A case of OXA-48 carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a patient transferred to Slovenia from Libya, November 2011.

We report the first documented case of OXA-48-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in Slovenia isolated from rectal surveillance cultures from a patient transferred from Libya. The patient was colonised with both ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and ESBL- and OXA-48-producing K. pneumoniae. Three further patients were colonised with ESBL-producing E. coli. This underscores the importance of an early warning system on European level and screening upon admission of patients transferred across borders and between healthcare systems.

Evaluation of rectal swab use for the determination of enteric pathogens: a prospective study of diarrhoea in adults.

OBJECTIVES: A stool sample is the sample of choice for microbiological testing of enteric pathogens causing diarrhoea, but a rectal swab can be a more practical alternative. A prospective observational study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of flocked rectal swab specimens using the syndromic molecular approach to determine the aetiology of diarrhoea in adults. METHODS: We compared the performance of rectal swabs with stool samples as the reference standard in determining viral, bacterial and protozoal pathogens using real-time multiplex PCR as well as standard stool culture. Paired samples of stool and rectal swab specimens were collected from 304 adult patients with diarrhoea, presented at the Department of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, between June 2016 and August 2017. RESULTS: Overall sensitivity of rectal swab samples in the syndromic molecular approach was 83.2% (95% CI 77.2%-88.1%). Pathogen group-specific analysis of rectal swabs showed sensitivity of 65.6% (95% CI 52.7%-77.1%) for viruses and 57.1% (95% CI 28.9%-82.3%) for parasites. For bacteria, sensitivity was 86.5% (95% CI 79.5%-91.8%) when PCR was performed and 61.4% (95% CI 52.4%-69.9%) when culture for bacteria was performed. Mean threshold cycle (Ct) values for most pathogens were higher in rectal swab specimens than in stool specimens. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that rectal swabs can be used in the diagnosis of diarrhoea in adults when stool specimens are not available or when rapid aetiological determination is needed. However, rectal swabs should be analysed using a molecular approach. The mean Ct value for most pathogens is higher in rectal swab specimens than in stool specimens.

Successful control of the first OXA-48 and/or NDM carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae outbreak in Slovenia 2014-2016.

BACKGROUND: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) occur only sporadically in Slovenia. AIM: To describe the first Slovenian carbapenemase-producing (CP) Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli outbreak which occurred at the tertiary teaching hospital University Medical Centre Ljubljana from October 2014 to April 2015. METHODS: A CPE-positive case was defined as any patient infected or colonized with CPE. A strict definition of a contact patient was adopted. Measures to prevent cross-transmission included cohorting of all CPE carriers with strict contact precautions and assignment of dedicated healthcare workers, cohorting of all contact patients until obtaining the result of screening cultures, systematic rectal screening of contact patients, and tagging of all CPE-positive cases and their contacts. Educational campaigns on CPEs were implemented. Clinical specimens were processed using standard procedures. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to determine relatedness. Multi-locus sequence typing was performed on CP K. pneumoniae isolates that belonged to different pulsotypes. FINDINGS: Before the outbreak was brought under control, 40 patients were colonized or infected with OXA-48 and/or New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase (NDM)-producing CPE; in 38 patients OXA-48 and/or NDM-producing K. pneumoniae was detected, in seven OXA-48 and/or NDM-producing E. coli was found together with K. pneumoniae, and in two patients only CP E. coli was isolated. The outbreak was oligoclonal with two major CP K. pneumoniae clusters belonging to ST437 and ST147 in epidemiologically linked patients. CONCLUSION: Initial standard control measures failed to prevent the outbreak. Once the problem had been recognized, strict infection control measures and the education of healthcare workers contributed to the successful control of the outbreak.

Dissemination of New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase-1-producing Acinetobacter baumannii in Europe.

Multidrug-resistant and New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) -producing Acinetobacter baumannii are increasingly reported. A collection of five NDM-1-positive A. baumannii isolates recovered in four European countries were analysed. Genotyping was performed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multiplex PCR sequence typing, Diversilab and multilocus sequence typing. Three distinct sequence types were identified. All isolates harboured a chromosomally located bla(NDM-1) gene within a Tn125-like transposon. One isolate co-expressed another unrelated carbapenemase OXA-23. This report constitutes the first epidemiological study of NDM-1-producing A. baumannii from four countries.