Description of the monkeypox 2022 outbreak is essentially based on historical cases mostly observed locally in Africa, but also from rare imported cases in four countries elsewhere, before the 2022 outbreak. This orthopoxvirus outbreak appears to be particularly well transmitted sexually possibly due to the high prevalence of genital lesions.

Eosinopenia as a criterion of sepsis has been the subject of debate for decades. Different authors have proposed different cut-off values. A prospective study was conducted from February to August 2016. Hospitalized adults suffering from a bacterial infection with eosinopenia, defined as an eosinophil count <100/mm3, were included. Patients were divided into two groups according to the first day of effective antimicrobial therapy. They were observed for 5days in order to evaluate whether recovery from eosinopenia was predictive of an appropriate antibiotic regimen. One hundred and twenty-two patients were screened and 96 were included. Group 1 patients (n=70) received effective antimicrobial therapy from day 0. Their eosinophil count increased significantly between day 0 and day 1 (p<0.0001). Group 2 patients (n=26) received delayed effective antimicrobial therapy, and there was no significant difference in eosinophil count between day 0 and day 1 (p=0.55). Moreover, eosinophil counts normalized on day 5 in both groups. The mean duration of antimicrobial therapy was comparable in the two groups (7.7±1.16 days). The antibiotics most often prescribed in both groups were intravenous cephalosporins. During follow-up, all patients were considered to be cured after day 30. The eosinophil count appears to normalize faster than C-reactive protein (CRP) and polymorphonuclear neutrophils in eosinopenic patients on appropriate antimicrobial therapy. This simple test is easy to perform as part of a regular complete blood count, with no additional costs as required for CRP or procalcitonin.

Background: In France, Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE) are considered as Extensively Drug-Resistant (XDR) bacteria. Their management requires reinforcement of hospital’s hygiene policies, and currently there is few consistent data concerning the spontaneous decolonization in XDR colonized patients. Our aim is to study the natural history of decolonization of XDR carriers over time in a hospital setting in a low prevalence country. Material and methods: Retrospective multicenter study over 2 years (2015–2016) in 2 different tertiary care hospital sites and units having an agreement for permanent cohorting of such XDR carriers. We gathered the type of microorganisms, risk factors for colonization and rectal swabs from patient’s follow-up. We also evaluated patient care considering isolation precautions. Results: We included 125 patients, aged 63+/−19y, including 72.8% of CRE (n = 91), 24.8% of VRE (n = 31) and 2.4% (n = 3) co-colonized with CRE and VRE. CRE were mainly E. coli (n = 54), K. pneumoniae (n = 51) and E. cloacae (n = 6). Mechanisms of resistance were mainly OXA-48 (n = 69), NDM-1 (n = 11), OXA-232 (n = 8) and KPC (n = 3). Prior antibiotic therapy was reported in 38.4% (n = 48) of cases. Conversely, 17.6% (n = 22) received antibiotics during follow-up. Spontaneous decolonization occurred within the first 30 days in 16.4% (n = 19/116) of cases and up to 48.2% after day-90 with a median follow-up of 96 days (0–974). We estimated that XDR carriage was associated with a larger care burden in 13.6% (n = 17) of cases, especially due to a prolongation of hospitalization of 32.5 days (15–300). Conclusions: Our study shows that spontaneous decolonization is increasing over time (up to 48.2%). We can regret that only few patients underwent screening after 1 year, emphasizing the need for more monitoring and prospective studies.