Rapid Assessment and Containment of Candida auris Transmission in Postacute Care Settings-Orange County, California, 2019.

BACKGROUND: Candida auris, a multidrug-resistant yeast, can spread rapidly in ventilator-capable skilled-nursing facilities (vSNFs) and long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs). In 2018, a laboratory serving LTACHs in southern California began identifying species of Candida that were detected in urine specimens to enhance surveillance of C auris, and C auris was identified in February 2019 in a patient in an Orange County (OC), California, LTACH. Further investigation identified C auris at 3 associated facilities. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of C auris and infection prevention and control (IPC) practices in LTACHs and vSNFs in OC. DESIGN: Point prevalence surveys (PPSs), postdischarge testing for C auris detection, and assessments of IPC were done from March to October 2019. SETTING: All LTACHs (n = 3) and vSNFs (n = 14) serving adult patients in OC. PARTICIPANTS: Current or recent patients in LTACHs and vSNFs in OC. INTERVENTION: In facilities where C auris was detected, PPSs were repeated every 2 weeks. Ongoing IPC support was provided. MEASUREMENTS: Antifungal susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing to assess isolate relatedness. RESULTS: Initial PPSs at 17 facilities identified 44 additional patients with C auris in 3 (100%) LTACHs and 6 (43%) vSNFs, with the first bloodstream infection reported in May 2019. By October 2019, a total of 182 patients with C auris were identified by serial PPSs and discharge testing. Of 81 isolates that were sequenced, all were clade III and highly related. Assessments of IPC identified gaps in hand hygiene, transmission-based precautions, and environmental cleaning. The outbreak was contained to 2 facilities by October 2019. LIMITATION: Acute care hospitals were not assessed, and IPC improvements over time could not be rigorously evaluated. CONCLUSION: Enhanced laboratory surveillance and prompt investigation with IPC support enabled swift identification and containment of C auris. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gram-Negative Bacteria Harboring Multiple Carbapenemase Genes, United States, 2012-2019.

Reports of organisms harboring multiple carbapenemase genes have increased since 2010. During October 2012-April 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention documented 151 of these isolates from 100 patients in the United States. Possible risk factors included recent history of international travel, international inpatient healthcare, and solid organ or bone marrow transplantation.

Imipenem-Relebactam Susceptibility and Genotypic Characteristics of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales Identified during Population-Based Surveillance.

Laboratories submit all carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella species to the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD). ACPHD evaluated 75 isolates submitted during 9 months for susceptibility to imipenem-relebactam (I-R) and, using whole-genome sequencing, identified ß-lactamase genes. Of 60 (80%) isolates susceptible to I-R, 8 (13%) had detectable carbapenemase genes, including 4 KPC, two NDM, and two OXA-48-like; we described the relationship between the presence of ß-lactamase resistance genes and susceptibility to I-R.

Carbapenem and Cephalosporin Resistance among Enterobacteriaceae in Healthcare-Associated Infections, California, USA1.

We analyzed antimicrobial susceptibility test results reported in healthcare-associated infections by California hospitals during 2014-2017. Approximately 3.2% of Enterobacteriaceae reported in healthcare-associated infections were resistant to carbapenems and 26.9% were resistant to cephalosporins. The proportion of cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli increased 7% (risk ratio 1.07, 95% CI 1.04-1.11) per year during 2014-2017.

Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Detection Practices in California: What Are We Missing?

Background: The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) revised the carbapenem breakpoints for Enterobacteriaceae in 2010. The number of hospitals that adopted revised breakpoints and the clinical impact of delayed adoption has not been explored. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional, voluntary survey of microbiology laboratories from California acute care hospitals and long-term acute care hospitals (LTAC) to determine use of revised CLSI breakpoints. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) clinical isolates from a single tertiary-care hospital from 2013 to 2017 were examined. All isolates with an elevated minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC; ≥2 µg/mL) to imipenem or meropenem were tested for the presence of carbapenemase genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: We received responses from 128 laboratories that serve 264/393 (67%) of hospitals and LTACs. Current CLSI carbapenem breakpoints for Enterobacteriaceae were used by 92/128 (72%) laboratories. Among laboratories that used current breakpoints, time to implementation varied from 0 to 68 months (mean, 41 months; median, 55 months). Application of historical breakpoints to isolates with a carbapenemase gene detected by PCR resulted in susceptibility rates of 8.9%, 18.6%, and 18.6% to ertapenem, imipenem, and meropenem, respectively. By current breakpoints, <1% of these isolates were susceptible to ertapenem or imipenem and 2.6% to meropenem. Conclusion: Clinicians and epidemiologists should be aware that use of outdated MIC breakpoints for Enterobacteriaceae remains common and can result in reports of false susceptibility to carbapenems and missed identification of carbapenemase producers. This misclassification could have consequences for patient care and infection control efforts to address carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae.

Hemodialyzer Reuse and Gram-Negative Bloodstream Infections.

BACKGROUND: Clusters of bloodstream infections caused by Burkholderia cepacia and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia are uncommon, but have been previously identified in hemodialysis centers that reprocessed dialyzers for reuse on patients. We investigated an outbreak of bloodstream infections caused by B cepacia and S maltophilia among hemodialysis patients in clinics of a dialysis organization. STUDY DESIGN: Outbreak investigation, including matched case-control study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: Hemodialysis patients treated in multiple outpatient clinics owned by a dialysis organization. PREDICTORS: Main predictors were dialyzer reuse, dialyzer model, and dialyzer reprocessing practice. OUTCOMES: Case patients had a bloodstream infection caused by B cepacia or S maltophilia; controls were patients without infection dialyzed at the same clinic on the same day as a case; results of environmental cultures and organism typing. RESULTS: 17 cases (9 B cepacia and 8 S maltophilia bloodstream infections) occurred in 5 clinics owned by the same dialysis organization. Case patients were more likely to have received hemodialysis with a dialyzer that had been used more than 6 times (matched OR, 7.03; 95% CI, 1.38-69.76) and to have been dialyzed with a specific reusable dialyzer (Model R) with sealed ends (OR, 22.87; 95% CI, 4.49-∞). No major lapses during dialyzer reprocessing were identified that could explain the outbreak. B cepacia was isolated from samples collected from a dialyzer header-cleaning machine from a clinic with cases and was indistinguishable from a patient isolate collected from the same clinic, by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Gram-negative bacteria were isolated from 2 reused Model R dialyzers that had undergone the facility's reprocessing procedure. LIMITATIONS: Limited statistical power and overmatching; few patient isolates and dialyzers available for testing. CONCLUSIONS: This outbreak was likely caused by contamination during reprocessing of reused dialyzers. Results of this and previous investigations demonstrate that exposing patients to reused dialyzers increases the risk for bloodstream infections. To reduce infection risk, providers should consider implementing single dialyzer use whenever possible.