KPC Casanova carbapenemase

Jon Otter (@jonotter) CRE , , , , , , ,

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The risk of interspecies transmission of carbapenemase genes is a real concern. We can barely get our heads around many different types of carbapenemase in a whole host of Gram-negative bacteria (compare the relative simplicity of methicillin resistance in S. aureus: a single gene, in a single species). Throw in interspecies horizontal transmission of carbapenemases and things get really tricky! Do we implement different control strategies to try to interrupt the transmission of carbapenemases (in contrast to the organisms themselves)? Could you have a multispecies outbreak of a carbapenemase on your hands and not even realise it?

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What do you do to prevent VRE transmission?

Jon Otter (@jonotter) VRE , , , , , ,

What do you do to prevent VRE transmission?

…you are not alone, if the answer to this question is ‘nothing special’, based on survey published in ARIC! Dale Fisher’s team in Singapore put together a simple survey, asking the global IPC community what measures they have in place to prevent the transmission of VRE. There was a huge degree of variability, ranging from ‘nothing special’ to ‘the kitchen sink’!

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A disease called “peer review”

marcbonten Uncategorized

One of our newpapers addressed the peer review practice in science. Based on a flawed but sexy paper in Nature, where review obviously failed, the system was diagnosed as sick, and cure is needed. Here is my solution. Continue reading →

Do single rooms reduce HCAI?

Jon Otter (@jonotter) Single rooms , , , , , ,

An interesting review article examines the relationship between three related variables: the proportion of single rooms, the size of the patient room and patient proximity, and the availability of antiseptic hand rub, with various HCAI indicators. The bottom line is that both a move towards a higher proportion of single rooms and larger patient rooms are associated with reduced HCAI, and making hand gels more available improves compliance with their use (unsurprisingly).

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ESPAUR 2016: an early Christmas present

Jon Otter (@jonotter) Antibiotic resistance , , , , , ,

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I am just getting around to reading (well detail-scanning the exec summary) of the ESPAUR report. My main reflection is what a fantastic resource this reporting stream offers us: to have freely accessible, regular, accurate, national data on antimicrobial resistance and usage, and other related indicators is pretty unique!

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The art of predicting “broad brush estimates” of people dying from AMR

marcbonten Epidemiology

Sometimes you read something you wished you had authored. For me, that is the essay “Will 10 Million People Die a Year due to Antimicrobial Resistance by 2050?” published yesterday in PLoS Medicine. At last, a scientific response to the highly praised AMR review from Jim O’Neill. Summarized in a few words: scrutinized to the bone, hardly anything remains. Continue reading →

Halving GNBSI

Jon Otter (@jonotter) GNBSI , , , ,

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The Department of Health announced last week their intention to halve the rate of E. coli BSI by 2020. Whilst this is a move that should be embraced, it will be an enormous challenge to achieve. The reduction that has been delivered with MRSA BSI could be seen as a model for success (and I suspect that if you were a politician, you would see it this way). However, it is vital to recognise that E. coli BSI and, more broadly, Gram-negative BSI (GNBSI) are not the same as MRSA BSI, and will require a different reduction strategy.

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Antibiotic Awareness in the Netherlands

marcbonten Uncategorized

Tomorrow is the European Antibiotic Awareness Day: one of these days in that the Dutch feel proud…., when the rest of (most of) Europe recognizes and acknowledges that the Netherlands do a fantastic job in controlling antibiotic resistance. How? Difficult to say, and may be the “diagnosis” should be established by exclusion. Here are at least 3 reasons that did NOT contribute to our success (although many think otherwise)….. Continue reading →

Superfungus (Candida auris)

Jon Otter (@jonotter) #candida , ,

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The Royal Brompton in London report a 50 case outbreak of C. auris, and a range of IPC measures that you would expect to prevent further transmission, but failed to do so. What’s so special about Candida auris? Is it a superfungus?

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Reflections from FIS/HIS 2016: Cauliflower, Clostridium, cash, and Candida

Jon Otter (@jonotter) Conferences , , , , , , ,

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A very enjoyable few days in Edinburgh this week for the Federation of Infection Societies / Healthcare Infections Society (FIS/HIS) meeting. Some reflections follow…

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