Ongoing Excess Hospitalizations for Severe Pediatric Group A Streptococcal Disease in 2023-2024-A Single-Center Report.

A Europe-wide outbreak of invasive pediatric group A streptococcal infections (iGAS) began in fall 2022. Here, we report the evolution of GAS hospitalizations in children and adolescents during the second outbreak year in 2023-2024 at a tertiary center in Switzerland. Using prospective monitoring of all in-patient GAS cases below 16 years of age, including those with iGAS, we compared case frequencies and clinical characteristics in three time periods (2013-2020; 2022-2023; 2023-2024).

Childhood vaccination coverage and regional differences in Swiss birth cohorts 2012-2021: Are we on track?

Aims: Many western countries are challenged by delayed and insufficient vaccination coverage rates in children, and thus missing WHO coverage targets. This study aimed to estimate vaccination coverage and timeliness in Swiss children over a decade. Furthermore, we evaluated the impact of COVID-19, regional variations, and the adherence to the amended vaccination schedule in 2019.

Preadmission course and management of severe pediatric group A streptococcal infections during the 2022-2023 outbreak: a single-center experience.

Purpose: The massive increase of infections with Group A Streptococcus (GAS) in 2022-2023 coincided in Switzerland with a change of the recommendations for the management of GAS pharyngitis. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate whether the clinical manifestations and management before hospitalization for GAS infection differed in 2022-2023 compared with 2013-2022.

Methods: Retrospective study of GAS infections requiring hospitalization in patients below 16 years.

Seroepidemiology of Human Tularemia-Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Seroprevalence Studies.

Background: Seroepidemiologic studies of human tularemia have been conducted throughout the northern hemisphere. The purposes of this study were (1) to provide an overview of seroprevalence data, and (2) to generate an estimate of the proportion of study participants whose infection remained subclinical.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of seroprevalence studies according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines.

Epidemiology and Clinical Characteristics of Human Metapneumovirus Infections in Hospitalized Children in Two Consecutive Postpandemic Years.

We assessed human metapneumovirus infections in children hospitalized between 2011 and 2023 and compared the strongest pre- and postpandemic seasons. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed offseason cases and loss of the alternating pattern of the human metapneumovirus season magnitude. Incidence rate ratio of 0- to 11-month-old versus 12- to 23-month-old children was 2.

Organ Dysfunction in Children With Blood Culture-Proven Sepsis: Comparative Performance of Four Scores in a National Cohort Study.

Objectives: Previous studies applying Sepsis-3 criteria to children were based on retrospective analyses of PICU cohorts. We aimed to compare organ dysfunction criteria in children with blood culture-proven sepsis, including emergency department, PICU, and ward patients, and to assess relevance of organ dysfunctions for mortality prediction.

Design: We have carried out a nonprespecified, secondary analysis of a prospective dataset collected from September 2011 to December 2015.

Sensitivity of ICD coding for sepsis in children-a population-based study.

Background: International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (ICD-10) is widely used to describe the burden of disease.

Aim: To describe how well ICD-10 coding captures sepsis in children admitted to the hospital with blood culture-proven bacterial or fungal infection and systemic inflammatory response syndrome.

Methods: Secondary analysis of a population-based, multicenter, prospective cohort study on children with blood culture-proven sepsis of nine tertiary pediatric hospitals in Switzerland.

Characterization of third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli from slaughter calves and fattening pigs: A pilot study for monitoring antimicrobial resistance by whole genome sequencing in Switzerland.

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was introduced into Swiss antimicrobial resistance monitoring in 2022 as an additional method to phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing by broth microdilution to characterize presumptive third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GC-R) Escherichia coli. Caecal samples from Swiss slaughter calves and fattening pigs, as well as beef and pork meat from Swiss retail taken in 2021, were analyzed for the presence of 3GC-R E. coli according to European harmonized protocols.

www.coronabambini.ch: Development and usage of an online decision support tool for paediatric COVID-19-testing in Switzerland: a cross-sectional analysis.

Objectives: To describe the development and usage of www.coronabambini.ch as an example of a paediatric electronic public health application and to explore its potential and limitations in providing information on disease epidemiology and public health policy implementation.

Acute flaccid myelitis in Switzerland - association with enterovirus D68.

Poliomyelitis-like acute flaccid myelitis associated with enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has emerged globally during the past decade. Here we describe the first documented case reported from Switzerland, and a second, suspected case occurring in temporal association. AFM occurs primarily in children, is usually heralded by a febrile, respiratory prodrome followed by acute-onset, usually asymmetrical, limb weakness with some predilection for the upper extremities, and respiratory muscle compromise in one third of reported cases.

Swiss recommendations on perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis in children.

Infection following surgical procedures leads to significant morbidity and mortality in all age groups. Sterile techniques, antibiotic prophylaxis and improved postoperative wound care have contributed to the decline of surgical site infections since the early days of surgery. Recommendations on the use of perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis exist for adults, but are rare for the paediatric population.

Public health communication: Attitudes, experiences, and lessons learned from users of a COVID-19 digital triage tool for children.

Background: The pandemic has made public health communication even more daunting because acceptance and implementation of official guidelines and recommendations hinge on this. The situation becomes even more precarious when children are involved. Our child-specific COVID-19 online forward triage tool (OFTT) revealed some of the public health communication challenges.

The Utility of a Pediatric COVID-19 Online Forward Triage Tool in Switzerland.

Background: To offset the burden on the health system, hospitals set up telehealth interventions, such as online forward triage tools (OFTT). The website www.coronabambini.

Pediatric Tularemia-A Case Series From a Single Center in Switzerland.

Background: The incidence of tularemia has recently increased throughout Europe. Pediatric tularemia typically presents with ulceroglandular or glandular disease and requires antimicrobial therapy not used in the empirical management of childhood acute lymphadenitis. We describe the clinical presentation and course in a case series comprising 20 patients.

Genomic analyses of human adenoviruses unravel novel recombinant genotypes associated with severe infections in pediatric patients.

Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are highly contagious pathogens of clinical importance, especially among the pediatric population. Studies on comparative viral genomic analysis of cases associated with severe and mild infections due to HAdV are limited. Using whole-genome sequencing (WGS), we investigated whether there were any differences between circulating HAdV strains associated with severe infections (meningitis, sepsis, convulsion, sudden infant death syndrome, death, and hospitalization) and mild clinical presentations in pediatric patients hospitalized between the years 1998 and 2017 in a tertiary care hospital group in Bern, Switzerland covering a population base of approx.

Interseasonal RSV infections in Switzerland - rapid establishment of a clinician-led national reporting system (RSV EpiCH).

In anticipation of an interseasonal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) epidemic, a clinician-led reporting system was rapidly established to capture RSV infections in Swiss hospitals, starting in January 2021. Here, we present details of the reporting system and first results to June 2021. An unusual epidemiology was observed with an interseasonal surge of RSV infections associated with COVID-19-related non-pharmacological interventions.

Striking Decrease of Enteroviral Meningitis in Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

We report the unprecedented complete absence of pediatric enteroviral meningitis in 2020 in the area of Bern, Switzerland. Presumably an unintended effect of coronavirus disease 2019 public health measures, this finding highlights the potential of community-wide nonpharmaceutical interventions for controlling the circulation of a major pediatric pathogen, which is mainly transmitted by the fecal-oral route.

Best Practice Recommendations for the Diagnosis and Management of Children With Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome Temporally Associated With SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS; Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, MIS-C) in Switzerland.

Following the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic a new disease entity emerged, defined as Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19 (PIMS-TS), or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). In the absence of trials, evidence for treatment remains scarce. To develop best practice recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of children with PIMS-TS in Switzerland.

Recurrent Skin Infection Unmasked as Factitious Disorder Using Bacterial Whole Genome Sequence Analysis.

infections usually resolve with adequate therapy. We report the case of an adolescent with a chronic and progressive infection refractory to combined antimicrobial and surgical therapy. Whole genome sequence analysis of consecutive isolates distinguished reinfection from recurrence and contributed to the diagnosis of a factitious disorder.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection During Induction Chemotherapy in a Child With High-risk T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

The clinical course of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) in children with hematologic malignancies is unclear. We describe the diagnosis, treatment and outcome of a 4-year-old boy with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia and COVID-19. Regardless of immunosuppressive induction chemotherapy his symptoms remained moderate.