Detection of NDM-1/5 and OXA-48 co-producing extensively drug-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae in Northern Italy.

Objectives: Using a hybrid long-read sequencing approach, we aimed to fully characterise four extensively-drug resistant (XDR) hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, one of which represented the first strain isolated in Italy co-expressing NDM-1/5 and OXA-48 carbapenemases.

Methods: Whole-genome sequencing was performed using Illumina and Oxford Nanopore Technology platforms. An assembly pipeline was used to recover the structures both of the chromosome and plasmids.

Safety surveillance after BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination: results from a cross-sectional survey among staff of a large Italian teaching hospital.

Background And Aim: Comirnaty® was the first COVID-19 vaccine available for the vaccination campaign of healthcare workers in Italy. With the aim of assessing vaccine safety, we conducted a cross-sectional survey administrating a voluntary-based questionnaire on adverse events following immunisation (AEFIs) in San Raffaele Hospital, Milano, Italy.

Methods: From 4th January 2021 to 27th April 2021, we collected 2,659 questionnaires (response rate: 24,5%).

2019-novel coronavirus survey: knowledge and attitudes of hospital staff of a large Italian teaching hospital.

One week after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak a global health emergency we conducted a survey to explore knowledge and attitudes on 2019-nCoV, recently renamed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in a large cohort of hospital staff. A representative sample of 2,046 hospital staff of a large university hospital in northern Italy (54% healthcare workers and 46% administrative staff, overall response rate: 25%) was administered an online questionnaire: overall there is good knowledge on 2019-nCoV control measures. The mean of correct answers for questions on general aspects of 2019-nCoV epidemic was 71.

Comparison of core-genome MLST, coreSNP and PFGE methods for cluster analysis.

In this work we compared the most frequently used typing methods: PFGE, cgMLST and coreSNP. We evaluated the discriminatory power of the three methods to confirm or exclude nosocomial transmission on strains isolated from January to December 2017, in the framework of the routine surveillance for multidrug-resistant organisms at the San Raffaele Hospital, in Milan. We compared the results of the different methods to the results of epidemiological investigation.

Clostridium difficile PCR Ribotype 018, a Successful Epidemic Genotype.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) became a public health problem for the global spreading of the so-called hypervirulent PCR ribotypes (RTs) 027 and 078, associated with increases in the transmission and severity of the disease. However, especially in Europe, several RTs are prevalent, and the concept of hypervirulence is currently debated. We investigated the toxin and resistance profiles and the genetic relatedness of 312 C.

Epidemic MRSA clone ST22-IV is more resistant to multiple host- and environment-related stresses compared with ST228-I.

Background: ST22-IV is a successful hospital-associated MRSA clone. Due to its known ability to replace other MRSA clones in hospitals, it became a dominant clone in Europe and beyond. So far, there are no studies investigating the relationship between the epidemiological success of MRSA clones and their capacity to withstand commonly encountered stresses.

Factors contributing to epidemic MRSA clones replacement in a hospital setting.

The mechanisms governing the epidemiology dynamics and success determinants of a specific healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (HA-MRSA) clone in hospital settings are still unclear. Important epidemiological changes have occurred in Europe since 2000 that have been related to the appearance of the ST22-IV clone.