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Background: Universal masking, with additional layered prevention strategies, was an essential tool for limiting the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and ensuring a safe return to in-person learning for kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) students and staff. Few studies have examined mask adherence in this setting and none have described types of masks worn or locations of mask adherence. This project sought to assess mask adherence, types worn, and location of mask adherence in K-12 settings., Methods: This study used direct in-person observations to measure the proportion of persons wearing masks correctly; type of masks worn; and location of mask adherence in 19 K-12 schools in Georgia., Results: A total of 16,222 observations were conducted. Among those observed, 85.2% wore masks, with 80.3% wearing the mask correctly. Persons in high school were less likely to wear masks correctly. Correct mask use was most often observed among persons wearing N95-type masks. The prevalence of persons wearing masks correctly in transitional spaces was 5% higher than in congregate spaces., Conclusion: In K-12 schools with a universal masking policy, correct mask adherence was high among individuals. Examining adherence to recommended prevention measures can provide K-12 schools feedback to inform targeted messaging and policies during future disease outbreaks., (© 2023, American School Health Association. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.)

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have impacted outpatient antibiotic prescribing in low- and middle-income countries such as Brazil. However, outpatient antibiotic prescribing in Brazil, particularly at the prescription level, is not well-described., Methods: We used the IQVIA MIDAS database to characterize changes in prescribing rates of antibiotics commonly prescribed for respiratory infections (azithromycin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, levofloxacin/moxifloxacin, cephalexin, and ceftriaxone) among adults in Brazil overall and stratified by age and sex, comparing prepandemic (January 2019-March 2020) and pandemic periods (April 2020-December 2021) using uni- and multivariate Poisson regression models. The most common prescribing provider specialties for these antibiotics were also identified., Results: In the pandemic period compared to the prepandemic period, outpatient azithromycin prescribing rates increased across all age-sex groups (incidence rate ratio [IRR] range, 1.474-3.619), with the greatest increase observed in males aged 65-74 years; meanwhile, prescribing rates for amoxicillin-clavulanate and respiratory fluoroquinolones mostly decreased, and changes in cephalosporin prescribing rates varied across age-sex groups (IRR range, 0.134-1.910). For all antibiotics, the interaction of age and sex with the pandemic in multivariable models was an independent predictor of prescribing changes comparing the pandemic versus prepandemic periods. General practitioners and gynecologists accounted for the majority of increases in azithromycin and ceftriaxone prescribing during the pandemic period., Conclusions: Substantial increases in outpatient prescribing rates for azithromycin and ceftriaxone were observed in Brazil during the pandemic with prescribing rates being disproportionally different by age and sex. General practitioners and gynecologists were the most common prescribers of azithromycin and ceftriaxone during the pandemic, identifying them as potential specialties for antimicrobial stewardship interventions., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. L. A. H. is an unpaid volunteer member on the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Board of Trustees and the American College of Physicians Clinical Guidelines Committee. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America 2023.)

Background: High rates of antibiotic use (AU) among inpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) despite low rates of bacterial coinfection and secondary infection have been reported. We evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on AU in healthcare facilities (HCFs) in South America., Methods: We conducted an ecologic evaluation of AU in inpatient adult acute care wards in 2 HCFs each in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. The AU rates for intravenous antibiotics were calculated as the defined daily dose per 1000 patient-days, using pharmacy dispensing records and hospitalization data from March 2018-February 2020 (prepandemic) and March 2020-February 2021 (pandemic). Differences in median AU were compared between the prepandemic and pandemic periods, using the Wilcoxon rank sum test to determine significance. Interrupted time series analysis was used to analyze changes in AU during the COVID-19 pandemic., Results: Compared with the prepandemic period, the median difference in AU rates for all antibiotics combined increased in 4 of 6 HCFs (percentage change, 6.7%-35.1%; P < .05). In the interrupted time series models, 5 of 6 HCFs had significant increases in use of all antibiotics combined immediately at the onset of the pandemic (immediate effect estimate range, 15.4-268), but only 1 of these 5 HCFs experienced a sustained increase over time (change in slope, +8.13; P < .01). The effect of the pandemic onset varied by antibiotic group and HCF., Conclusions: Substantial increases in AU were observed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting the need to maintain or strengthen antibiotic stewardship activities as part of pandemic or emergency HCF responses., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. All authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America 2023.)

Background: Nursing homes (NHs) provide care in a congregate setting for residents at high risk of severe outcomes from SARS-CoV-2 infection. In spring 2020, NHs were implementing new guidance to minimize SARS-CoV-2 spread among residents and staff., Objective: To assess whether telephone and video-based infection control assessment and response (TeleICAR) strategies could efficiently assess NH preparedness and help resolve gaps., Design: We incorporated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 guidance for NH into an assessment tool covering 6 domains: visitor restrictions; health care personnel COVID-19 training; resident education, monitoring, screening, and cohorting; personal protective equipment supply; core infection prevention and control (IPC); and communication to public health. We performed TeleICAR consultations on behalf of health departments. Adherence to each element was documented and recommendations provided to the facility., Setting and Participants: Health department-referred NHs that agreed to TeleICAR consultation., Methods: We assessed overall numbers and proportions of NH that had not implemented each infection control element (gap) and proportion of NH that reported making ≥1 change in practice following the assessment., Results: During April 13 to June 12, 2020, we completed TeleICAR consultations in 629 NHs across 19 states. Overall, 524 (83%) had ≥1 implementation gap identified; the median number of gaps was 2 (interquartile range: 1-4). The domains with the greatest number of facilities with gaps were core IPC practices (428/625; 68%) and COVID-19 education, monitoring, screening, and cohorting of residents (291/620; 47%)., Conclusions and Implications: TeleICAR was an alternative to onsite infection control assessments that enabled public health to efficiently reach NHs across the United States early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessments identified widespread gaps in core IPC practices that put residents and staff at risk of infection. TeleICAR is an important strategy that leverages infection control expertise and can be useful in future efforts to improve NH IPC., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Historically, United States' carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) surveillance and mechanism testing focused on three genera: Escherichia , Klebsiella , and Enterobacter (EsKE); however, other genera can harbour mobile carbapenemases associated with CRE spread., Objectives: From January through May 2018, we conducted a 10 state evaluation to assess the contribution of less common genera (LCG) to carbapenemase-producing (CP) CRE., Methods: State public health laboratories (SPHLs) requested participating clinical laboratories submit all Enterobacterales from all specimen sources during the surveillance period that were resistant to any carbapenem (Morganellaceae required resistance to doripenem, ertapenem, or meropenem) or were CP based on phenotypic or genotypic testing at the clinical laboratory. SPHLs performed species identification, phenotypic carbapenemase production testing, and molecular testing for carbapenemases to identify CP-CRE. Isolates were categorized as CP if they demonstrated phenotypic carbapenemase production and ≥1 carbapenemase gene ( bla KPC , bla NDM , bla VIM , bla IMP , or bla OXA-48-like ) was detected., Results: SPHLs tested 868 CRE isolates, 127 (14.6%) were from eight LCG. Overall, 195 (26.3%) EsKE isolates were CP-CRE, compared with 24 (18.9%) LCG isolates. LCG accounted for 24 (11.0%) of 219 CP-CRE identified. Citrobacter spp. was the most common CP-LCG; the proportion of Citrobacter that were CP (11/42, 26.2%) was similar to the proportion of EsKE that were CP (195/741, 26.3%). Five of 24 (20.8%) CP-LCG had a carbapenemase gene other than bla KPC ., Conclusions: Participating sites would have missed approximately 1 in 10 CP-CRE if isolate submission had been limited to EsKE genera. Expanding mechanism testing to additional genera could improve detection and prevention efforts., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2021. This work is written by a US Government employee and is in the public domain in the US.)

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.

Background: Despite large reductions from 2005-2012, hospital-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections (HO MRSA BSIs) continue be a major source of morbidity and mortality., Aim: To describe risk factors for and underlying sources of HO MRSA BSIs., Methods: We investigated HO MRSA BSIs at eight high-burden short-stay acute care hospitals. A case was defined as first isolation of MRSA from a blood specimen collected in 2016 on hospital day ≥4 from a patient without an MRSA-positive blood culture in the 14 days prior. We reviewed case-patient demographics and risk factors by medical record abstraction. The potential clinical source(s) of infection were determined by consensus by a clinician panel., Findings: Of the 195 eligible cases, 186 were investigated. Case-patients were predominantly male (63%); median age was 57 years (range 0-92). In the two weeks prior to the BSI, 88% of case-patients had indwelling devices, 31% underwent a surgical procedure, and 18% underwent dialysis. The most common locations of attribution were intensive care units (ICUs) (46%) and step-down units (19%). The most commonly identified non-mutually exclusive clinical sources were CVCs (46%), non-surgical wounds (17%), surgical site infections (16%), non-ventilator healthcare-associated pneumonia (13%), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (11%)., Conclusions: Device-and procedure-related infections were common sources of HO MRSA BSIs. Prevention strategies focused on improving adherence to existing prevention bundles for device-and procedure-associated infections and on source control for ICU patients, patients with certain indwelling devices, and patients undergoing certain high-risk surgeries are being pursued to decrease HO MRSA BSI burden at these facilities., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest and no financial interests to disclose. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Approaches to controlling emerging antibiotic resistance in health care settings have evolved over time. When resistance to broad-spectrum antimicrobials mediated by extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) arose in the 1980s, targeted interventions to slow spread were not widely promoted. However, when Enterobacteriaceae with carbapenemases that confer resistance to carbapenem antibiotics emerged, directed control efforts were recommended. These distinct approaches could have resulted in differences in spread of these two pathogens. CDC evaluated these possible changes along with initial findings of an enhanced antibiotic resistance detection and control strategy that builds on interventions developed to control carbapenem resistance., Methods: Infection data from the National Healthcare Safety Network from 2006-2015 were analyzed to calculate changes in the annual proportion of selected pathogens that were nonsusceptible to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESBL phenotype) or resistant to carbapenems (carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae [CRE]). Testing results for CRE and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) are also reported., Results: The percentage of ESBL phenotype Enterobacteriaceae decreased by 2% per year (risk ratio [RR] = 0.98, p<0.001); by comparison, the CRE percentage decreased by 15% per year (RR = 0.85, p<0.01). From January to September 2017, carbapenemase testing was performed for 4,442 CRE and 1,334 CRPA isolates; 32% and 1.9%, respectively, were carbapenemase producers. In response, 1,489 screening tests were performed to identify asymptomatic carriers; 171 (11%) were positive., Conclusions: The proportion of Enterobacteriaceae infections that were CRE remained lower and decreased more over time than the proportion that were ESBL phenotype. This difference might be explained by the more directed control efforts implemented to slow transmission of CRE than those applied for ESBL-producing strains. Increased detection and aggressive early response to emerging antibiotic resistance threats have the potential to slow further spread., Competing Interests: No conflicts of interest were reported.