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Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a major challenge in burn research and care. We aimed to describe the epidemiology and timeline of HAIs and to estimate the association of demographics and clinical characteristics with time to HAI among burn patients., Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in a referral burn unit in southwestern Colombia. Incidence rates were calculated for HAI types and microorganisms, using a Poisson regression model. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the effect of risk factors on time to first HAI., Results: Of 165 burn patients, 46 (27.9%) developed at least one HAI (incidence rate of 21.8 per 1000 patient-days). The most frequent HAIs were burn wound infections, followed by bloodstream infections. The most common microorganisms were Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas spp., and Acinetobacter baumannii. Whereas gram-negative bacteria were the most common microorganisms causing HAIs, gram-positive bacteria were the first microorganisms isolated after hospital admission. The independent risk factors associated with time to first HAI were burn size (TBSA>20%), burn mechanism (flames and scalds), central venous catheter use, and mestizo race., Conclusion: These data have implications toward generating empirical antibiotic guidelines and preventive strategies targeting the patients at highest risk for HAI., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.)

Leptospirosis is a disease endemic to both rural and urban areas of tropical countries and resource-poor communities. Little information is available on the presence of Leptospira spp. in urban water sources. A study was conducted to detect pathogenic Leptospira in ornamental water fountains in Cali, Colombia. Twenty-seven water fountains were tested for pathogenic Leptospira using a multiplex PCR assay targeting the secY and the flaB genes. Pathogenic Leptospira was confirmed in 11 (41%) ornamental water fountains. Plazas, building exteriors, and sidewalks presented the highest proportion (67%) of pathogenic Leptospira-positive water fountains. Urban ornamental water fountains might be sources of pathogenic Leptospira and might pose a risk to humans who come into close contact, although relevance from a public health perspective is yet to be established.

The global success of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii has been associated with the dissemination of a high-risk clone designated clonal complex (CC) 92 B (Bartual scheme)/CC2 P (Pasteur scheme), which is the most frequent genetic lineage in European, Asian, and North American carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter isolates. In these isolates, carbapenem resistance is mainly mediated by β-lactamases encoded by bla OXA-23-like , bla OXA-24-like , bla OXA-51-like , and/or bla OXA-58-like genes. In this study, we characterized the population genetics of 121 carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii complex isolates recovered from 14 hospitals in seven cities in Colombia (2008-2010). Multiplex PCR was used to detect bla OXA-23-like , bla OXA-24-like , bla OXA-51-like , and bla OXA-58-like genes. Molecular typing was performed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). PCR showed that 118 (97.5%) of the isolates were positive for both bla OXA-23-like and bla OXA-51-like genes, and three other isolates were only positive for bla OXA-51-like . PFGE identified 18 different pulsotypes, while MLST identified 11 different sequence types (STs), seven of which had not been previously described in Acinetobacter. None of the STs found in this study was associated with CC92 B /CC2 P . The most widespread STs in our isolates belonged to ST636 and their single-locus variants ST121/ST124/ST634 (CC636 B ) followed by STs belonging to CC110 B . Our observations suggest a wide distribution of diverse A. baumannii complex clones containing bla OXA-23-like in Colombian hospitals (especially CC636 B and CC110 B ) that differ from the high-risk clones commonly found in other regions of the world, indicating a distinct molecular epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter spp. in Colombia.