ABSTRACT
Objectives: During COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, China, some public health measures of forced lockdown, closure of school and public meeting places, staying at home, transportation stop, masks wearing, hands washing, environmental disinfection were taken on to control epidemic transmission, these measures have made indirect affect on the other infectious diseases incidence. Study design: During COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we retrospectively analyzed and compared reported cases of other infectious diseases,in order to found what impact of measures in controlling COVID-19 pandemic on the other infectious diseases in China. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed and compared reported cases of measles, pertussis, scarlet fever, seasonal influenza, mumps, HFMD each month in 2018, 2019 and 2020 from the National Health Commission, PRC. Results: Cases of measles, pertussis, scarlet fever, seasonal influenza, mumps and HFMD in January 2020 were not declined, or even increased compare to 2018 and 2019, but from February to December 2020, began to drop significantly compare with the cases of 2018 and 2019. However, seasonal influenza cases in 2020 were more than in 2018. Conclusion: It shown that how important scientific measures are taken to cut off COVID-19 pandemic transmission, However, these taken measures have led to indirect impact on the diffusion of other infectious diseases, led to measles, pertussis, scarlet fever, seasonal influenza, mumps, HFMD declined.
ABSTRACT
The Infectious Disease Surveillance of Pediatrics (ISPED) program was established in 2015 to monitor and analyze the trends of bacterial epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in children. Clinical bacterial isolates were collected from 11 tertiary care children's hospitals in China in 2016 to 2020. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out using the Kirby-Bauer method or automated systems, with interpretation according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute 2019 breakpoints. A total of 288,377 isolates were collected, and the top 10 predominant bacteria were Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii. In 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic year, we observed a significant reduction in the proportion of respiratory tract samples (from 56.9% to 44.0%). A comparable reduction was also seen in the primary bacteria mainly isolated from respiratory tract samples, including S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, and S. pyogenes. Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in children were commonly observed and presented higher rates of drug resistance than sensitive strains. The proportions of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKP), carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB), carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa (CRPA), and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains were 19.7%, 46.4%%, 12.8%, and 35.0%, respectively. The proportions of CRKP, CRAB, and CRPA strains all showed decreasing trends between 2015 and 2020. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and CRPA gradually decreased with age, while CRAB showed the opposite trend with age. Both CRE and CRPA pose potential threats to neonates. MDROs show very high levels of AMR and have become an urgent threat to children, suggesting that effective monitoring of AMR and antimicrobial stewardship among children in China are required. IMPORTANCE AMR, especially that involving multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), is recognized as a global threat to human health; AMR renders infections increasingly difficult to treat, constituting an enormous economic burden and producing tremendous negative impacts on patient morbidity and mortality rates. There are many surveillance programs in the world to address AMR profiles and MDRO prevalence in humans. However, published studies evaluating the overall AMR rates or MDRO distributions in children are very limited or are of mixed quality. In this study, we showed the bacterial epidemiology and resistance profiles of primary pathogens in Chinese children from 2016 to 2020 for the first time, analyzed MDRO distributions with time and with age, and described MDROs' potential threats to children, especially low-immunity neonates. Our study will be very useful to guide antiinfection therapy in Chinese children, as well as worldwide pediatric patients.