Epidemiology and control of the first reported vancomycin-resistant enterococcus outbreak at a tertiary-care hospital in bangkok, thailand.

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CONTROL OF THE FIRST REPORTED VANCOMYCIN-RESISTANT ENTEROCOCCUS OUTBREAK AT A TERTIARY-CARE HOSPITAL IN BANGKOK, THAILAND. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2016 May;47(3):494-502 Authors: Chotiprasitsakul D, Santanirand P, Thitichai P, Rotjanapan P, Watcharananan S, Siriarayapon P, Chaihongsa N, Sirichot S, Chitasombat M, Chantharit P, Malathum K Abstract This retrospective study described the first reported vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) outbreak from June 2013 through January 2014 at a tertiary-care hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. After the index case was detected in an 18-bed medical intermediate care unit, a number of interventions was implemented, including targeted active surveillance for VRE, strict contact precautions, enhanced standard precautions, dedicated units for VRE cases, extensive cleaning of the environment and the restricted use of antibiotics. VRE isolates were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) testing. A prevalence case-control study was conducted. Among 3,699 culture samples from 2,671 patients screened, 74 patients (2.8%) had VRE. The positivity rate declined from 15.1% during week 1 to 8.2% during week 2 and then 1.4% during week 3. By weeks 4-9, the prevalences were 0-2.7%. However, the prevalence rose to 9.4% during week 10 and then subsequently declined. All VRE isolates were Enterococcus faecium and had the vanA gene. RAPD an...
Source: Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health - Category: Tropical Medicine Tags: Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health Source Type: research