Superspreading of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.23 among vaccinated Finnish adults: symptomatic COVID-19 only contracted by those without recent infection.

An outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 was confirmed after an academic party in Helsinki, Finland, in 2022. All 70 guests were requested to fill in follow-up questionnaires; serologic analyses and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) were conducted when possible.Of those participating - all but one with ≥3 vaccine doses - 21/53 (40%) had test-confirmed symptomatic COVID-19: 7% of those with earlier episodes and 76% of those without. Half (11/21) were febrile, but none needed hospitalisation. WGS revealed subvariant BA.2.23.Compared to vaccination alone, our data suggest remarkable protection by hybrid immunity against symptomatic infection, particularly in instances of recent infections with homologous variants.

Hospital admissions of refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants: Ten-year retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION: The worldwide population of forcibly displaced people has increased over the past decade, approaching 80 million and encompassing more than 30 million refugees and asylum seekers. Research into refugee and migrant health has remained scarce, however. METHODS: To investigate the reasons for hospital admissions of refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants, we collected medical data from Helsinki University Hospital (HUH) records 2010-20. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 647 patients originally from 54 different countries, mainly Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Among adults, 40.9% of the admissions were related to pregnancy. For minors, the group comprising congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities accounted for most hospitalizations, followed by diseases of the digestive or nervous system. Every fifth patient (19.3%) was admitted because of an infection: adults mostly for urinary tract infection (16.3%), pneumonia (14.1%), and tuberculosis (9.8%), and minors for acute gastroenteritis (15.2%). Infectious reason was more frequent within two months after immigration than later. CONCLUSIONS: Our data reveal a unique admission profile for forced migrants: in addition to infectious diseases, a particularly high rate of obstetric diagnoses was recorded, the two ranking as the most common reasons for hospitalization.

High rates of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among asylum seekers and refugees admitted to Helsinki University Hospital, 2010 to 2017.

IntroductionAntimicrobial resistance is increasing rapidly in countries with low hygiene levels and poorly controlled antimicrobial use. The spread of resistant bacteria poses a threat to healthcare worldwide. Refugees and migrants from high-prevalence countries may add to a rise in multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in low-prevalence countries. However, respective data are scarce.MethodsWe retrospectively collected microbiological and clinical data from asylum seekers and refugees treated at Helsinki University Hospital between January 2010 and August 2017.ResultsOf 447 asylum seekers and refugees (Iraq: 46.5%; Afghanistan: 10.3%; Syria: 9.6%, Somalia: 6.9%); 45.0% were colonised by MDR bacteria: 32.9% had extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE), 21.3% meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 0.7% carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), 0.4% multiresistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MRPA), 0.4% multiresistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MRAB); no vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) were found. Two or more MDR bacteria strains were recorded for 12.5% of patients. Multivariable analysis revealed geographical region and prior surgery outside Nordic countries as risk factors of MRSA colonisation. Young age (< 6 years old), short time from arrival to first sample, and prior hospitalisation outside Nordic countries were risk factors of ESBL-PE colonisation.ConclusionWe found MDR bacterial colonisation to be common among asylum seekers and refugees arriving from current conflict zones. In particular we found a high prevalence of MRSA. Refugees and migrants should, therefore, be included among risk populations requiring MDR screening and infection control measures at hospitals.