Outbreak of perichondritis associated with ear piercings and a contaminated water system.

In September 2023, the UK Health Security Agency's (UKHSA) South West Health Protection Team received notification of patients with perichondritis. All five cases had attended the same cosmetic piercing studio and a multi-disciplinary outbreak control investigation was subsequently initiated. An additional five cases attending the same studio were found.

A case of penicillin-resistant group B Streptococcus isolated from a patient in the UK.

Objectives: In England, group B streptococci (GBS; Streptococcus agalactiae) are considered universally susceptible to penicillin. Reports from Africa, Asia, North America and a few European countries have described GBS isolates with penicillin MICs above the epidemiological cut-off (0.125 mg/L).

Two-step or one-step - are all methods for neonatal incubator decontamination equal?

Healthcare-associated pathogens, including Staphylococcus capitis, can contaminate incubator surfaces and are of significant concern in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Effective incubator decontamination is essential for infection prevention and control, with submersion decontamination often recommended. This may not always be achievable, with wipe decontamination seen as an alternative.

A pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial of air filtration to prevent symptomatic winter respiratory infections (including COVID-19) in care homes (AFRI-c) in England: Trial protocol.

Background: Respiratory tract infections are readily transmitted in care homes. Airborne transmission of pathogens causing respiratory tract illness is largely unmitigated. Portable high-efficiency-particulate-air (HEPA) filtration units capture microbial particles from the air, but it is unclear whether this is sufficient to reduce infections in care home residents.

Environmental sampling for SARS-CoV-2 in long term care facilities: lessons from a pilot study.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the risk of infection in long-term care facilities (LTCF) and the vulnerability of residents to severe outcomes. Environmental surveillance may help detect pathogens early and inform Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures in these settings. Upon notification of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks, LTCF within a local authority in South West England were approached to take part in this pilot study.