A systematic scoping review of antibiotic-resistance in drinking tap water.

Environmental matrices have been considered of paramount importance in the spread of antibiotic-resistance; however, the role of drinking waters is still underexplored. Therefore, a scoping review was performed using a systematic approach based on PRISMA guidelines, with the aim of identifying and characterizing antibiotic-resistance in tap water, specifically, water treated at a potabilization plant and provided for drinking use through a water distribution system. The review included 45 studies, the majority of which were conducted in upper-middle-income economies (42.

Occurrence of Uncultured spp. in Treated Wastewater Effluent and Its Impact on Human Health (SCA.Re.S Project).

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) provide optimal conditions for the environmental spread of . As part of the Evaluation of Sanitary Risk Related to the Discharge of Wastewater to the Ground (SCA.Re.

Analytical Investigation of Phthalates and Heavy Metals in Edible Ice from Vending Machines Connected to the Italian Water Supply.

Edible ice is often produced by special machines that can represent a source of significant chemical and microbiological contamination. In this work, the presence of phthalic acid esters (phthalates, PAEs) and heavy metals in ice cubes distributed by 77 vending machines installed in two different zones in southern Italy and fed by water from the public water supply was investigated. Solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS) was used to evaluate contamination with four PAEs, which were selected because they are commonly used in the production of food-contact plastics, while inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) was used to quantify the heavy metals.

Machine learning vs. regression models to predict the risk of Legionella contamination in a hospital water network.

Introduction: The periodic monitoring of Legionella in hospital water networks allows preventive measures to be taken to avoid the risk of legionellosis to patients and healthcare workers.

Study Design: The aim of the study is to standardize a method for predicting the risk of Legionella contamination in the water supply of a hospital facility, by comparing Machine Learning, conventional and combined models.

Methods: During the period July 2021- October 2022, water sampling for Legionella detection was performed in the rooms of an Italian hospital pavilion (89.

State of the Art in Hygienic Quality of Food Ice Worldwide: A Ten-Year Review.

Ice consumption has widely increased over the last decade. Cases of ice contamination by various microorganisms (bacteria, viruses and fungi) have been documented in the literature. In this review, we summarize the findings of selected articles on the hygienic and sanitary quality of food ice from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2023.

Case series study of nosocomial Legionnaires’ disease in Apulia region (southern Italy): The role of different molecular methods in identifying the infection source.

Background And Aim: Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by the inhalation or aspiration of water droplets contaminated with Legionella pneumophila and other Legionella species. These bacteria are commonly found in natural habitats and man-made water systems. Legionnaires' disease is a significant public health problem, especially in healthcare settings where patients may be exposed to contaminated environmental sources.

Preliminary Investigation on Hygienic-Sanitary Quality of Food Vending Machines.

The consumption of hot drinks dispensed from vending machines has become a common practice, both in workplaces and during free time. Every day, millions of bulk drinks are sold, but the quality of the products distributed may not always be guaranteed, as it is related to many factors such as the quality of the water, the raw materials used, and the effectiveness of the equipment's cleaning system. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary requirements of hot drinks and vending machine surfaces.

Legionella anisa or Legionella bozemanii? Traditional and molecular techniques as support in the environmental surveillance of a hospital water network.

Understanding the actual distribution of different Legionella species in water networks would help prevent outbreaks. Culture investigations followed by serological agglutination tests, with poly/monovalent antisera, still represent the gold standard for isolation and identification of Legionella strains. However, also MALDI-TOF and mip-gene sequencing are currently used.

The safety of pneumococcal vaccines at the time of sequential schedule: data from surveillance of adverse events following 13-valent conjugated pneumococcal and 23-valent polysaccharidic pneumococcal vaccines in newborns and the elderly, in Puglia (Italy), 2013-2020.

Background: Nowadays, two types of anti-pneumococcal vaccine are available: pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV13), first licensed in the United States (US) in 2013, and pneumococcal 23-valent polysaccaridic vaccine (PPSV23), first licensed in the US in 1999. These vaccines are recommended in Italy for the immunization of newborns and of the elderly, using a combined sequential schedule for the latter. This report aims to describe the PCV13- and PPSV23-related AEFIs notified in Puglia in 2013-2020, in order to design these products' safety profile in a real-life scenario, three years after the official recommendation about the sequential schedule for people over 60 years of age.

Vaccination Offer during the Occupational Health Surveillance Program for Healthcare Workers and Suitability to Work: An Italian Retrospective Cohort Study.

The active immunization of health care workers (HCWs) is a crucial measure to avoid nosocomial infection; nevertheless, vaccine coverage (VC) among health personnel in Italy is unsatisfactory. To improve VC in the healthcare set, the Hygiene and Occupational Medicine departments of Bari Policlinico General University Hospital applied a specific program. The operative procedure demands that in the context of the occupational medical examination, all workers are evaluated for susceptibility to vaccine-preventable diseases (VDPs), with immunization prophylaxis offered to those determined to be susceptible.

SARS-CoV-2 RNA viability on high-touch surfaces and evaluation of a continuous-flow ozonation treatment.

Background: The COVID-19 emergency has highlighted the importance of prevention systems and environ-mental microbiological monitoring as fundamental elements in the response to epidemics and other such threats to individual and collective health. The use of automated "No-touch" room disinfection systems eliminates or reduces the dependence on operators, thus allowing an improvement in the effectiveness of terminal disinfection.

Study Design: In the present study, we focused on possible SARS-CoV-2 contamination of surfaces of com-mercial services, and the effectiveness of ozone treatment on the virus.

Prevalence and management of rubella susceptibility in healthcare workers in Italy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: In the pre-vaccination era, all adults acquired immunity status due to natural infections during childhood and adolescence, whereas universal mass vaccination has changed the seroepidemiology of rubella among adults, showing lack of immunity in some subgroups. National and international guidelines recommend evaluating all healthcare workers (HCWs) for their immune status to rubella and possibly vaccinating those who are seronegative. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the susceptibility rate to rubella among HCWs in Italy and to explore possible options for the management of those found to be susceptible.

Tendency in Pulmonary Aspergillosis Investigation during the COVID-19 Era: What Is Changing?

Aspergillosis is a disease caused by , and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is the most common invasive fungal infection leading to death in severely immuno-compromised patients. The literature reports co-infections in patients with COVID-19 (CAPA). Diagnosing CAPA clinically is complex since the symptoms are non-specific, and performing a bronchoscopy is difficult.

Investigations on the Efficacy of Ozone as an Environmental Sanitizer in Large Supermarkets.

Awareness of the importance of the microbial contamination of air and surfaces has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of bacteria and fungi in the air and on surfaces within some critical areas of large supermarkets with and without an ozonation system. Surveys were conducted in four supermarkets belonging to the same commercial chain of an Apulian city in June 2021, of which two (A and B) were equipped with an ozonation system, and two (C and D) did not have any air-diffused remediation treatment.

Microbiological and chemical characteristics of beaches along the Taranto Gulf (Ionian Sea, Southern Italy).

Coastal habitats provide important ecosystem services, such as the maintenance of ecological sustainability, water quality regulation, nutrient recycling, and sandy beaches which are important areas for recreation and tourism. The quality of seawater is generally measured by determining the concentrations of Escherichia coli and intestinal Enterococci, which might be affected by the persistent populations of these bacteria in sand. Sand might thus be a significant source of pathogen exposure to beachgoers.

No-Touch Automated Disinfection System Based on Hydrogen Peroxide and Ethyl Alcohol Aerosols for Use in Healthcare Environments.

Healthcare-related infections are sustained by various bacteria and fungi. In recent years, various technologies have emerged for the sanitation of healthcare-related environments. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a no-touch disinfection system that aerosolizes 5% hydrogen peroxide and 10% ethyl alcohol.

Medium-to-Long-Term Immunogenicity of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

To deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, a mass vaccination campaign was started in European countries on 27 December 2020. The first vaccine available to immunize healthcare workers (HCWs) was the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. While many studies have shown a high antibody response after the second vaccine dose, antibody persistence over the medium-to-long term has yet to be evaluated.

How do Vaccinators Experience the Pandemic? Lifestyle Behaviors in a Sample of Italian Public Health Workers during the COVID-19 Era.

Public health workers (PHWs) have experienced substantial workload changes because of their role in managing measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. The study's aim was to assess lifestyle changes in Italian PHWs during the pandemic. PHWs attending an annual meeting completed an anonymous questionnaire assessing their sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics and lifestyle changes during the pandemic.

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Applied to Contamination on Long-Distance Public Transport.

The quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) framework is used for assessing health risk coming from pathogens in the environment. In this paper, we used QMRA to evaluate the infection risk of attributable to sink usage in a toilet cabin on Italian long-distance public transportation (LDT). LDT has water distribution systems with risk points for proliferation, as well as premise plumbing for drinking water, but they are not considered for risk assessment.

Safety profile of MenB-FHBp vaccine among adolescents: data from surveillance of Adverse Events Following Immunization in Puglia (Italy), 2018-2020.

MenB-FHBp was licensed in Europe in 2017 from the age of 10. In the "postmarketing life" of a new vaccine, surveillance of Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) is crucial, to better understand the pattern of safety and the effectiveness. This paper describes the MenB-FHBp AEFIs notified in Puglia in 2018-2021, to take a picture of the safety profile of this vaccine in the real life, four years after its introduction in Italy.

Attitude for vaccination prophylaxis among pregnant women: a cross-sectional study.

Pregnant women and newborns are considered a subgroup of population at increased risk for several infectious diseases, some of which are vaccine-preventable. Anti-diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine (dTpa) and influenza vaccine are recommended for pregnant women. We carried out a study to evaluate the knowledge of new mothers toward the main vaccine-preventable diseases and to assess their compliance with recommended vaccinations.

An Artefactual Cluster of Pneumonia among Cancer Patients Arising from Contamination.

The complex (MABC) is a group of rapidly growing, nontuberculous mycobacteria that are ubiquitous in soil, urban water pipes, swimming pools, and drinking water. Members of the MABC are considered opportunistic pathogens. The aim of this study was to investigate the origins of MABC detected in broncho-lavage (BL) samples from asymptomatic cancer patients.