Serratia liquefaciens bloodstream infections from contamination of epoetin alfa at a hemodialysis center

Dialysis centers should be careful not to use single-dose epoetin alfa vials for more than one patient. Epoetin alfa is given to dialysis patients to increase production of red blood cells. At one dialysis center, sharing single-dose units among several patients caused an outbreak of infection caused by a bacterium called Serratia liquefaciens.