RESUMEN
Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica serovar Agona infections affect public health globally. This investigation aimed to ascertain the antimicrobial resistance profiles and molecular characteristics of Salmonella Agona isolates obtained from food-producing animals. A total of 209 Salmonella Agona isolates were recovered from mostly chickens (139 isolates), pigs (56 isolates), cattle (11 isolates), and ducks (3 isolates) between 2010 and 2020 in South Korea. In addition, these Salmonella Agona isolates were obtained from 25 slaughterhouses nationwide. Furthermore, this serotype suddenly increased in chickens in 2020. Salmonella Agona from chickens showed high resistance (69-83%) to ampicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and chloramphenicol. Moreover, chicken/duck isolates (83.1%) showed significantly higher levels of MDR than cattle/pig isolates (1.5%). For molecular analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, infrared spectroscopy biotyping, and multilocus sequence typing in combination, a total of 23 types were observed. Especially two major types, P1-III-2-13 and P1-IV-2-13, comprised 59.3% of the total isolates spreading in most farms. Moreover, Salmonella Agona sequence type (ST)13 was predominant (96.7%) among three different STs (ST13, ST11, and ST292) widely detected in chickens (94.3%) in most farms located nationwide. Taken together, MDR Salmonella Agona in chickens might pose a potential risk to public health through direct contact or the food chain.
RESUMEN
Background: The Donation Improvement Program (DIP) is intended to increase organ donation at hospitals. The program includes education for healthcare professionals of participating hospitals about each step of donation as well as evaluation. The DIP consists of medical record review (MRR) and a Hospital Attitude Survey (HAS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the DIP results for the last 7 years. Methods: For MRR, we analyzed 58,385 cases of mortality from 77 hospitals between 2012 and 2018. The HAS data for the degree of education experience, competence, and knowledge related to brain death (BD) and donation were analyzed from 23 DIP-participating hospitals in 2012 and 51 DIP-participating hospitals in 2015 and 2018 each. Results: The recognition rate of potential BD was 24.9%, 61.3%, and 73.2%, and donation rate was 7.5%, 11.7%, and 15.8% at 6 months before, 1?2 years after, and 4?5 years after the agreement, respectively. Hospital staff with the necessary competence or knowledge to explain BD constituted 44.0% in 2012, while this increased to 62.8% in 2018. Conclusions: The DIP could increase the recognition of BD and the organ donation rate, and positively affect the attitudes of healthcare professionals toward organ donation. Spreading the DIP to all hospitals is urgent to increase organ donation.
