Between 7 and 25 May, 86 monkeypox cases were confirmed in the United Kingdom (UK). Only one case is known to have travelled to a monkeypox virus (MPXV) endemic country. Seventy-nine cases with information were male and 66 reported being gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men. This is the first reported sustained MPXV transmission in the UK, with human-to-human transmission through close contacts, including in sexual networks. Improving case ascertainment and onward-transmission preventive measures are ongoing.
Background Early and accurate treatment of infections due to carbapenem-resistant organisms is facilitated by rapid diagnostics but rare resistance mechanisms can compromise detection. One year after a GES-5 carbapenemase-positive Klebsiella oxytoca infection was identified by whole genome sequencing (WGS) (later found to be part of a cluster of three cases), a cluster of 11 patients with GES-5-positive K. oxytoca was identified over 18 weeks in the same hospital. Methods Bacteria were identified by MALDI-TOF, antimicrobial susceptibility testing followed EUCAST guidelines. Ertapenem-resistant isolates were referred to Public Health England for characterization using PCR detection of GES, pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and WGS for the second cluster. Results The identification of the first GES-5 K. oxytoca isolate was delayed, being identified on WGS. A GES-gene PCR informed the occurrence of the second cluster in real-time. In contrast to PFGE, WGS phylogenetic analysis refuted an epidemiological link between the two clusters; it also suggested a cascade of patient-to-patient transmission in the later cluster. A novel GES-5-encoding plasmid was present in K. oxytoca,E. coli and E. cloacae isolates from unlinked patients within the same hospital group and in human and wastewater isolates from three hospitals elsewhere in the UK. Conclusions Genomic sequencing revolutionized the epidemiological understanding of the clusters, it also underlined the risk of covert plasmid propagation in healthcare settings and revealed the national distribution of the resistance-encoding plasmid. Sequencing results also informed and led to the ongoing use of enhanced diagnostic tests for detecting carbapenemases locally and nationally.
BackgroundInvasive Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a major cause of serious neonatal infection. Current strategies to reduce early-onset GBS disease have no impact on late-onset disease (LOD). Although GBS LOD is viewed as a sporadic event in the community, LOD arising within the neonatal intensive care unit (ICU) raises questions about mode of acquisition.MethodsFollowing a cluster of 4 GBS LOD cases, enhanced surveillance for all GBS LOD was undertaken over 2 years in the neonatal ICU supported by neonatal rectal screening. GBS isolates were serotyped and genome-sequenced.ResultsTwelve late -onset invasive GBS episodes were identified (incidence 0.6/1000 live births). Genomic analysis revealed that 11/12 GBS isolates (92%) were linked to at least one other LOD isolate. Isolates from the first cluster were serotype V, resistant to macrolides and lincosamides, and sequencing confirmed isolates were indistinguishable, or distinguishable by only one SNP difference, from each other. Rectal carriage was rare. Prospective surveillance identified three further clusters of LOD due to serotypes Ia (3 cases), Ib (2 cases), and III (2 cases), that would not have been identified without surveillance and genome sequencing, leading to a re-evaluation of interventions required to prevent GBS LOD.ConclusionAcquisition routes for LOD GBS in the neonatal ICU are poorly understood; cases may not necessarily be sporadic. Within this neonatal ICU, our data suggest that a single case of LOD GBS sepsis should be considered a potential nosocomial transmission event warranting prompt investigation, heightened infection prevention vigilance and action where required.
Social media applications such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have attained huge popularity, with more than three billion people and organizations predicted to have a social networking account by 2015. Social media offers a rapid avenue of communication with the public and has potential benefits for communicable disease control and surveillance. However, its application in everyday public health practice raises a number of important issues around confidentiality and autonomy. We report here a case from local level health protection where the friend of an individual with meningococcal septicaemia used a social networking site to notify potential contacts.
Introduction: Previous investigations have identified high rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection among residents and staff in care homes reporting an outbreak of COVID-19. We investigated care homes reporting a single suspected or confirmed case to assess whether early mass testing might reduce risk of transmission during the peak of the pandemic in London. Methods: Between 18–27 April 2020, residents and staff in care homes reporting a single case of COVID-19 to Public Health England had a nasal swab to test for SARS-CoV-2 infection by RT-PCR and subsequent whole genome sequencing. Residents and staff in two care homes were re-tested eight days later. Results: Four care homes were investigated. SARS-CoV-2 positivity was 20% (65/333) overall, ranging between 3–59%. Among residents, positivity ranged between 3–76% compared to 3–40% in staff. Half of the SARS-CoV-2 positive residents (23/46, 50%) and 63% of staff (12/19) reported symptoms within 14 days before or after testing. Repeat testing 8 days later in two care homes with the highest infection rates identified only two new cases. Genomic analysis demonstrated a small number of introductions of the virus into care homes, and distinct clusters within three of the care homes. Conclusions: We found extensive but variable rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection among residents and staff in care homes reporting a single case of COVID-19. While routine whole home testing has now been adopted into practice, care homes must remain vigilant and should be encouraged to report a single suspected case, which should trigger appropriate outbreak control measures.
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