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Introduction Native Americans in the southwestern United States have a higher risk for many infectious diseases and may be at higher risk for Staphylococcus aureus due to the high prevalence of risk factors for S. aureus. Recent data on invasive S. aureus infections among Native Americans are limited. Methods Active population- and laboratory-based surveillance was conducted in 2016–2017 on the Navajo Nation to document the rate of invasive S. aureus. A case of invasive S.aureus infection was defined as a Native American individual with S. aureus isolated from a normally sterile body site whose reported community of residence was on or around the Navajo Nation. Results One hundred and fifty-nine cases of invasive S. aureus from 152 individuals were identified. The median age of cases was 56.3 years and 35% were female. Thirty-five percent of cases had community-acquired infections. Ninety-three percent of cases had underlying medical conditions, including diabetes (60%) and obesity (42%), 28% of cases had a documented prior S. aureus infection, and 33% were infected with methicillin-resistant S. aureus. The annual incidence of invasive S. aureus and of invasive methicillin-resistant S. aureus was 64.9/100,000 persons and 21.2/100,000 persons, respectively. Conclusions This community has a high burden of invasive S. aureus infections. Further research is needed to identify prevention strategies and opportunities for intervention.

Objective.To assess consumption of resources in the infection control management of healthcare workers (HCWs) exposed to pertussis and to assess avoidability of exposure.Setting.Tertiary care children's medical center.Methods.Analysis of the extent of and reasons for HCW exposure to pertussis during contact with children with the disease, whether exposures were avoidable (because of the failure to recognize a case or to order or adhere to isolation precautions) or unavoidable (because the case was not recognizable or because another diagnosis was confirmed), and the cost of implementing exposure management.Interventions.Interventions consisted of an investigation of every HCW encounter with any patient who was confirmed later to have pertussis from the time of hospital admission of the patient, use of azithromycin as postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) for exposed HCWs, performance of 21-day surveillance for cough illness, testing of symptomatic exposed HCWs for Bordetella pertussis, and enhanced preexposure education of HCWs.Results.From September 2003 through April 2005, pertussis was confirmed in 28 patients (median age, 62 days); 24 patients were admitted. For 11 patients, pertussis was suspected, appropriate precautions were taken, and no HCW was exposed. Inadequate precautions for 17 patients led to 355 HCW exposures. The median number of HCWs exposed per exposing patient was 9 (range, 1-86 HCWs; first quartile mean, 2; fourth quartile mean, 61). Exposure was definitely avoidable for only 61 (17%) of 355 HCWs and was probably unavoidable for 294 HCWs (83%). The cost of 20-month infection control management of HCWs exposed to pertussis was $69,770. The entire cohort of HCWs involved in direct patient care at the facility could be immunized for approximately $60,000.Conclusions.Exposure of HCWs to pertussis during contact with children who have the disease is largely unavoidable, and management of this exposure is resource intensive. Universal preexposure vaccination of HCWs is a better utilization of resources than is case-based postexposure management.

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are important pathogens in premature neonates; decreasing glycopeptide susceptibility has been observed among these isolates. The epidemiology of colonization with CoNS, the organisms' vancomycin susceptibilities, and genetic relatedness were studied over 6 months in a tertiary-care neonatal unit. A total of 321 isolates of CoNS were isolated. Seventy-five percent of the infants were colonized at admission, and virtually all were colonized thereafter. Common species were Staphylococcus epidermidis (69%), S. warneri (12%), S. haemolyticus (9.7%), and S. hominis (5.6%). A total of 3.9% of CoNS isolates had decreased vancomycin susceptibility (DVS) (MICs > 2.0 μg/ml); isolate recovery was associated with a stay in a neonatal intensive care unit for >28 days ( P = 0.039), vancomycin exposure ( P = 0.021), and S. warneri colonization ( P < 0.0001). Nine of 12 (75%) CoNS with DVS were S. warneri , had enhanceable high-level resistance in vitro, were indistinguishable or closely related by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and were different from 29 vancomycin-susceptible S. warneri isolates. Epidemiological analysis suggested unsuspected nosocomial spread. Species determination in certain settings may aid in the understanding of emerging nosocomial problems.

Background :Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) is vaccine-preventable but few data on the incidence of PD exist for Indian children. Aims: To assess the feasibility of implementing prospective, population-based surveillance for PD among children less than five years of age. Settings and Design :Hospitals and health agencies, Bangalore, India. Retrospective review and analysis of hospitalization records as well as public health and demographic data. Material and Methods : Records for 2006 hospitalizations for pneumococcal disease-associated syndromes (meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis) were identified at three pediatric referral hospitals (Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, Kempegowda Institute of Child Health and Vani Vilas Hospital) in Bangalore using International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision codes. Hospital microbiology laboratory records were assessed to ensure capacity for identifying S. pneumoniae. Population data were identified from national census and polio surveillance data. Results : The Bangalore city southern zone includes 33 wards occupying 51 Km 2 with 150,945 children between 0-5 years of age served by three referral pediatric hospitals. From January--December 2006, records of these three hospitals showed 2,219 hospitalizations of children less than five years of age (967 pneumonia, 768 sepsis, and 484 meningitis) with PD-associated diagnoses (southern zone area incidence: 0.15/100,000 PD-associated hospitalizations, less than five years of age). There were 178 deaths in children less than five years of age, of which 87 were attributable to sepsis, 56 to pneumonia and 35 to meningitis. Conclusion : Our analysis suggests that the PD-associated disease burden in Bangalore is high and local institutions have capacity for population-based surveillance. In a prospective study, systematic attention to potential barriers in identifying children with pneumococcal infections will improve estimation of IPD incidence in India.