ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The costs and laboratory workload arising from meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) screening could be reduced markedly by processing nose, throat and skin swabs from one person in a single culture broth (specimen pooling). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensitivities and times for MRSA detection using a variety of approaches to processing of individual and pooled swabs. METHODS: Four hundred and seventeen swabs from 139 subjects with a history of MRSA colonization (three swabs per subject - nose, throat and skin) were submitted. Swabs were suspended in 200-µL sterile saline, and these suspensions were used individually and as pooled samples to inoculate two different chromogenic media [MRSA SMART (bioMerieux, Marcy-l'Étoile, Paris, France) and CHROMagar MRSA (CHROMagar, Paris, France)] and Todd-Hewitt Broth; the latter cultures were then subcultured on to the same chromogenic media. RESULTS: MRSA was detected from at least one specimen in 75 subjects (50.4%). The diagnostic sensitivities of pooled surveillance cultures compared with single cultures were 97% and 93% for direct and enrichment cultures, respectively. Enrichment culture of either individual or pooled samples had no benefit compared with direct culture (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Pooling of MRSA screening swabs for either direct culture on chromogenic agar or enrichment culture is suitable for routine use.
Subject(s)
Carrier State/diagnosis , Mass Screening/methods , Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/isolation & purification , Specimen Handling/methods , Staphylococcal Infections/diagnosis , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Bacteriological Techniques/methods , Carrier State/microbiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nose/microbiology , Pharynx/microbiology , Sensitivity and Specificity , Skin/microbiology , Staphylococcal Infections/microbiology , Time FactorsABSTRACT
A gastroenteritis outbreak affected 45 people (40 residents and five staff) in a nursing home for the elderly in the Celje region, north-east Slovenia, between 17 December and 31 December 2010. Rotavirus group A was laboratory confirmed in the stools of five ill individuals. The outbreak was identified when the number of affected persons was high but was successfully controlled after implementing preventive measures.
Subject(s)
Disease Outbreaks , Gastroenteritis/epidemiology , Nursing Homes , Rotavirus Infections/epidemiology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Disease Notification , Feces/virology , Female , Gastroenteritis/virology , Humans , Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional , Inpatients , Male , Nursing Staff , Rotavirus Infections/transmission , Rotavirus Infections/virology , Slovenia/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
We report the first documented case of OXA-48-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in Slovenia isolated from rectal surveillance cultures from a patient transferred from Libya. The patient was colonised with both ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and ESBL- and OXA-48-producing K. pneumoniae. Three further patients were colonised with ESBL-producing E. coli. This underscores the importance of an early warning system on European level and screening upon admission of patients transferred across borders and between healthcare systems.
