Outbreak of OXA-48-producing Enterobacterales in a haematological ward associated with an uncommon environmental reservoir, France, 2016 to 2019.

The hospital water environment, including the wastewater drainage system, is increasingly reported as a potential reservoir for carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE). We investigated a persistent outbreak of OXA-48 CPE (primarily ) in a haematological ward of a French teaching hospital by epidemiological, microbiological and environmental methods. Between January 2016 and June 2019, we detected 37 new OXA-48 CPE-colonised and/or ‑infected patients in the haematological ward.

Transmission of Legionnaires' Disease through Toilet Flushing.

We describe 2 cases of healthcare-associated Legionnaires' disease in patients in France hospitalized 5 months apart in the same room. Whole-genome sequencing analyses showed that clinical isolates from the patients and isolates from the room's toilet clustered together. Toilet contamination by Legionella pneumophila could lead to a risk for exposure through flushing.

[Mycologic surveillance of the environment for preventive invasive aspergillosis. Proposals for standardization of the methodologies and implementation].

A MAJOR RISK: The infection of immunodepressed patients by Aspergillus-type fungi increases morbidity and mortality, particularly in hematology units or during solid organ transplantation. Although present diagnostic means benefit from the progress over the last years, they remain limited and chemoprophylaxis protocols have still not demonstrated significant efficacy. THE NEED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS: Today, the handling of environmental risks is the only strategy that has proved its efficacy and usefulness.

Pseudo-outbreak of Mycobacterium gordonae associated with water from refrigerated fountains.

Between March 1997 and December 1997, acid-fast bacilli (AFB) were detected on sputum and/or gastric aspirates smears from five patients hospitalized in the chest medicine department. These specimens grew M. gordonae.

Comparative performance of impactor air samplers for quantification of fungal contamination.

The aim of this study was to assess the performance of different impactor air samplers for fungal spore collection in the hospital environment. Four recent impactor air samplers were selected: Samplair (AES, Combourg, France); Air Test Omega (LCB, France); Air Samplair Mas-100 (Merck, France); and BioImpactor 100-08 (AES). They were compared with one another at three different hospital sites with varying levels of contaminated air.