High frequency of acquired virulence factors in carbapenemase-producing isolates from a large German university hospital, 2013-2021.

Carbapenemase-producing (CP-Kp) isolates are a public health concern as they can cause severe hospital-acquired infections that are difficult to treat. It has recently been shown that CP-Kp can take up virulence factors from hypervirulent lineages. In this study, 109 clinical CP-Kp isolates from the University Hospital Cologne were examined for the presence of acquired virulence factors using whole-genome sequencing and phenotypic tests, and results were linked to clinical data.

Analysing carbapenemases in hospital wastewater: Insights from intracellular and extracellular DNA using qPCR and digital PCR.

The widespread dissemination of carbapenem-resistant bacteria in wastewater systems, particularly from clinical sources, poses a significant public health risk. This study assessed the concentrations and distributions of extracellular DNA (exDNA) and intracellular DNA (iDNA) harboring carbapenemase genes in wastewater from six tertiary care hospitals in Germany. We collected a total of 36 samples, comprising six biological replicates from each hospital, and analysed them using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and digital PCR (dPCR).

Infection prevention and control between legal requirements and German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology expert assessments: a cross-sectional study in September-November 2022.

Background: In contrast to the beginning of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), pandemic, more and more hospital issues are now regulated by policy.

Aim: To identify differences between expert recommendations and legal requirements regarding infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between 29 September 2022 and 3 November 2022 addressing 1319 members of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology.

Resolving colistin resistance and heteroresistance in Enterobacter species.

Species within the Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) include globally important nosocomial pathogens. A three-year study of ECC in Germany identified Enterobacter xiangfangensis as the most common species (65.5%) detected, a result replicated by examining a global pool of 3246 isolates.