Articles

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) screening and isolation in the general medicine ward: a cost-effectiveness analysis

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are a serious antimicrobial resistant threat in the healthcare setting. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of VRE screening and isolation for patients at high-risk for co...

Authors: Stephen Mac, Tiffany Fitzpatrick, Jennie Johnstone and Beate Sander

Acceptability and tolerability of alcohol-based hand hygiene products for elderly residents in long-term care: a crossover study

Hand hygiene is a critical component of infection control. Much of the focus on improving hand hygiene in healthcare settings has been directed towards healthcare worker compliance but its importance for patie...

Authors: Margaret O’Donoghue, Jacqueline M. C. Ho, Didier Pittet and Lorna K. P. Suen

Debate on the compositions of influenza B in northern hemisphere seasonal influenza vaccines

Annual influenza vaccination is the most effective way to prevent influenza. Influenza vaccines have traditionally included the hemagglutinins (HA) and neuraminidases (NA) from the two A viruses (H1N1 and H3N2...

Authors: Guozhong He, Pengfei Yang, Qingli Yan and Chenglong Xiong

Prescribing practices using WHO prescribing indicators and factors associated with antibiotic prescribing in six community pharmacies in Asmara, Eritrea: a cross-sectional study

Antibiotics require more prudent prescribing, dispensing and administration than other medicines because these medicines are at a greater risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Studying the current medicine u...

Authors: Nebyu Daniel Amaha, Dawit G. Weldemariam, Nuru Abdu and Eyasu H. Tesfamariam

Nurse roles in antimicrobial stewardship: lessons from public sectors models of acute care service delivery in the United Kingdom

Health care services must engage all relevant healthcare workers, including nurses, in optimal antimicrobial use to address the global threat of drug-resistant infections. Reflecting upon the variety of antimi...

Authors: Enrique Castro-Sánchez, Mark Gilchrist, Raheelah Ahmad, Molly Courtenay, Jo Bosanquet and Alison H. Holmes

Patterns of self-medication with antibiotics in Maputo City: a qualitative study

Mozambique classifies but does not yet enforce antibiotics as prescription-only-medicine (POM) allowing the public access to a variety of antibiotics that otherwise are provided on prescription. This contribut...

Authors: Neusa F. Torres, Vernon P. Solomon and Lyn E. Middleton

Infection control management and surveillance of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria in hematopoietic stem cell recipients

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a curative treatment option for selected diseases of the hematopoietic system. In the context of HSCT, bloodstream infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria ...

Authors: Claas Baier, Maleen Beck, Viktoria Panagiota, Catherina Lueck, Daniel Kharazipour, Sophie Charlotte Hintze, Robin Bollin, Ella Ebadi, Stefan Ziesing, Matthias Eder, Franz-Christoph Bange and Gernot Beutel

Linezolid use in German acute care hospitals: results from two consecutive national point prevalence surveys

Linezolid belongs to a reserve group of antibiotics. In recent years, reports on linezolid resistance in gram-positive cocci have become more frequent. Overuse of linezolid is a relevant factor for resistance ...

Authors: Tobias Siegfried Kramer, Frank Schwab, Michael Behnke, Sonja Hansen, Petra Gastmeier and Seven Johannes Sam Aghdassi

Selection and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance in Agri-food production

Public unrest about the use of antimicrobial agents in farming practice is the leading cause of increasing and the emergences of Multi-drug Resistant Bacteria that have placed pressure on the agri-food industr...

Authors: Guyue Cheng, Jianan Ning, Saeed Ahmed, Junhong Huang, Rizwan Ullah, Boyu An, Haihong Hao, Menghong Dai, Lingli Huang, Xu Wang and Zonghui Yuan

Sources and reservoirs of Staphylococcus capitis NRCS-A inside a NICU

The methicillin-resistant clone Staphylococcus capitis NRCS-A, involved in sepsis in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) worldwide, is able to persist and spread in NICUs, suggesting the presence of reservoirs ...

Authors: Marine Butin, Yann Dumont, Alice Monteix, Aurane Raphard, Christine Roques, Patricia Martins Simoes, Jean-Charles Picaud and Frédéric Laurent

Molecular and phenotypic characterization of clinical isolates belonging to a KPC-2-producing strain of ST15 Klebsiella pneumoniae from a Vietnamese pediatric hospital

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae are becoming increasingly common in hospital settings worldwide and are a source of increased morbidity, mortality and health care costs. The global epidemiology of carb...

Authors: Björn Berglund, Ngoc Thi Bich Hoang, Maria Tärnberg, Ngai Kien Le, Maud Nilsson, Dung Thi Khanh Khu, Olov Svartström, Jenny Welander, Lennart E. Nilsson, Linus Olson, Tran Minh Dien, Hai Thanh Le, Mattias Larsson and Håkan Hanberger

Detection of Pan drug resistance OXA-48 producing Providencia in an ICU patient for the first time in Nepal

Resistance to antimicrobial agents of pathogenic bacteria has become a major problem in routine medical practices. Carbapenem resistance has long been increasing. The production of carbapenem- hydrolysing β-la...

Authors: Ranjit Sah, Shusila Khadka, Gentle Sunder Shrestha, Subhash Acharya, Diptesh Aryal, Pramesh Shrestha, Hari Prasad Kattel, Niranjan Prasad Shah, Bharat Mani Pokhrel, Yogendra Prasad Singh, Basista Rijal and Hakan Erdem

Detection of Brucellae in peripheral blood mononuclear cells for monitoring therapeutic efficacy of brucellosis infection

Brucellosis is one of the most severe widespread zoonoses caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Brucella species. The diagnosis and clinical assessment of human brucellosis are very important for the management o...

Authors: Heng Yang, Guoxia Zhang, Peifang Luo, Zuoping He, Feihuan Hu, Linhai Li, Jean-Pierre Allain, Chengyao Li and Wenjing Wang

Amplified fragment length polymorphism and whole genome sequencing: a comparison of methods in the investigation of a nosocomial outbreak with vancomycin resistant enterococci

Recognition of nosocomial outbreaks with antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens and appropriate infection prevention measures are essential to limit the consequences of AMR pathogens to patients in hospitals....

Authors: Victoria A. Janes, Daan W. Notermans, Ingrid J.B. Spijkerman, Caroline E. Visser, Marja E. Jakobs, Robin van Houdt, Rob J.L. Willems, Menno D. de Jong, Constance Schultsz and Sébastien Matamoros

A recurrent and transesophageal echocardiography–associated outbreak of extended-spectrum β-lactamase–producing Enterobacter cloacae complex in cardiac surgery patients

We report a recurrent outbreak of postoperative infections with extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)–producing E. cloacae complex in cardiac surgery patients, describe the outbreak investigation and highlight the...

Authors: Tom Van Maerken, Els De Brabandere, Audrey Noël, Liselotte Coorevits, Pascal De Waegemaeker, Raina Ablorh, Stefaan Bouchez, Ingrid Herck, Harlinde Peperstraete, Pierre Bogaerts, Bruno Verhasselt, Youri Glupczynski, Jerina Boelens and Isabel Leroux-Roels

Antibiotic prescribing in general medical and surgical specialties: a prospective cohort study

Qualitative work has described the differences in prescribing practice across medical and surgical specialties. This study aimed to understand if specialty impacts quantitative measures of prescribing practice.

Authors: E. Charani, E. de Barra, T. M. Rawson, D. Gill, M. Gilchrist, N. R. Naylor and A. H. Holmes

Hospital outbreak caused by linezolid resistant Enterococcus faecium in Upper Austria

Enterococcus faecium is part of the human gastrointestinal flora but may act as opportunistic pathogen. Environmental persistence, high colonization capability and diverse intrinsic and acquired resistance mechan...

Authors: Heidrun Kerschner, Adriana Cabal, Rainer Hartl, Sigrid Machherndl-Spandl, Franz Allerberger, Werner Ruppitsch and Petra Apfalter

Abstracts from the 5th International Conference on Prevention & Infection Control (ICPIC 2019)

Authors:

Attitudes about sickness presenteeism in medical training: is there a hidden curriculum?

Sickness presenteeism among healthcare professionals can compromise patient safety. To better understand what motivates this phenomenon, especially among trainees, the authors investigated attitudes of medical...

Authors: Lauris C. Kaldjian, Laura A. Shinkunas, Heather Schacht Reisinger, Marc A. Polacco and Eli N. Perencevich

The rise in vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Germany: data from the German Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (ARS)

Due to limited therapeutic options, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) is of great clinical significance. Recently, rising proportions of vancomycin resistance in enterococcal infections have been r...

Authors: Robby Markwart, Niklas Willrich, Sebastian Haller, Ines Noll, Uwe Koppe, Guido Werner, Tim Eckmanns and Annicka Reuss

Dutch guideline for preventing nosocomial transmission of highly-resistant micro-organisms (HRMO) in long-term care facilities (LTCFs)

In 2012, the Dutch Working Party for Infection Control (WIP) issued the first Guideline for prevention of transmission of highly-resistant micro-organisms (HRMO) in Hospitals. The next step was to focus on lon...

Authors: Andrea Eikelenboom-Boskamp, Jobje Haaijman, Maria Bos, Katja Saris, Else Poot and Andreas Voss

Incidence of healthcare-associated infections in a tertiary hospital in Beijing, China: results from a real-time surveillance system

To quantify the five year incidence trend of all healthcare-associated infections (HAI) using a real-time HAI electronic surveillance system in a tertiary hospital in Beijing, China.

Authors: Yuzheng Zhang, Mingmei Du, Janice Mary Johnston, Ellie Bostwick Andres, Jijiang Suo, Hongwu Yao, Rui Huo, Yunxi Liu and Qiang Fu

Risk factors and outcomes in non-transplant patients with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli bacteremia: a retrospective study from 2013 to 2016

Escherichia coli is one of the most common strains of extended-spectrum β-lactam (ESBL)-producing bacteria, and the prevention and treatment of ESBL-producing E. coli infections is an ongoing challenge. The clini...

Authors: Tingting Xiao, Kai Yang, Yanzi Zhou, Shuntian Zhang, Jinru Ji, Chaoqun Ying, Ping Shen and Yonghong Xiao

Antimicrobial susceptibility and molecular characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae isolates across different regions of China

In China mainland, most Mycoplasma pneumoniae related studies are carried out in Beijing and Shanghai, while rare studies are performed in the other regions. In this study, we analyzed the molecular biology chara...

Authors: Fei Zhao, Jing Li, Jinrong Liu, Xuemei Guan, Jie Gong, Liyong Liu, Lihua He, Fanliang Meng and Jianzhong Zhang

Perception, attitude, knowledge and learning style preference on challenges of antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial overuse among first year doctors in training and final year medical students

To promote effective education on challenges of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial overuse, it is necessary to understand the current perception, attitude, knowledge and learning style preference...

Authors: Pinyo Rattanaumpawan, Nuttagarn Chuenchom and Visanu Thamlikitkul

Correction to: Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus meningitis after needlestick injury: a case report

The original article [1] contains several mentions of a potentially misleading assertion which the authors would like to clarify; each mention relating to LCMV needlestick injury and its potential capacity for...

Authors: Sarah Dräger, Anna-Friederike Marx, Fiona Pigny, Pascal Cherpillod, Philip Eisermann, Parham Sendi and Andreas F. Widmer

bla_NDM-5 carried by a hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae with sequence type 29

A carbapenem-resistant hypermucoviscous Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate was recovered from human sputum.

Authors: Yi Yuan, Ying Li, Guangxi Wang, Chengwen Li, Yung-Fu Chang, Wenbi Chen, Siji Nian, Yingyu Mao, Jinping Zhang, Fangcai Zhong and Luhua Zhang

Efficacy of disinfectant-impregnated wipes used for surface disinfection in hospitals: a review

“Ready-to-use” disinfecting wipes (also known as pre-impregnated disinfecting wipe) are broadly used in food industry and domestic situations. Their application in hospitals and healthcare centres for decontam...

Authors: Xinyu Song, Lutz Vossebein and Andrea Zille

Exploring healthcare providers’ mental models of the infection prevention “patient zone” - a concept mapping study

Pathogen transmission plays a major role in the development of healthcare-associated infections. The “patient zone” concept developed as part of the World Health Organization’s “Five moments of hand hygiene” a...

Authors: Jasmina Bogdanovic, Serge Petralito, Simone Passerini, Hugo Sax, Tanja Manser and Lauren Clack

Early-life gut microbiome modulation reduces the abundance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacteria are a global threat. AR bacteria can be acquired in early life and have long-term sequelae. Limiting the spread of antibiotic resistance without triggering the development of...

Authors: Giorgio Casaburi, Rebbeca M. Duar, Daniel P. Vance, Ryan Mitchell, Lindsey Contreras, Steven A. Frese, Jennifer T. Smilowitz and Mark A. Underwood

Economic burden of antibiotic resistance in ESKAPE organisms: a systematic review

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is one of the biggest threats to global health. Infections by ESKAPE (Enterococcus, S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa, and E. coli) organisms are the leading cause ...

Authors: Xuemei Zhen, Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg, Xueshan Sun, Xiaoqian Hu and Hengjin Dong

Screening for carriage of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in settings of high endemicity: a position paper from an Italian working group on CRE infections

A variety of national and international guidelines exist around the management of carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CREs), but some of these are several years old and do not reflect current epidemiology...

Authors: Simone Ambretti, Matteo Bassetti, Pierangelo Clerici, Nicola Petrosillo, Fabio Tumietto, Pierluigi Viale and Gian Maria Rossolini

Serratia marcescens colonization in preterm neonates during their neonatal intensive care unit stay

Nosocomial sepsis is the main problem that preterms have to face during their stay at neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Serratia marcescens is an emerging cause of preterm sepsis but its epidemiology is still...

Authors: Laura Moles, Marta Gómez, Elena Moroder, Esther Jiménez, Diana Escuder, Gerardo Bustos, Ana Melgar, Jeniffer Villa, Rosa del Campo, Fernando Chaves and Juan M. Rodríguez

Antimicrobial susceptibility profile of selected Enterobacteriaceae in wastewater samples from health facilities, abattoir, downstream rivers and a WWTP in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Evaluation of antimicrobial susceptibility profile of various bacterial pathogens in the health facilities, abattoirs and related environment is important to assess potential risk of dissemination of resistant...

Authors: Hemen Tesfaye, Haile Alemayehu, Adey F. Desta and Tadesse Eguale

Correction to: Cross-border comparison of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and AMR prevention measures: the healthcare workers’ perspective

The original article [1] contained a minor editorial typo in the following sentence which has now been corrected:

Authors: J. Keizer, L. M. A. Braakman-Jansen, S. Kampmeier, R. Köck, N. Al Naiemi, R. Te Riet-Warning, N. Beerlage-De Jong, K. Becker and J. E. W. C. Van Gemert-Pijnen

Intrinsic and external determinants of antibiotic prescribing: a multi-level path analysis of primary care prescriptions in Hubei, China

Irrational use of antibiotics is a major driver of development of antibiotic resistance, which heavily threatens population health worldwide. Understanding the mechanism of physician’s antibiotic prescribing d...

Authors: Chenxi Liu, Chaojie Liu, Dan Wang and Xinping Zhang

Gaps in communication between different staff groups and older adult patients foster unnecessary antibiotic prescribing for urinary tract infections in hospitals: a qualitative translation approach

Studies have reported large scale overprescribing of antibiotics for urinary tract infection (UTI) in hospitalised older adults. Older adults often have asymptomatic bacteriuria, and clinicians have been found...

Authors: Paula M. Saukko, Beryl A. Oppenheim, Mike Cooper and Emily K. Rousham

Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from camel meat and slaughterhouse workers in Egypt

The emergence of vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) represents a challenge for the treatment of staphylococcal infections in both human and animals worldwide. Although VRSA has been detected in sev...

Authors: Khaled Al-Amery, Mahmoud Elhariri, Alaa Elsayed, Gihan El-Moghazy, Rehab Elhelw, Heba El-Mahallawy, Mohamed El Hariri and Dalia Hamza

Near-ubiquitous presence of a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium ST117/CT71/vanB –clone in the Rhine-Main metropolitan area of Germany

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolates from the Frankfurt metropolitan region revealed that 78/94 isolates were MLST type ST117, cgMLST complex type CT71 with a com...

Authors: Linda Falgenhauer, Moritz Fritzenwanker, Can Imirzalioglu, Katrin Steul, Marlene Scherer, Ursel Heudorf and Trinad Chakraborty

Diagnostic performance of the Xpert Carba-R assay for active surveillance of rectal carbapenemase-producing organisms in intensive care unit patients

There are growing concerns regarding the spread of carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs) among patients in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and hospitals in South Korea. We have established a screening pro...

Authors: Young Jin Ko, Jeeyong Kim, Ha-Nui Kim, Soo-Young Yoon, Chae Seung Lim and Chang Kyu Lee

Molecular epidemiological analysis and risk factors for acquisition of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacter cloacae complex in a Japanese university hospital

To clarify the molecular epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae complex (CREC) and the risk factors for acquisition of carbapenemase-producing E. cloacae complex (CPEC).

Authors: Nobuyuki Tetsuka, Aki Hirabayashi, Akane Matsumoto, Keisuke Oka, Yuki Hara, Hiroshi Morioka, Mitsutaka Iguchi, Yuka Tomita, Masato Suzuki, Keigo Shibayama and Tetsuya Yagi

Seasonality of respiratory viruses and bacterial pathogens

Seasonal variation has been observed for various bacterial and viral infections. We aimed to further study seasonality of respiratory viruses and bacterial pathogens in relation to antibiotic use, as well as m...

Authors: Young June Choe, Michael A. Smit and Leonard A. Mermel

Incidence of peripheral intravenous catheter failure among inpatients: variability between microbiological data and clinical signs and symptoms

Peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) are the most widely used invasive devices among inpatients. Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) are serious yet preventable events for patients. Although th...

Authors: Ian Blanco-Mavillard, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez-Calero, Joan de Pedro-Gómez, Gaizka Parra-García, Ismael Fernández-Fernández and Enrique Castro-Sánchez

Cross-border comparison of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and AMR prevention measures: the healthcare workers’ perspective

Cross-border healthcare may promote the spread of multidrug-resistant microorganisms (MDRO) and is challenging due to heterogeneous antimicrobial resistance (AMR) prevention measures (APM). The aim of this art...

Authors: J. Keizer, L. M. A. Braakman-Jansen, S. Kampmeier, R. Köck, N. Al Naiemi, R. Te Riet-Warning, N. Beerlage-De Jong, K. Becker and J. E. W. C. Van Gemert-Pijnen

Susceptibility of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) to chlorhexidine digluconate, octenidine dihydrochloride, polyhexanide, PVP-iodine and triclosan in comparison to hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA) and community-aquired MRSA (CA-MRSA): a standardized comparison

Recent publications have raised concerns of reduced susceptibilities of clinical bacterial isolates towards biocides. This study presents a comparative investigation of the susceptibility of livestock-associat...

Authors: Kathleen Dittmann, Thomas Schmidt, Gerald Müller, Christiane Cuny, Silva Holtfreter, Daniel Troitzsch, Peter Pfaff and Nils-Olaf Hübner

Evaluation of the virucidal efficacy of disinfectant wipes with a test method simulating practical conditions

The use of disinfectant wipes in hospitals is increasing over the last years. These wipes should be able to inactivate microorganisms including viruses on environmental surfaces and to prevent their transfer t...

Authors: Britta Becker, Lars Henningsen, Dajana Paulmann, Birte Bischoff, Daniel Todt, Eike Steinmann, Joerg Steinmann, Florian H. H. Brill and Jochen Steinmann

Impact of a PCR point of care test for influenza A/B on an acute medical unit in a large UK teaching hospital: results of an observational, pre and post intervention study

Influenza viruses is a leading cause of acute respiratory infection, placing a significant burden on healthcare. To reduce hospital transmission, patients clinically suspected of having influenza are isolated ...

Authors: Mark I. Garvey, Martyn A. C. Wilkinson, Craig W. Bradley, Martin Biggs, Vinay Reddy-Kolanu, Husam Osman, Sarah Carmalt and Elisabeth Holden

Practice of over-the-counter dispensary of antibiotics for childhood illnesses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a simulated patient encounter study

Dispensary and use of antibiotics without prescriptions from qualified providers is a common practice in countries with poor pharmaceutical regulations and where due focus is not given to rational use. This pr...

Authors: Eyosait Mekonnen Koji, Gebremedhin Beedemariam Gebretekle and Tinsae Alemayehu Tekle

Review on plant antimicrobials: a mechanistic viewpoint

Microbial resistance to classical antibiotics and its rapid progression have raised serious concern in the treatment of infectious diseases. Recently, many studies have been directed towards finding promising ...

Authors: Bahman Khameneh, Milad Iranshahy, Vahid Soheili and Bibi Sedigheh Fazly Bazzaz

New genetic context of lnu(B) composed of two multi-resistance gene clusters in clinical Streptococcus agalactiae ST-19 strains

Clindamycin is a lincosamide antibiotic used to treat staphylococcal and streptococcal infections. Reports of clinical Streptococcus agalactiae isolates with the rare lincosamide resistance/macrolide susceptibili...

Authors: Kaixin Zhou, Dongan Zhu, Ying Tao, Lianyan Xie, Lizhong Han, Yibo Zhang and Jingyong Sun