A Retrospective Study of the Impact of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine-13 Immunization in a Northern Israel Hospital.

Background: The introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine-13 (PCV-13) has reduced the burden of invasive pneumococcal disease.

Objectives: To characterize true positive blood cultures of children who presented to our hospital following implementation of the PCV-13 vaccine.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on positive blood cultures of children presenting with fever from 2010-2017.

A national survey of the molecular epidemiology of Clostridium difficile in Israel: the dissemination of the ribotype 027 strain with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin and metronidazole.

Our goals were to study the molecular epidemiology and antimicrobial susceptibilities of C. difficile strains in Israel. Microbiology laboratories serving 6 general hospitals (GH) and 10 long-term care facilities (LTCF) were asked to submit all stool samples in January-February 2014 that tested positive for C.