BACKGROUND: The natural history of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) carriage and the timing and procedures required to safely presume a CRE-free status are unclear.OBJECTIVE: To determine risk factors for recurrence of CRE among presumed CRE-free patients.METHODS: Case-control study including CRE carriers in whom CRE carriage presumably ended, following at least 2 negative screening samples on separate days. Recurrence of CRE carriage was identified through clinical samples and repeated rectal screening in subsequent admissions to any healthcare facility in Israel. Patients with CRE recurrence (cases) were compared with recurrence-free patients (controls). The duration of follow-up was 1 year for all surviving patients.RESULTS: Included were 276 prior CRE carriers who were declared CRE-free. Thirty-six persons (13%) experienced recurrence of CRE carriage within a year after presumed eradication. Factors significantly associated with CRE recurrence on multivariable analysis were the time in months between the last positive CRE sample and presumed eradication (odds ratio, 0.94 [95% CI, 0.89–0.99] per month), presence of foreign bodies at the time of presumed eradication (4.6 [1.64–12.85]), and recurrent admissions to healthcare facilities during follow-up (3.15 [1.05–9.47]). The rate of CRE recurrence was 25% (11/44) when the carrier status was presumed to be eradicated 6 months after the last known CRE-positive sample, compared with 7.5% (10/134) if presumed to be eradicated after 1 year.CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the CRE-carrier status be maintained for at least 1 year following the last positive sample. Screening of all prior CRE carriers regardless of current carriage status is advised.Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;36(8):936–941

Background: Campylobacter bacteraemia (CB) is rare and usually occurs in immune-compromised patients. In this study we examined the incidence and epidemiology of CB in one institution over 15.5 years. Methods: The medical records of all the consecutive patients with CB admitted to our hospital from 2000 to 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical characteristics, microbiologic and outcome data were collected. Results: During the study period, 65 patients with CB were identified. The majority of the patients were middle aged and immune-compromised. Campylobacter jejuni was the most commonly identified species (33/47, 70%). The main underlying conditions were haematological malignancies (43%) and chronic liver disease (14%). Fifty-seven percent of the patients were receiving immunosuppressive therapy at the time of bacteraemia. The most common presenting symptoms were fever (85%), diarrhoea (40%), abdominal pain (40%), and nausea and vomiting (40%). Of the isolates tested, 97% were susceptible to macrolides, and only 35% were susceptible to quinolones. Susceptibility to quinolones decreased over the years. Most patients did not receive adequate empiric antibiotic treatment (81.5%) and about 20% never received directed therapy. Mortality and relapse rates were low (5% each). There was no association between adequate empirical or definitive antibiotic therapy and adverse outcomes. Conclusion: The main predisposing factor for Campylobacter bacteraemia in our cohort was immunosuppression. Prognosis was generally favourable regardless of appropriateness of antibiotic therapy.

Background: On February 26, 2020, the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was detected in Israel. The Ministry of Health (MoH) instructed people to take isolation measures and restrict their movement. Similarly, there was a gradual decrease in the number of visits to our emergency department (ED). Objectives: To describe the decline in the referrals to the ED and in-hospital beds occupancy during the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare it to the H1N1 2009 pandemic. Methods: Employing a cross-sectional epidemiologic study, the pattern of visits to the ED during the COVID-19 was compared with the pattern of visits during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, as well as a year without a pandemic. The data was adjusted to consider changes in population size. The Welch t test for unpaired, unequal samples was used to analyze the data. Results: Within 2 months of the COVID-19 outbreak, the average number of visits to the ED dropped by 30.2% and the hospital occupancy by 29.2% (a minimum of 57%), compared to the same period, the year before. In comparison to the same period during the H1N1 outbreak, we witnessed a significant decline in the number of visits to the ED during the COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusion: The behavior of people during the COVID-19 pandemic was different from their behavior during the H1N1 pandemic. People seemed to avoid visiting the ED. The boundary between precaution and panic in the generation of the media could be very thin. Decision-makers must take this into account.