Search

We present a case of late symptom onset of COVID-19 infection 72 days after initial diagnosis in an immunocompromised 53-year-old man. SARS-CoV-2 was cultured from his sputum sample at this time, and genomic sequencing suggested reinfection was unlikely. After receipt of convalescent plasma, SARS-CoV-2 became undetectable by PCR 111 days after diagnosis, although SARS-CoV-2 antibodies remained not detectable. This case posed difficult public health management issues in a low prevalence COVID-19 setting as the person required extended home isolation given his prolonged SARS-CoV-2 PCR detection.Copyright © 2021 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved.

Objectives: To conduct a pilot study implementing combined genomic and epidemiologic surveillance for hospital-acquired multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) to predict transmission between patients and to estimate the local burden of MDRO transmission. Design(s): Pilot prospective multicenter surveillance study. Setting(s): The study was conducted in 8 university hospitals (2,800 beds total) in Melbourne, Australia (population 4.8 million), including 4 acute-care, 1 specialist cancer care, and 3 subacute-care hospitals. Method(s): All clinical and screening isolates from hospital inpatients (April 24 to June 18, 2017) were collected for 6 MDROs: VanA VRE, MRSA, ESBL Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-Kp), and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPa) and Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAb). Isolates were analyzed and reported as routine by hospital laboratories, underwent whole-genome sequencing at the central laboratory, and were analyzed using open-source bioinformatic tools. MDRO burden and transmission were assessed using combined genomic and epidemiologic data. Result(s): In total, 408 isolates were collected from 358 patients; 47.5% were screening isolates. ESBL-Ec was most common (52.5%), then MRSA (21.6%), vanA VRE (15.7%), and ESBL-Kp (7.6%). Most MDROs (88.3%) were isolated from patients with recent healthcare exposure. Combining genomics and epidemiology identified that at least 27.1% of MDROs were likely acquired in a hospital; most of these transmission events would not have been detected without genomics. The highest proportion of transmission occurred with vanA VRE (88.4% of patients). Conclusion(s): Genomic and epidemiologic data from multiple institutions can feasibly be combined prospectively, providing substantial insights into the burden and distribution of MDROs, including in-hospital transmission. This analysis enables infection control teams to target interventions more effectively. Copyright © 2020 by The Society

BACKGROUND: Multi-resistant organisms (MROs) pose a critical threat to public health. Population-based programs for control of MROs such as Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) have emerged and evaluation is needed. We assess the feasibility and impact of a state-wide CPE surveillance and response program deployed in December 2015 across Victoria, Australia (population 6.5 million). METHOD(S): A prospective multi-modal intervention including active screening, carrier isolation, centralised case investigation and comparative pathogen genomics was implemented. We analyze trend in CPE incidence and clinical presentation, risk factors and local transmission over the program's first three years (January 2016 to December 2018). RESULT(S): CPE case ascertainment increased over the study period to 1.42 cases/100,000 population, linked to increased screening without a concomitant rise in active clinical infections (0.45-0.60 infections/100,000 population, p=0.640). KPC-2 infection decreased from 0.29 infections/100,000 population prior to intervention to 0.03 infections/100,000 population in 2018 (p=0.003). Comprehensive case investigation identified putative overseas community acquisition. Median time between isolate referral and initial genomic and epidemiological assessment for local transmission was 11 days (IQR 9-14). Prospective surveillance identified numerous small transmission networks (median 2, range 1-19 cases), predominantly IMP and KPC, with median pairwise distance of 8 (IQR 4-13) single nucleotide polymorphisms; low diversity between clusters of the same sequence type suggested genomic cluster definitions alone are insufficient for targeted response. CONCLUSION(S): We demonstrate the value of centralised CPE control programs to increase case ascertainment, resolve risk factors and identify putative local transmission through prospective genomic and epidemiological surveillance; methodologies are transferable to low-prevalence settings and MROs globa

Healthcare workers are at increased risk of occupational transmission of SARS-CoV-2. We report two instances of healthcare workers contracting SARS-CoV-2 despite no known breach of personal protective equipment. Additional specific equipment cleaning was initiated. Viral genomic sequencing supported this transmission hypothesis and our subsequent response.Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Introduction. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic of 2020 has resulted in unparalleled requirements for RNA extraction kits and enzymes required for virus detection, leading to global shortages. This has necessitated the exploration of alternative diagnostic options to alleviate supply chain issues. Aim. To establish and validate a reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT- LAMP) assay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal swabs. Methodology. We used a commercial RT-LAMP mastermix from OptiGene in combination with a primer set designed to detect the CDC N1 region of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) gene. A single-tube, single-step fluorescence assay was implemented whereby 1 microl of universal transport medium (UTM) directly from a nasopharyngeal swab could be used as template, bypassing the requirement for RNA purification. Amplification and detection could be conducted in any thermocycler capable of holding 65 degreeC for 30 min and measure fluorescence in the FAM channel at 1 min intervals. Results. Assay evaluation by assessment of 157 clinical specimens previously screened by E-gene RT-qPCR revealed assay sensitivity and specificity of 87 and 100%, respectively. Results were fast, with an average time-to-positive (Tp) for 93 clinical samples of 14 min (sd+/-7 min). Using dilutions of SARS-CoV-2 virus spiked into UTM, we also evaluated assay performance against FDA guidelines for implementation of emergency-use diagnostics and established a limit-of-detection of 54 Tissue Culture Infectious Dose 50 per ml (TCID50 ml-1), with satisfactory assay sensitivity and specificity. A comparison of 20 clinical specimens between four laboratories showed excellent interlaboratory concordance; performing equally well on three different, commonly used thermocyclers, pointing to the robustness of the assay. Conclusion. With a simplified workflow, The N1 gene Single Tube Optigene LAMP assay (N1-STOP-LAMP) is a powerful, scalable option for specific and r