Emergence of NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in Greece: evidence of a widespread clonal outbreak

ObjectivesNDM-producing Enterobacteriaceae clinical isolates remain uncommon in the European region. We describe the emergence and broad dissemination of one successful NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae clone in Greek hospitals.MethodsDuring a 4 year survey (January 2013–December 2016), 480 single-patient carbapenem non-susceptible K. pneumoniae isolates, phenotypically MBL positive, were consecutively recovered in eight Greek hospitals from different locations and subjected to further investigation. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, combined-disc test, identification of resistance genes by PCR and sequencing, molecular fingerprinting by PFGE, plasmid profiling, replicon typing, conjugation experiments and MLST were performed.ResultsMolecular analysis confirmed the presence of the blaNDM-1 gene in 341 (71%) K. pneumoniae isolates. A substantially increasing trend of NDM-1-producing K. pneumoniae was noticed during the survey (R2 = 0.9724). Most blaNDM-1-carrying isolates contained blaCTX-M-15, blaOXA-1, blaOXA-2 and blaTEM-1 genes. PFGE analysis clustered NDM-1 producers into five distinct clonal types, with five distinct STs related to each PFGE clone. The predominant ST11 PFGE clonal type was detected in all eight participating hospitals, despite adherence to the national infection control programme; it was identical to that observed in the original NDM-1 outbreak in Greece in 2011, as well as in a less-extensive NDM-1 outbreak in Bulgaria in 2015. The remaining four ST clonal types (ST15, ST70, ST258 and ST1883) were sporadically detected. blaNDM-1 was located in IncFII-type plasmids in all five clonal types.ConclusionsThis study gives evidence of possibly the largest NDM-1-producing K. pneumoniae outbreak in Europe; it may also reinforce the hypothesis of an NDM-1 clone circulating in the Balkans.

Healthcare-associated infection in the Grey’s Hospital paediatric intensive care unit: does an Infection Control Programme work?

Background: Healthcare-associated infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Grey’s Hospital introduced an Infection Control Programme in August 2016, which included Best Care Always bundles for reducing the occurrence of central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections and ventilatorassociated pneumonia. Methods: An observational before–after quasi-experiment was conducted retrospectively reviewing healthcare-associated infection rates in the Grey’s Hospital paediatric intensive care unit a year prior to (August 2015 to July 2016) and after (September 2016 to August 2017) implementation of an Infection Control Programme.Results: There was an absolute decrease in healthcare-associated infection from 102 to 81 and a statistically significant decrease in bloodstream infections per 1 000 central venous catheter days from 36/1 000–15/1 000 after intervention (RR 0.42, 95% CI 0.23–0.79, p = 0.004). The rate of healthcare-associated infection decreased from 23/100 admissions prior to the intervention to 20/100 admissions after the intervention (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.51–1.48, p = 0.61) and from 40/1 000 patient days to 32/1 000 patient days (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.51–1.26, p = 0.34). Reductions in healthcare-associated infection were also seen in bloodstream infections and urinary tract infections.Conclusion: The observed downward trend in overall healthcare-associated infections, bloodstream infections and urinary tract infections did not reach statistical significance except for bloodstream infections per 1 000 central venous catheter days. Further research or audit is needed to ascertain reasons for this less than expected decrease in healthcare-associated infections. In the meantime, meticulous adherence to bundles should be encouraged.

Healthcare worker screening for nosocomial pathogens

Health care organizations and their staff have a responsibility to prevent occupationally-acquired infections and avoid transmitting disease to patients. As well as being a known source of nosocomial infections, health care workers (HCWs) are at risk themselves of becoming infected in the workplace. Regulatory authorities in many countries advise or mandate screening for key blood-borne pathogens (BBPs) in settings where transmission between patients and staff is possible. Staff infected with a BBP are restricted from performing certain procedures. In addition to screening for BBP, health care organizations require a tuberculosis infection control programme. Routine screening of health care workers for other organisms such as MRSA is usually not indicated. Health care organizations should have robust policies to immunize health care workers against Hepatitis B and respiratory diseases. Many organizations now make immunization against key respiratory diseases a pre-requisite for employment as a key infection control patient safety strategy.