Serologically Confirmed Human Leptospirosis in Colombia, 2015-2020.

Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection transmitted through contact with infected animals or contaminated water sources, imposes a substantial health burden in Colombia. Since 2007, the National Institute of Health (INS) has mandated the notification and confirmation of all suspected leptospirosis cases. This passive surveillance program employs the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) on serum samples to ascertain confirmed cases of leptospirosis infection. However, the absence of a robust surveillance system has hindered our comprehensive understanding of the morbidity, mortality, geographical distribution, species/serovars, and strains responsible for severe disease. Our study aimed to provide an epidemiological overview of MAT-confirmed human leptospirosis cases reported over 6 years (2015-2020) in Colombia. In addition, we offer insights into the status of leptospirosis in the country, focusing on risk factors and proposing potential improvements for diagnosis and disease management. During the 6-year surveillance period, the laboratory at the INS received 3,535 serum samples from suspected human leptospirosis cases, with 880 (25%) confirmed through MAT. The incidence of leptospirosis was calculated at 1.9 cases per 100,000 people, with a higher prevalence among men (82.1%). Furthermore, 54 (6.1%) deaths were confirmed as leptospirosis, and cases were documented across nearly all regions of Colombia. Our findings emphasize the urgent need to strengthen leptospirosis laboratory surveillance, implement effective prevention measures, and enhance diagnostic capabilities in Colombia. The analysis conducted in this study provides the groundwork for estimating the impact of leptospirosis and raises awareness of its significance in public health.

[Latin American consensus to define, categorize, and report multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant, or pandrug-resistant pathogensConsenso latino-americano para definição, categorização e notificação de patógenos multirresistentes, com resistência ampliada ou panresistentes]. / Consenso latinoamericano para definir, categorizar y notificar patógenos multirresistentes, con resistencia extendida o panresistentes.

This document presents a Latin American consensus to standardize definitions of different levels of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria of public health importance. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are described for antibiotics to include (availability, relevance, and existence of cut-off values) and for methodologies to use. Three gram-negative microorganisms with a great impact in the hospital environment (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter spp.) were selected as a pilot proposal. The lack of cut-off values for certain antibiotics (e.g., tigecycline, fosfomycin, and colistin), crucial in treating infections caused by multi-drug resistant or extensively drug-resistant pathogens, led to the need to discuss and agree on provisional cut-off values for monitoring resistance to these drugs. The work team also addressed and reached consensus on easier-to-use alternative susceptibility tests, other than methods approved by international guidelines, for routine testing in clinical bacteriology laboratories. The main benefit of this document is to provide Latin American laboratories with a standardized and consensual framework for the identification and constant and unified surveillance of resistant microorganisms. The recommendations included in this document are the result of consensus among representatives of the national reference laboratories in the countries belonging to the Latin American Surveillance Network of Antimicrobial Resistance, coordinated by the Pan American Health Organization.

É apresentado um consenso latino-americano para padronizar a definição dos graus de resistência antimicrobiana em bactérias de importância em saúde pública. São descritos os critérios de inclusão e exclusão para os antibióticos a serem incluídos (disponibilidade, relevância e pontos de corte de sensibilidade) e metodologias a serem usadas. Como proposta-piloto, foram selecionados três microrganismos Gram-negativos de grande impacto no ambiente hospitalar (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa e Acinetobacter spp.). Diante da falta de pontos de corte para alguns antibióticos (como tigeciclina, fosfomicina e colistina), essenciais para o tratamento de infecções causadas por patógenos com multirresistência ou resistência ampliada, foram debatidos e aprovados pela maioria pontos de corte provisórios para a vigilância da resistência a estes fármacos. Também foi discutido e aprovado o uso de testes de suscetibilidade alternativos aos métodos aprovados pelas diretrizes internacionais, mais simples de serem realizados como testes de rotina nos laboratórios de bacteriologia clínica. A principal contribuição deste documento é oferecer aos laboratórios latino-americanos um sistema padronizado e consensual para a identificação de microrganismos resistentes e a vigilância contínua e uniforme destes patógenos. As recomendações aqui contidas foram feitas por consenso por representantes dos laboratórios nacionais de referência dos países que integram a Rede Latino-Americana de Vigilância da Resistência Antimicrobiana, coordenada pela Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde (OPAS).

Melioidosis is in the Americas: A Call to Action for Diagnosing and Treating the Disease.

Melioidosis, a disease caused by the pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei, is a significant underreported endemic disease found in tropical countries worldwide. Recent studies have demonstrated that human melioidosis cases have been increasingly recognized in the Americas. Therefore, the first Scientific Reunion of Melioidosis in the Americas was organized in Colombia, with the participation of health authorities of 11 Latin American countries and the United States. This report summarizes the topics reviewed during the meeting, including how to identify human infections and properly diagnose them, with the goal of increasing recognition of the disease in the Americas.

Emergence of Providencia rettgeri NDM-1 in two departments of Colombia, 2012-2013. / Emergencia de Providencia rettgeri NDM-1 en dos departamentos de Colombia, 2012-2013.

INTRODUCTION: In Colombia, between 2012 and 2013, 19 isolates with NDM were identified, of which 14 corresponded to Providencia rettgeri. METHODS: The isolates were identified by Vitek-2, and antimicrobial susceptibility was evaluated by broth microdilution. The carbapenemase phenotypes were determined with Modified Hodge Test and synergy tests with EDTA/SMA and APB, the genotypes by PCR using specific primers for KPC, GES, IMP, VIM, OXA-48 and NDM, and genetic relationships were established with DiversiLab. RESULTS: The isolates were resistant to carbapenems, third-generation cephalosporins, piperacillin-tazobactam, amikacin, gentamicin and tigecycline, except aztreonam. All isolates were positive for EDTA/SMA and NDM-1, and negative for APB and other carbapenemases. Two genetic groups, group 1 (n=9 isolates), group 2 (n=4 isolates) and an isolate defined as not genetically related. CONCLUSION: This work describes the circulating of NDM-1-producing P. rettgeri in Colombia.