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Resumen Introduccion VINCat es un programa de vigilancia de la infeccion nosocomial en los hospitales de Cataluna. El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar el cumplimiento de las medidas de control de Staphylococcus aureus resistente a meticilina (SARM) en dichos centros. Metodos De enero a marzo de 2013 se realizo una encuesta por correo sobre las caracteristicas de los hospitales y la aplicacion de las medidas de control de SARM. Resultados Respondieron 53 hospitales (> 500 camas: 7; 200-500 camas: 14; Conclusiones Este estudio informa sobre la implementacion de medidas preventivas de SARM en hospitales del programa VINCat. Aunque la mayoria de los hospitales disponen de un protocolo especifico, el cumplimento de las medidas es mejorable, especialmente la deteccion activa en pacientes de riesgo, la adherencia a la higiene de manos, la limpieza mas frecuente de la habitacion y la optimizacion del uso de antibioticos.

VINCat is a nosocomial infection surveillance program in hospitals in Catalonia. The aim of the study was to determine the surveillance and control measures of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in these centres.An e-mail survey was carried out from January to March 2013 with questions related to the characteristics of the hospitals and their control measures for MRSA.A response was received from 53 hospitals (500 beds: 7; 200-500 beds: 14;200 beds: 32; had ICU: 29). Computer alert of readmissions was available in 63%. There was active surveillance of patients admitted from another hospital (46.2%) or a long-term-care centre (55.8%), both being significantly more common measures in hospitals with a rate of MRSA≤22% (global median). Compliance with hand hygiene was observed in 77.4% of the centres, and was greater than 50% in 69.7% of them. All hospitals had contact precautions, although 62.3% did not have exclusive frequently used clinical material in bedrooms. The room cleaning was performed more frequently in 54.7% of hospitals, and 67.9% of them had programs for the appropriate use of antibiotics.This study provides information on the implementation of measures to prevent MRSA in hospitals participating in the VINCat program. Most of the centres have an MRSA protocol, however compliance with it should be improved, especially in areas such as active detection on admission in patients at risk, hand hygiene adherence, cleaning frequency and optimising the use of antibiotics.

Introduction We describe the pertussis epidemic, based only on confirmed whooping cough cases. We have analyzed data on the diagnosis, epidemiology and vaccine history in order to understand the factors that might explain the trends of the disease. Methods A descriptive study of the confirmed pertussis cases reported during 2011 in the Valles region (population 1,283,000). Laboratory criteria for confirmed pertussis cases include isolation of Bordetella pertussis from a clinical specimen or detection of B. pertussis by PCR in nasopharyngeal swabs. Results A total of 421 pertussis confirmed cases were reported, which was the highest incidence reported in the last decade (33 cases/100,000 people/year in 2011). The highest incidence rate was among infants less than 1 year old (448/100,000), followed by children 5–9 years old (154/100,000). Pertussis cases aged 2 months–1 year were 90% vaccinated following the current DTaP schedule for their age group in Catalonia, and cases of 5–9 years were 87% fully vaccinated with 5 doses of DTaP vaccine. There were no deaths, although 8% of cases were hospitalized. Pertussis was more severe in infants, 30% required hospitalization despite having received the vaccine doses corresponding to their age. Children of 5–9 years were most often identified as primary cases in households or school clusters. Conclusion Despite high levels of vaccination coverage, pertussis circulation cannot be controlled at all. The results question the efficacy of the present immunization programmes.