Back to Search Start Over

Borderline oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage among healthcare workers at neonatal intensive care unit and paediatric ward.

Authors :
Konstantinovski MM
Bekker V
Kraakman MEM
Bruijning ML
van der Zwan CJ
Lopriore E
Veldkamp KE
Source :
The Journal of hospital infection [J Hosp Infect] 2021 Feb; Vol. 108, pp. 104-108. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Nov 24.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Background: During a meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus contact tracing and screening investigation, two borderline oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (BORSA)-positive screening cultures were encountered among neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) healthcare workers (HCWs). This finding led to further investigations.<br />Aim: To assess the likelihood of an outbreak with direct transmission among HCWs.<br />Methods: An infection control team was initiated after the discovery. The team initiated additional infection control measures and evaluated new findings. All NICUs and paediatric ward HCWs were screened for BORSA carriage, and a prospective BORSA seven-week monitoring period for patients was observed. To assess the likelihood of an outbreak with direct transmission among HCWs, the BORSA isolates were analysed using augmented fragment length polymorphism and whole-genome sequencing (WGS).<br />Findings: Positive HCWs were prohibited from clinical work while awaiting the results from the screening programme. In all, 127 NICU and 77 general paediatric ward HCWs were screened for BORSA carriage; five HCWs were BORSA positive. Seventy-two patients were screened during the seven-week period yielding a total of 138 cultures, ranging from one to nine cultures per patient. No spread from HCWs to patients occurred, and the BORSA screening programme was discontinued. WGS analysis with core genome multi-locus sequence typing of all five BORSA strains showed relatedness between two NICU strains.<br />Conclusion: During a seven-week period, no transmission from BORSA-positive HCWs to neonates was observed in either screening or clinical cultures. More vigilance and experience is needed to design adequate evidence-based interventions in the future for this vulnerable population.<br /> (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1532-2939
Volume :
108
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
The Journal of hospital infection
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
33245996
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.11.017