Coverage with Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and COVID-19 Vaccines Among Nursing Home Residents - National Healthcare Safety Network, United States, November 2024.

Nursing home residents are at elevated risk for severe complications from respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Nursing homes are required to report COVID-19 vaccination coverage and can voluntarily report influenza and RSV vaccination coverage among residents to CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network. The purpose of this study was to assess COVID-19, influenza, and RSV vaccination coverage among nursing home residents early in the 2024-25 respiratory virus season.

Challenges and opportunities during the COVID-19 vaccination efforts in long-term care.

From December 2020 through March 2023, the COVID-19 vaccination efforts in long-term care (LTC) settings, identified many gaps and opportunities to improve public health capacity to support vaccine distribution, education, and documentation of COVID-19 vaccines administered to LTC residents and staff. Partner engagement at the local, state, and federal levels helped establish pathways for dissemination of information, improve access and delivery of vaccines, and expand reporting of vaccine administration data to monitor the impact of COVID-19 vaccination in LTC settings. Sustaining the improvements to the vaccine infrastructure in LTC settings that were created or enhanced during the COVID-19 vaccination efforts is critical for the protection of residents and staff against COVID-19 and other vaccine preventable respiratory outbreaks in the future.

Coverage with Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and Updated COVID-19 Vaccines Among Nursing Home Residents - National Healthcare Safety Network, United States, December 2023.

Nursing home residents are at risk for becoming infected with and experiencing severe complications from respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Fall 2023 is the first season during which vaccines are simultaneously available to protect older adults in the United States against all three of these respiratory viruses. Nursing homes are required to report COVID-19 vaccination coverage and can voluntarily report influenza and RSV vaccination coverage among residents to CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network.

Impact of laws aimed at healthcare-associated infection reduction: a qualitative study.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are preventable. Globally, laws aimed at reducing HAIs have been implemented. In the USA, these laws are at the federal and state levels.

Development and evaluation of a novel multiplex PCR technology for molecular differential detection of bacterial respiratory disease pathogens.

The ResPlex I assay (Qiagen) was designed to amplify and detect DNA of six bacterial respiratory pathogens. This assay was compared with real-time PCR assays based upon the same target sequences for the ability detect the target bacteria by use of both stock strains and specimens from respiratory disease patients. The ResPlex I assay is somewhat less sensitive than real-time PCR assays but offers the advantage of multiple assays in a single reaction.

Analysis of genetic relatedness of Haemophilus influenzae isolates by multilocus sequence typing.

The gram-negative bacterium Haemophilus influenzae is a human-restricted commensal of the nasopharynx that can also be associated with disease. The majority of H. influenzae respiratory isolates lack the genes for capsule production and are nontypeable (NTHI).

Rapid laboratory detection of meningococcal disease outbreaks caused by serogroup C Neisseria meningitidis.

Molecular subtyping is of significant importance to the recognition of outbreaks of meningococcal disease caused by serogroup C Neisseria meningitidis. We describe the application of multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) for the molecular subtyping of N. meningitidis and compare its performance to that of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

Nucleic acid-based methods for the detection of bacterial pathogens: present and future considerations for the clinical laboratory.

Background: Recent advances in nucleic acid-based methods to detect bacteria offer increased sensitivity and specificity over traditional microbiological techniques. The potential benefit of nucleic acid-based testing to the clinical laboratory is reduced time to diagnosis, high throughput, and accurate and reliable results.

Methods: Several PCR and hybridization tests are commercially available for specific organism detection.

High level of sequence diversity in the 16S rRNA genes of Haemophilus influenzae isolates is useful for molecular subtyping.

A molecular typing method based on the 16S rRNA sequence diversity was developed for Haemophilus influenzae isolates. A total of 330 H. influenzae isolates were analyzed, representing a diverse collection of U.

Use of real-time PCR to resolve slide agglutination discrepancies in serogroup identification of Neisseria meningitidis.

Neisseria meningitidis is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis and septicemia in children and young adults in the United States. Rapid and reliable identification of N. meningitidis serogroups is crucial for judicious and expedient response to cases of meningococcal disease, including decisions about vaccination campaigns.

Development of a real-time fluorescence PCR assay for rapid detection of the diphtheria toxin gene.

We developed and evaluated a real-time fluorescence PCR assay for detecting the A and B subunits of diphtheria toxin (tox) gene. When 23 toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae strains, 9 nontoxigenic C. diphtheriae strains, and 44 strains representing the diversity of pathogens and normal respiratory flora were tested, this real-time PCR assay exhibited 100% sensitivity and specificity.

Specific, sensitive, and quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for human immunoglobulin G antibodies to anthrax toxin protective antigen.

The bioterrorism-associated human anthrax epidemic in the fall of 2001 highlighted the need for a sensitive, reproducible, and specific laboratory test for the confirmatory diagnosis of human anthrax. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed, optimized, and rapidly qualified an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to Bacillus anthracis protective antigen (PA) in human serum. The qualified ELISA had a minimum detection limit of 0.