Molecular typing of toxic shock syndrome toxin-1- and Enterotoxin A-producing methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus isolates from an outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureus are common in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Usually they are documented for methicillin-resistant strains, while reports involving methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) strains are rare.

[Hospital surveillance during major outbreaks of community-acquired diseases. Pandemic Influenza Hospital Surveillance (PIKS) 2009/2010 and Surveillance of Bloody Diarrhea (SBD) 2011].

Background And Objective: During the influenza pandemic 2009/2010 and the outbreak of entero-haemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC)/hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) 2011, the statutory reporting system in Germany was complemented by additional event-related surveillance systems in hospitals. The Pandemic Influenza Hospital Surveillance (PIKS) and the Surveillance of Bloody Diarrhea (SBD) were evaluated, to make experiences available for similar future situations.

Methods: The description and evaluation of our surveillance systems is based on the "Updated Guidelines for Evaluating Public Health Surveillance Systems" published by the U.

Prospective hospital-based case-control study to assess the effectiveness of pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccination and risk factors for hospitalization in 2009-2010 using matched hospital and test-negative controls.

Background: We performed a case-control study to estimate vaccine effectiveness (VE) for prevention of hospitalization due to pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 (pH1N1) and to identify risk factors for pH1N1 and acute respiratory infection (ARI) in 10 hospitals in Berlin from December 2009 to April 2010.

Methods: Cases were patients aged 18-65 years with onset of ARI ≤10 days before admission testing positive for pH1N1 by PCR performed on nasal and throat swabs or by serological testing. Cases were compared to (1) matched hospital controls with acute surgical, traumatological or other diagnoses matched on age, sex and vaccination probability, and (2) ARI patients testing negative for pH1N1.

Lessons from a one-year hospital-based surveillance of acute respiratory infections in Berlin- comparing case definitions to monitor influenza.

Background: Surveillance of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) in sentinel hospitals is recommended to estimate the burden of severe influenza-cases. Therefore, we monitored patients admitted with respiratory infections (RI) in 9 Berlin hospitals from 7.12.