Enhanced surveillance of Clostridium difficile infection occurring outside hospital, England, 2011 to 2013.

There are limited national epidemiological data for community-associated (CA)-Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs). Between March 2011 and March 2013, laboratories in England submitted to the Clostridium difficile Ribotyping Network (CDRN) up to 10 diarrhoeal faecal samples from successive patients with CA-CDI, defined here as C. difficile toxin-positive diarrhoea commencing outside hospital (or less than 48 hours after hospital admission), including those cases associated with community-based residential care, with no discharge from hospital within the previous 12 weeks.

The potential for airborne dispersal of Clostridium difficile from symptomatic patients.

BACKGROUND. The high transmissibility and widespread environmental contamination by Clostridium difficile suggests the possibility of airborne dissemination of spores. We measured airborne and environmental C.

Are methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus that produce Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL) found among residents of care homes?

Objectives: Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL)-positive Staphylococcus aureus are responsible for causing skin and soft tissue infections, with the potential to cause severe invasive disease. Recently, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains that produce PVL have emerged in the community. As residents of care homes are a key group at risk of MRSA colonization and infection, we have examined the epidemiology of MRSA in three large cohorts of residents in urban care homes to establish whether PVL-positive MRSA strains are present in this setting.

Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization among older residents of care homes in the United Kingdom.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization among older residents of care homes in Leeds, United Kingdom, and to identify resident and care home risk factors for carriage.

Design: We conducted a cross-sectional prevalence survey of 715 residents from 39 care homes. All participants were tested for nasal colonization with S.

Molecular epidemiology of endemic Clostridium difficile infection and the significance of subtypes of the United Kingdom epidemic strain (PCR ribotype 1).

We previously identified two subtypes of the epidemic strain Clostridium difficile PCR ribotype 1, one clindamycin-sensitive strain (arbitrarily primed PCR [AP-PCR] type Ia) and a closely related clindamycin-resistant strain (AP-PCR type Ib) in our institution. We have now carried out prospective epidemiological surveillance for 4 years, immediately following the relocation of two acute medicine wards for elderly patients (wards A and B), to determine the clinical epidemiology of subtypes of the epidemic C. difficile PCR ribotype 1 group.