Articles

The prevalence, antibiotic resistance and mecA characterization of coagulase negative staphylococci recovered from non-healthcare settings in London, UK

Coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) are important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes and associated mobile genetic elements and are believed to contribute to the emergence of successful methicillin ...

Authors: Zhen Xu, Haroun N. Shah, Raju Misra, Jiazhen Chen, Wenhong Zhang, Yuting Liu, Ronald R. Cutler and Hermine V. Mkrtchyan

Whole genome sequencing reveals high clonal diversity of Escherichia coli isolated from patients in a tertiary care hospital in Moshi, Tanzania

Limited information regarding the clonality of circulating E. coli strains in tertiary care hospitals in low and middle-income countries is available. The purpose of this study was to determine the serotypes, ant...

Authors: Tolbert Sonda, Happiness Kumburu, Marco van Zwetselaar, Michael Alifrangis, Blandina T. Mmbaga, Frank M. Aarestrup, Gibson Kibiki and Ole Lund

Carbapenem non-susceptibility of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in hospitals from 2011 to 2016, data from the German Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (ARS)

Carbapenem resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae is of significant public health concern and recently spread across several countries. We investigated the extent of carbapenem non-susceptibility in K. pneumoniae is...

Authors: Uwe Koppe, Anja von Laer, Lars E. Kroll, Ines Noll, Marcel Feig, Marc Schneider, Hermann Claus, Tim Eckmanns and Muna Abu Sin

Whole genome sequence revealed the fine transmission map of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumonia isolates within a nosocomial outbreak

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is a major cause of nosocomial infections worldwide. The transmission route of CRKP isolates within an outbreak is rarely described. This study aimed to reveal th...

Authors: Wenjun Sui, Haijian Zhou, Pengcheng Du, Lijun Wang, Tian Qin, Mei Wang, Hongyu Ren, Yanfei Huang, Jing Hou, Chen Chen and Xinxin Lu

Social media posts and online search behaviour as early-warning system for MRSA outbreaks

Despite many preventive measures, outbreaks with multi-drug resistant micro-organisms (MDROs) still occur. Moreover, current alert systems from healthcare organizations have shortcomings due to delayed or inco...

Authors: Tom H. van de Belt, Pieter T. van Stockum, Lucien J. L. P. G. Engelen, Jules Lancee, Remco Schrijver, Jesús Rodríguez-Baño, Evelina Tacconelli, Katja Saris, Marleen M. H. J. van Gelder and Andreas Voss

The Tigecycline Evaluation and Surveillance Trial; assessment of the activity of tigecycline and other selected antibiotics against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens from France collected between 2004 and 2016

A high level of antibiotic consumption in France means antimicrobial resistance requires rigorous monitoring. The Tigecycline Evaluation and Surveillance Trial (T.E.S.T.) is a global surveillance study that mo...

Authors: Jean-Winoc Decousser, Paul-Louis Woerther, Claude-James Soussy, Marguerite Fines-Guyon and Michael J. Dowzicky

Dynamics of colistin and tobramycin resistance among Enterobacter cloacae during prolonged use of selective decontamination of the digestive tract

A high prevalence of colistin resistance among E. cloacae isolates in two intensive care units (ICU) (of 16 and 6 beds) using selective digestive decontamination (SDD) since 1990 instigated a retrospective and pr...

Authors: M. J. D. Dautzenberg, J. R. Bayjanov, M. A. Leverstein-van Hall, A. E. Muller, L. B. S. Gelinck, C. L. Jansen, E. M. S. Leyten, T. Ruys, J. Scharringa, R. E. van der Starre, A. C. Fluit and M. J. M. Bonten

Abstracts from the Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control Conference 2018

Authors:

Epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infections after renal transplantation from donation after cardiac death in a Chinese hospital: a case series analysis

Although the high mortality rates have been extensively reported worldwide, few studies have investigated the epidemiology of CRKP-BSIs in the early stage after kidney transplantation (KTx) from donation after...

Authors: Yuxi Wang, Hong Lei, Yuxiang Zhang, Qiwen Yang, Yu Wang, Jiaxing Wang, Cheng Xu, Jinggang Yu, Lili Zhou, Xiaoni Kang and Lei Cui

How long is enough? Identification of product dry-time as a primary driver of alcohol-based hand rub efficacy

The World Health Organization has called for the development of improved methodologies to evaluate alcohol-based handrub (ABHR) efficacy, including evaluation at “short application times and volumes that refle...

Authors: Miranda Suchomel, Rachel A. Leslie, Albert E. Parker and David R. Macinga

Enhancing pharmacists’ role in developing countries to overcome the challenge of antimicrobial resistance: a narrative review

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health challenge and developing countries are more vulnerable to the adverse health impacts of AMR. Health care workers including pharmacists can play a key role to s...

Authors: M. H. F. Sakeena, Alexandra A. Bennett and Andrew J. McLachlan

Genome-based analysis of Carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from German hospital patients, 2008-2014

By using whole genome sequence data we aimed at describing a population snapshot of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae isolated from hospitalized patients in Germany between 2008 and 2014.

Authors: Laura Becker, Martin Kaase, Yvonne Pfeifer, Stephan Fuchs, Annicka Reuss, Anja von Laer, Muna Abu Sin, Miriam Korte-Berwanger, Sören Gatermann and Guido Werner

Prevalence and patterns of drug resistance among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Hangzhou, China

To evaluate prevalence and patterns of drug resistance among pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients in Hangzhou City, China.

Authors: Qingchun Li, Gang Zhao, Limin Wu, Min Lu, Wei Liu, Yifei Wu, Le Wang, Ke Wang, Han-Zhu Qian and Li Xie

The social biography of antibiotic use in smallholder dairy farms in India

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been identified as one of the major threats to global health, food security and development today. While there has been considerable attention about the use and misuse of ant...

Authors: Abhimanyu Singh Chauhan, Mathew Sunil George, Pranab Chatterjee, Johanna Lindahl, Delia Grace and Manish Kakkar

Dissemination of bla_NDM-5 gene via an IncX3-type plasmid among non-clonal Escherichia coli in China

The emergence and spread of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae has been a serious challenge to manage in the clinic due to its rapid dissemination of multi-drug resistance worldwide. As on...

Authors: Xi Li, Ying Fu, Mengyuan Shen, Danyan Huang, Xiaoxing Du, Qingfeng Hu, Yonglie Zhou, Dairong Wang and Yunsong Yu

Estimating the burden of antimicrobial resistance: a systematic literature review

Accurate estimates of the burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are needed to establish the magnitude of this global threat in terms of both health and cost, and to paramaterise cost-effectiveness evaluatio...

Authors: Nichola R. Naylor, Rifat Atun, Nina Zhu, Kavian Kulasabanathan, Sachin Silva, Anuja Chatterjee, Gwenan M. Knight and Julie V. Robotham

An observational case study of hospital associated infections in a critical care unit in Astana, Kazakhstan

Hospital Associated infections (HAI) are very common in Intensive Care Units (ICU) and are usually associated with use of invasive devices in the patients. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence ...

Authors: Dmitriy Viderman, Yekaterina Khamzina, Zhannur Kaligozhin, Makhira Khudaibergenova, Agzam Zhumadilov, Byron Crape and Azliyati Azizan

Temporal relationship between antibiotic use and respiratory virus activities in the Republic of Korea: a time-series analysis

Inappropriate use of antibiotics increases resistance and reduces their effectiveness. Despite evidence-based guidelines, antibiotics are still commonly used to treat infections likely caused by respiratory vi...

Authors: Sukhyun Ryu, Sojung Kim, Bryan I. Kim, Eili Y. Klein, Young Kyung Yoon and Byung Chul Chun

A systematic review of the epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in the United States

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) pose an urgent public health threat in the United States. An important step in planning and monitoring a national response to CRE is understanding its epidemiology...

Authors: Daniel J. Livorsi, Margaret L. Chorazy, Marin L. Schweizer, Erin C. Balkenende, Amy E. Blevins, Rajeshwari Nair, Matthew H. Samore, Richard E. Nelson, Karim Khader and Eli N. Perencevich

Continuous increase of vancomycin resistance in enterococci causing nosocomial infections in Germany − 10 years of surveillance

Enterococci are frequent pathogens causing nosocomial infections in Germany. Infections due to strains with vancomycin resistance are high when compared with other European states. Therefore, the study aimed t...

Authors: Cornelius Remschmidt, Christin Schröder, Michael Behnke, Petra Gastmeier, Christine Geffers and Tobias Siegfried Kramer

Prevalence, identification of virulence factors, O-serogroups and antibiotic resistance properties of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli strains isolated from raw milk and traditional dairy products

Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli strains are one of the most important foodborne bacteria with an emergence of antibiotic resistance. Foodborne STEC strains are mainly associated with presence of certain virulenc...

Authors: Reza Ranjbar, Farhad Safarpoor Dehkordi, Mohammad Hossein Sakhaei Shahreza and Ebrahim Rahimi

Colonization sites in carriers of ESBL-producing Gram-negative bacteria

The distribution of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-producing Gram-negative bacteria (ESBL-GNB) colonization sites is relevant for infection control guidelines on detection and follow-up of colonization. We q...

Authors: Joffrey van Prehn, Anna M. Kaiser, Suzanne D. van der Werff, Rosa van Mansfeld and Christina M. J. E. Vandenbroucke-Grauls

Environmental colonization and onward clonal transmission of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) in a medical intensive care unit: the case for environmental hygiene

In May 2015, we noticed an increase in carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) infections in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). To investigate this, we studied the extent of environmental contami...

Authors: Deborah H. L. Ng, Kalisvar Marimuthu, Jia Jun Lee, Wei Xin Khong, Oon Tek Ng, Wei Zhang, Bee Fong Poh, Pooja Rao, Maya Devi Rajinder Raj, Brenda Ang and Partha Pratim De

An in vitro comparison of standard cleaning to a continuous passive disinfection cap for the decontamination of needle-free connectors

The optimal decontamination method for needle-free connectors is still unresolved. The objective of this study was to determine if a continuous passive disinfection cap is as effective as standard cleaning for...

Authors: Anna L. Casey, Tarja J. Karpanen, Peter Nightingale and Tom S. J. Elliott

Strain, disinfectant, concentration, and contact time quantitatively impact disinfectant efficacy

Transmission of healthcare-associated infections caused by antibiotic- and multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens (e.g. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa) are a major concer...

Authors: Alyssa M. West, Peter J. Teska, Caitlinn B. Lineback and Haley F. Oliver

Prospective surveillance of healthcare-associated infections and patterns of antimicrobial resistance of pathogens in an Italian intensive care unit

The study aimed to evaluate the distribution of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), the incidence rates and device utilization ratio (DUR) of device-associated infections (DAIs), as well as the distributi...

Authors: Aida Bianco, Maria Simona Capano, Valentina Mascaro, Claudia Pileggi and Maria Pavia

Multiple drug resistance and biocide resistance in Escherichia coli environmental isolates from hospital and household settings

Antibiotic resistance of environmental Escherichia coli in hospitals could be increased due to extensive use of biocides resulting in serious infections. In this study, the prevalence of antibiotic resistance of ...

Authors: Bothyna Ghanem and Randa Nayef Haddadin

Pet owner and vet interactions: exploring the drivers of AMR

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing public health problem across the world. As the negative consequences of AMR become apparent at local, national and international levels, more attention is being focu...

Authors: Matt Smith, Caroline King, Mark Davis, Adele Dickson, Jeni Park, Fraser Smith, Kay Currie and Paul Flowers

Healthcare-associated fungal outbreaks: New and uncommon species, New molecular tools for investigation and prevention

Outbreaks of healthcare-associated fungal infections have repeatedly been described over recent years, often caused by new or uncommon species. Candida auris, a recently described multidrug-resistant yeast specie...

Authors: Marie-Elisabeth Bougnoux, Sophie Brun and Jean-Ralph Zahar

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium sequence type 796 - rapid international dissemination of a new epidemic clone

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. New, presumably better-adapted strains of VRE appear unpredictably; it is uncertain how they spread despite impr...

Authors: Andrew A. Mahony, Andrew H. Buultjens, Susan A. Ballard, Elizabeth A. Grabsch, Shirley Xie, Torsten Seemann, Rhonda L. Stuart, Despina Kotsanas, Allen Cheng, Helen Heffernan, Sally A. Roberts, Geoffrey W. Coombs, Narin Bak, John K. Ferguson, Glen C. Carter, Benjamin P. Howden…

Development of a patient-centred intervention to improve knowledge and understanding of antibiotic therapy in secondary care

We developed a personalised antimicrobial information module co-designed with patients. This study aimed to evaluate the potential impact of this patient-centred intervention on short-term knowledge and unders...

Authors: Timothy M. Rawson, Luke S. P. Moore, Enrique Castro-Sanchez, Esmita Charani, Bernard Hernandez, Vivian Alividza, Fran Husson, Christofer Toumazou, Raheelah Ahmad, Pantelis Georgiou and Alison H. Holmes

Prevalence and molecular characterization of Staphylococcus aureus from human stool samples

To determine the prevalence of intestinal S. aureus colonization of patients at a large teaching hospital and determine the molecular characteristics of the identified strains. The second objective of this resear...

Authors: A. E. Kates, D. Thapaliya, T. C. Smith and M. L. Chorazy

Prevalence and antibiotic resistance of bacteria isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of neurosurgical patients at Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Postoperative central nervous system infections (PCNSIs) represent a serious complication, and the timely use of antibiotics guided by the identification of the causative pathogens and their antibiotic sensiti...

Authors: Jian-bo Chang, Hao Wu, He Wang, Bai-tao Ma, Ren-zhi Wang and Jun-ji Wei

Reducing rates of Clostridium difficile infection by switching to a stand-alone NAAT with clear sampling criteria

Clostridium difficile infection is an important cause of morbidity and mortality but the optimal method of diagnosis for both patient management and infection prevention remains controversial.

Authors: E. Casari, C. De Luca, M. Calabrò, C. Scuderi, C. Daleno and A. Ferrario

Dual infections of two carbapenemase-producing Acinetobacter baumannii clinical strains isolated from the same blood culture sample of a patient in Iran

In this study, the draft genome sequences of two different carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clinical strains isolated from the same blood culture sample of an Iranian patient were determined. The stra...

Authors: Linda Hadjadj, Saeed Shoja, Seydina M. Diene and Jean-Marc Rolain

The infection risk scan (IRIS): standardization and transparency in infection control and antimicrobial use

Infection control needs user-friendly standardized instruments to measure the compliance to guidelines and to implement targeted improvement actions. This abstract describes a tool to measure the quality of in...

Authors: Ina Willemsen and Jan Kluytmans

Multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacterial infections in a teaching hospital in Ghana

Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria have emerged as major clinical and therapeutic dilemma in hospitals in Ghana.

Authors: Nicholas Agyepong, Usha Govinden, Alex Owusu-Ofori and Sabiha Yusuf Essack

Effectiveness of healthcare worker screening in hospital outbreaks with gram-negative pathogens: a systematic review

Identifying the source of an outbreak is the most crucial aspect of any outbreak investigation. In this review, we address the frequently discussed question of whether (rectal) screening of health care workers...

Authors: Nikos Ulrich, Petra Gastmeier and Ralf-Peter Vonberg

Antimicrobials in small-scale urban pig farming in a lower middle-income country – arbitrary use and high resistance levels

Administration of antimicrobials to food-producing animals is regarded as a major contributor to the overall emergence of resistance in bacteria worldwide. However, few data are available on global antimicrobi...

Authors: G. Ström, S. Boqvist, A. Albihn, L.-L. Fernström, A. Andersson Djurfeldt, S. Sokerya, T. Sothyra and U. Magnusson

Reducing health care-associated infections by implementing separated environmental cleaning management measures by using disposable wipes of four colors

Environmental cleaning is a fundamental principle of infection control in health care settings. We determined whether implementing separated environmental cleaning management measures in MICU reduced the densi...

Authors: Swee Siang Wong, Cheng Hua Huang, Chiu Chu Yang, Yi Pei Hsieh, Chen Ni Kuo, Yi Ru Chen and Li Ching Chen

Colonization of long-term care facility residents in three Italian Provinces by multidrug-resistant bacteria

Rationale and aims of the study were to compare colonization frequencies with MDR bacteria isolated from LTCF residents in three different Northern Italian regions, to investigate risk factors for colonization...

Authors: Elisabetta Nucleo, Mariasofia Caltagirone, Vittoria Mattioni Marchetti, Roberto D’Angelo, Elena Fogato, Massimo Confalonieri, Camilla Reboli, Albert March, Ferisa Sleghel, Gertrud Soelva, Elisabetta Pagani, Richard Aschbacher, Roberta Migliavacca and Laura Pagani

VIM-positive Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a large tertiary care hospital: matched case-control studies and a network analysis

Emergence of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa is of global concern. We aimed to identify epidemiological relationships, the most common way of transmission, and risk factors for presence of Verona Integ...

Authors: Anne F. Voor in ‘t holt, Juliëtte A. Severin, Margot B. H. Hagenaars, Inge de Goeij, Diederik Gommers and Margreet C. Vos

Economic evaluations and their use in infection prevention and control: a narrative review

The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the different types of economic evaluations that can be utilized by Infection Prevention and Control practitioners with a particular focus...

Authors: Elissa Rennert-May, John Conly, Jenine Leal, Stephanie Smith and Braden Manns

Superbugs in the supermarket? Assessing the rate of contamination with third-generation cephalosporin-resistant gram-negative bacteria in fresh Australian pork and chicken

Antibiotic misuse in food-producing animals is potentially associated with human acquisition of multidrug-resistant (MDR; resistance to ≥ 3 drug classes) bacteria via the food chain. We aimed to determine if M...

Authors: Jade E. McLellan, Joshua I. Pitcher, Susan A. Ballard, Elizabeth A. Grabsch, Jan M. Bell, Mary Barton and M. Lindsay Grayson

Comparing and optimizing ultraviolet germicidal irradiation systems use for patient room terminal disinfection: an exploratory study using radiometry and commercial test cards

Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) systems are gaining popularity, however objective comparisons of their characteristics are lacking. While environmental cultures and reduction of hospital-associated i...

Authors: Vincent Masse, Michael J. Hartley, Michael B. Edmond and Daniel J. Diekema

Comparison of governance approaches for the control of antimicrobial resistance: Analysis of three European countries

Policy makers and governments are calling for coordination to address the crisis emerging from the ineffectiveness of current antibiotics and stagnated pipe-line of new ones – antimicrobial resistance (AMR). W...

Authors: Gabriel Birgand, Enrique Castro-Sánchez, Sonja Hansen, Petra Gastmeier, Jean-Christophe Lucet, Ewan Ferlie, Alison Holmes and Raheelah Ahmad

In vitro activity of ivermectin against Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates

Ivermectin is an endectocide against many parasites. Though being a macrocyclic lactone, its activity against bacteria has been less known, possibly due to the fact that micromolar concentrations at tissue lev...

Authors: Shoaib Ashraf, Umer Chaudhry, Ali Raza, Debasri Ghosh and Xin Zhao

Prevalence of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae: first systematic meta-analysis report from Pakistan

South-Asia is known as a hub for multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Unfortunately, proper surveillance and documentation of MDR pathogens is lacking in Pakistan. The alarming increase in the prevalence of ext...

Authors: Samyyia Abrar, Shahida Hussain, Rehan Ahmad Khan, Noor Ul Ain, Hayat Haider and Saba Riaz

APSIC guidelines for disinfection and sterilization of instruments in health care facilities

The Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control launched its revised Guidelines for Disinfection and Sterilization of Instruments in Health Care Facilities in February 2017. This document describes the guideline...

Authors: Moi Lin Ling, Patricia Ching, Ammar Widitaputra, Alison Stewart, Nanthipha Sirijindadirat and Le Thi Anh Thu

Prevalence of Staphylococcus spp. nasal colonization among doctors of podiatric medicine and associated risk factors in Spain

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA and MRSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) nasopharyngeal carriage amon...

Authors: Sheila de Benito, Luis Alou, Ricardo Becerro-de-Bengoa-Vallejo, Marta Elena Losa-Iglesias, María Luisa Gómez-Lus, Luis Collado and David Sevillano