Publications by authors named "Karrie Kwan-Ki Ko"
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates three unusual isolates of the fungal pathogen Candida auris found in Singapore, aiming to determine if they represent a new and distinct clade from the known clades (I-V).
- Through whole-genome sequencing and antifungal susceptibility testing, researchers found that the isolates were genetically separated from existing clades by a significant number of single nucleotide polymorphisms and had unique genetic characteristics.
- The findings suggest these isolates are a novel clade, referred to as clade VI, highlighting an emerging public health concern due to their resistance patterns and potential for increased transmission.
Background: We describe the investigations for control of two consecutive Serratia marcescens outbreaks in neonatology unit of Singapore General Hospital.
Methods: Epidemiological investigations, environmental sampling and risk-factors analysis were performed to guide infection control measures. Active surveillance sampling of nasopharyngeal aspirate and/or stool from neonates was conducted during both outbreaks.
Limited treatment options exist for the treatment of carbapenem-resistant (CRE) bacteria. Fortunately, there are several recently approved antibiotics indicated for CRE infections. Here, we examine the activity of various novel agents (eravacycline, plazomicin, ceftazidime-avibactam, imipenem-relebactam, and meropenem-vaborbactam) and comparators (tigecycline, amikacin, levofloxacin, fosfomycin, polymyxin B) against 365 well-characterized CRE clinical isolates with various genotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Increased transmissibility of severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-coronavirus-2(SARS-CoV-2) variants, such as the Omicron-variant, presents an infection-control challenge. We contrasted nosocomial transmission amongst hospitalized inpatients across successive pandemic waves attributed to the Delta- and Omicron variants, over a 9-month period in which enhanced-infection-prevention-measures were constantly maintained.
Methods: Enhanced-infection-prevention-measures in-place at a large tertiary hospital included universal N95-usage, routine-rostered-testing (RRT) for all inpatient/healthcare-workers (HCWs), rapid-antigen-testing (RAT) for visitors, and outbreak-investigation coupled with enhanced-surveillance (daily-testing) of exposed patients.
Background: Temporary isolation wards have been introduced to meet demands for airborne-infection-isolation-rooms (AIIRs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Environmental sampling and outbreak investigation was conducted in temporary isolation wards converted from general wards and/or prefabricated containers, in order to evaluate the ability of such temporary isolation wards to safely manage COVID-19 cases over a period of sustained use.
Methods: Environmental sampling for SARS-CoV-2 RNA was conducted in temporary isolation ward rooms constructed from pre-fabricated containers (N = 20) or converted from normal-pressure general wards (N = 47).
Good syndrome (GS) is a rare acquired immunodeficiency disease characterized by the presence of thymoma with combined B and T cell immunodeficiency in adults. Recurrent bacterial infections, particularly sinopulmonary infections caused by encapsulated bacteria, remain the most common infective presentation of GS; however, relapsing viral infections have also been reported, likely due to impaired T cell-mediated immunity. Relapsing COVID-19 infection, however, has not been previously reported as a manifestation of GS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Prolonged shedding of COVID-19 is notable in patients treated with anti-CD20 agents like rituximab, with cases of occult infection, where the virus persists in the lungs despite negative nasal tests, being rare.
- Two immunocompromised patients, previously treated with rituximab, showed ground-glass infiltrates in lung scans, and despite negative SARS-CoV-2 results in nasal swabs, they were diagnosed with ongoing infection after testing lung fluid.
- The findings suggest that negative nasal tests don’t rule out lung infections, indicating the need for invasive tests like bronchoalveolar lavage; this also emphasizes the importance of strict infection control during procedures that might spread the virus.
Sporadic clusters of healthcare-associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred despite intense rostered routine surveillance and a highly vaccinated healthcare worker (HCW) population, during a community surge of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.617.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To describe OXA-48-like carbapenem-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) outbreaks at Singapore General Hospital between 2018 and 2020 and to determine the risk associated with OXA-48 carriage in the 2020 outbreak.
Design: Outbreak report and case-control study.
Setting: Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is a tertiary-care academic medical center in Singapore with 1,750 beds.
Sporadic outbreaks of healthcare-associated COVID-19 infection in a highly-vaccinated inpatient population during a community outbreak of the B.1.617.2 variant: The role of enhanced infection-prevention measures.
Am J Infect Control
April 2022
Sporadic clusters of health care-associated COVID-19 infection occurred in a highly vaccinated health care-workers and patient population, over a 3-month period during ongoing community transmission of the B.1.617.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Disinfection is critical for infection control, but the patterns of microbial colonization and antibiotic resistance in hospital environments are still not fully understood.
- Researchers conducted extensive genomic studies of microbiomes and antibiotic resistance in a tertiary-care hospital, revealing distinct microbial niches and resistance gene patterns influenced by biofilms and human microbiomes.
- The study found that multidrug-resistant strains can persist in hospitals for over 8 years, posing a risk for opportunistic infections, underscoring the need for systematic monitoring of antibiotic resistance to improve infection prevention strategies.