Control of an outbreak of COVID-19 at a tertiary hospital in Taiwan.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has circulated in Taiwan since late 2019. Healthcare facilities are vulnerable to COVID-19 outbreaks due to clusters of symptomatic patients and susceptible hosts. Prompt control of outbreaks is crucial.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of bacteremic vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium to eravacycline, omadacycline, lipoglycopeptides, and other comparator antibiotics: Results from the 2019-2020 Nationwide Surveillance of Multicenter Antimicrobial Resistance in Taiwan (SMART).

Multicenter surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility was performed for 235 vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) isolates from 18 Taiwanese hospitals. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of eravacycline, omadacycline, lipoglycopeptides, and other comparator antibiotics were determined using the broth microdilution method. Nearly all isolates of VREfm were not susceptible to teicoplanin, dalbavancin, and telavancin, with susceptibility rates of 0.

Disease Burden of Invasive Listeriosis and Molecular Characterization of Clinical Isolates in Taiwan, 2000-2013.

The information about disease burden and epidemiology of invasive listeriosis in Asia is scarce. From 2000 to 2013, a total of 338 patients with invasive listeriosis (bacteremia, meningitis, and peritonitis) were treated at four medical centers in Taiwan. The incidence (per 10,000 admissions) of invasive listeriosis increased significantly during the 14-year period among the four centers (0.

Carbapenems and piperacillin/tazobactam for the treatment of bacteremia caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Proteus mirabilis.

This study was intended to delineate the role of carbapenems and piperacillin/tazobactam in treating bacteremia caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Proteus mirabilis. We performed a multicenter and retrospective study of the patients with ESBL-producing P. mirabilis bacteremia.

Trends in the antimicrobial susceptibilities and serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae: results from the Tigecycline In Vitro Surveillance in Taiwan (TIST) study, 2006-2010.

Isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 530) were collected from 20 hospitals in different parts of Taiwan from 2006 to 2010. MICs to 16 antimicrobial agents were determined by broth dilution method and serotypes were identified by latex agglutination. Based on meningitis (non-meningitis) criteria established by the CLSI, 11.

A Phase I, randomized, open-label study to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of an enterovirus 71 vaccine.

Background: Large-scale outbreaks of enterovirus 71 (EV71) infections have occurred in Asia-Pacific regions. Severe complications include encephalitis and poliomyelitis-like paralysis, cardiopulmonary collapse, and death, necessitating an effective vaccine against EV71.

Methods: In this randomized Phase I study, we evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated alum-adjuvanted EV71 whole-virus vaccine produced on Vero cell cultures.

Fatal pneumonia and empyema thoracis caused by imipenem-resistant Nocardia abscessus in a cancer patient.

We describe a case of pneumonia and empyema thoracis caused by trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-susceptible, but imipenem-resistant Nocardia abscessus in a cancer patient. The isolate was confirmed to the species level by 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. The patient did not respond to antibiotic therapy, including ceftriaxone and imipenem, and died of progressing pneumonia and multiple organ failure.

Catheter-related fungemia caused by Candida dubliniensis.

Infections caused by Candida dubliniensis in humans are rare and have never been reported in Taiwan. We report two cancer patients with catheter-related fungemia due to C. dubliniensis infection in Taiwan.

Updated antibiotic resistance and clinical spectrum of infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in Taiwan: Emphasis on risk factors for penicillin nonsusceptibilities.

Background/purpose(s): Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the leading pathogens causing community-acquired infection with high mortality rates in elderly patients. Emerging antibiotic resistance was found in past decades. Continuous surveillance to monitor changes in antibiotic resistance of S.

Otitis media and otomastoiditis caused by Mycobacterium massiliense (Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. bolletii).

We describe two patients with otologic infections caused by Mycobacterium massiliense (M. abscessus subsp. bolletti) which were identified using erm(41) PCR, 23S rRNA, and rpoB gene sequence analysis.

Bacteremia caused by Pantoea agglomerans at a medical center in Taiwan, 2000-2010.

Background/purpose: There are only three case reports of adult patients with spontaneous Pantoea agglomerans bacteremia in the English literature. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical and microbiologic characteristics patients of P agglomerans bacteremia.

Methods: We studied all adult patients with P agglomerans bacteremia at a medical center from 2000 to 2010.

Association between incidence of candidaemia and consumption of antifungal agents at a medical centre in Taiwan.

This study investigated the correlations between consumption of antifungal agents and species distribution in candidaemia. The incidence of patients with community-acquired candidaemia (CAC) (per 1000 admissions) and healthcare-associated candidaemia (HCAC) (per 1000 admissions) as well as data on annual consumption [defined daily doses (DDD)/1000 patient-days] of various antifungal agents at a medical centre in Taiwan from 2000 to 2010 were evaluated. A total of 2682 episodes of candidaemia were identified, including 2468 HCAC (92.

Recurrent bacteremia caused by the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii complex.

This study investigated the clinical and microbiological characteristics of patients with recurrent bacteremia caused by the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii (ACB) complex at a medical center. All ACB complex isolates associated with recurrent bacteremia were identified to the genomic species level using a 16S-23S rRNA gene intergenic spacer sequence-based method. Genotypes were determined by the random amplified polymorphic DNA patterns generated by arbitrarily primed PCR and by pulsotypes generated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Streptococcus suis infection in Taiwan, 2000-2011.

From 2000 to 2011, 8 patients with Streptococcus suis infections were identified in Taiwan. Six isolates were initially misidentified as Streptococcus acidominimus using commercial identification systems and later confirmed to be S. suis using 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis.

Trends in susceptibility of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium to tigecycline, daptomycin, and linezolid and molecular epidemiology of the isolates: results from the Tigecycline In Vitro Surveillance in Taiwan (TIST) study, 2006 to 2010.

Among the 219 vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolates collected in 20 Taiwanese hospitals from 2006 to 2010, all were susceptible to linezolid and daptomycin, and 98.6% were susceptible to tigecycline. There was a shift toward higher tigecycline MIC values (MIC(90)s) from 2006-2007 (0.

Cutaneous infection caused by Gordonia amicalis after a traumatic injury.

Gordonia amicalis infection has never been reported in humans. We report here the first case of G. amicalis-related cutaneous infection after a traumatic injury.