Monitoring water sources for environmental reservoirs of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1, Haiti.

An epidemic of cholera infections was documented in Haiti for the first time in more than 100 years during October 2010. Cases have continued to occur, raising the question of whether the microorganism has established environmental reservoirs in Haiti. We monitored 14 environmental sites near the towns of Gressier and Leogane during April 2012-March 2013. Toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor biotype strains were isolated from 3 (1.7%) of 179 water samples; nontoxigenic O1 V. cholerae was isolated from an additional 3 samples. All samples containing V. cholerae O1 also contained non-O1 V. cholerae. V. cholerae O1 was isolated only when water temperatures were ≥31°C. Our data substantiate the presence of toxigenic V. cholerae O1 in the aquatic environment in Haiti. These isolations may reflect establishment of long-term environmental reservoirs in Haiti, which may complicate eradication of cholera from this coastal country.

Complications associated with open calcaneus fractures.

BACKGROUND: Literature on open calcaneus fractures is limited and inconsistent. This study's purpose was to report complications such as osteomyelitis, amputations, and soft tissue infections in open calcaneus fractures that were treated at a Level I Trauma Center. METHODS: From January 1995 through December 2007, 1,157 calcaneus fractures were identified with 127 fractures being open (11.0%). Average followup time was 9.1 (range, 2 to 53) months. All open fractures were treated by a similar protocol of intravenous (i.v.) antibiotics, emergent irrigation and debridement (I&D), initial fracture stabilization if possible, subsequent I&Ds as needed, and delayed definitive fixation. One hundred fifteen open calcaneus fractures in 112 patients had sufficient followup for study inclusion. For this study complications were classified into four categories: superficial infections, deep infections, osteomyelitis, and amputations. RESULTS: Medial based wounds occurred in 63 (54.8%) fractures. The overall complication rate was 23.5% with 16 fractures (13.9%) requiring a reoperation. Eleven (9.6%) fractures experienced superficial wound infection and 14 (12.2%) had deep wound infection. Six (5.2%) amputations were required with three being for either soft tissue infection or wound necrosis. Culture-positive osteomyelitis occurred in six (5.2%) patients. CONCLUSION: Utilizing a standardized protocol, open calcaneus fractures were found to have a lower complication rate than has been previously reported.