
Michal Sharoni
Show fields from Show fields from Show fields from a related table
Report Name *
Description
Reports and Charts Panel
Each table has a panel listing its reports and charts, organized in groups.
Please wait while your new report is saved...
Field label
Column heading override
Justification
What does auto mean?
Fields in:

Fields to Extract:
Name for the new table:
Items in the new table are called:

When you bring additional fields into a conversion, Quickbase often finds inconsistencies. For example, say you're converting your Companies column into its own table. One company, Acme Corporation, has offices in New York, Dallas and Portland. So, when you add the City column to the conversion, Quickbase finds three different locations for Acme. A single value in the column you're converting can only match one value in any additional field. Quickbase needs you to clean up the extra cities before it can create your new table. To do so, you have one of two choices:

  • If you want to create three separate Acme records (Acme-New York, Acme-Dallas and Acme-Portland) click the Conform link at the top of the column.
  • If the dissimilar entries are mistakes (say Acme only has one office in New York and the other locations are data-entry errors) go back into your table and correct the inconsistencies—in this case, changing all locations to New York. Then try the conversion again.

Read more about converting a column into a table.