Investigation of Three Different UV-C Irradiation Schemes for Bacterial Decontamination of FFP2 Masks to Make Them Reusable.

The effect of filtering face piece grade 2 (FFP2) masks for infection prevention is essential in health care systems; however, it depends on supply chains. Efficient methods to reprocess FFP2 masks may be needed in disasters. Therefore, different UV-C irradiation schemes for bacterial decontamination of used FFP2 masks were investigated.

Tracing clinically-relevant antimicrobial resistances in Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex across diverse environments: A study spanning clinical, livestock, and wastewater treatment settings.

Acinetobacter baumannii has become a prominent nosocomial pathogen, primarily owing to its remarkable ability to rapidly acquire resistance to a wide range of antimicrobial agents and its ability to persist in diverse environments. However, there is a lack of data on the molecular epidemiology and its potential implications for public health of A. baumannii strains exhibiting clinically significant resistances that originate from non-clinical environments.

Hospital sanitary facilities on wards with high antibiotic exposure play an important role in maintaining a reservoir of resistant pathogens, even over many years.

Background: Hospitals with their high antimicrobial selection pressure represent the presumably most important reservoir of multidrug-resistant human pathogens. Antibiotics administered in the course of treatment are excreted and discharged into the wastewater system. Not only in patients, but also in the sewers, antimicrobial substances exert selection pressure on existing bacteria and promote the emergence and dissemination of multidrug-resistant clones.

Examining Different Analysis Protocols Targeting Hospital Sanitary Facility Microbiomes.

Indoor spaces exhibit microbial compositions that are distinctly dissimilar from one another and from outdoor spaces. Unique in this regard, and a topic that has only recently come into focus, is the microbiome of hospitals. While the benefits of knowing exactly which microorganisms propagate how and where in hospitals are undoubtedly beneficial for preventing hospital-acquired infections, there are, to date, no standardized procedures on how to best study the hospital microbiome.

Comparative Analysis of Antibody Titers against the Spike Protein of SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Infected Patient Cohorts and Diverse Vaccination Regimes.

The presence of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 correlates with protection against infection and severe COVID-19 disease courses. Understanding the dynamics of antibody development against the SARS-CoV-2 virus is important for recommendations on vaccination strategies and on control of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigates the dynamics and extent of α-Spike-Ab development by different vaccines manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

SARS-CoV-2 in Environmental Samples of Quarantined Households.

The role of environmental transmission of SARS-CoV-2 remains unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether viral contamination of air, wastewater, and surfaces in quarantined households result in a higher risk for exposed persons. For this study, a source population of 21 households under quarantine conditions with at least one person who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA were randomly selected from a community in North Rhine-Westphalia in March 2020.

Dissemination of carbapenem resistant bacteria from hospital wastewater into the environment.

Infections with antibiotic resistant pathogens threaten lives and cause substantial costs. For effective interventions, knowledge of the transmission paths of resistant bacteria to humans is essential. In this study, carbapenem resistant bacteria were isolated from the wastewater of a maximum care hospital during a period of two years, starting in the patient rooms and following the sewer system to the effluent of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, antibiotic resistance genes, and antibiotic residues in wastewater from a poultry slaughterhouse after conventional and advanced treatments.

Slaughterhouse wastewater is considered a reservoir for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic residues, which are not sufficiently removed by conventional treatment processes. This study focuses on the occurrence of ESKAPE bacteria (Enterococcus spp., S.

LAMP-Seq enables sensitive, multiplexed COVID-19 diagnostics using molecular barcoding.

Frequent testing of large population groups combined with contact tracing and isolation measures will be crucial for containing Coronavirus Disease 2019 outbreaks. Here we present LAMP-Seq, a modified, highly scalable reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) method. Unpurified biosamples are barcoded and amplified in a single heat step, and pooled products are analyzed en masse by sequencing.

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Clams-A Study on Mussels in the River Rhine.

Bacterial infections have been treated effectively by antibiotics since the discovery of penicillin in 1928. A worldwide increase in the use of antibiotics led to the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains in almost all bacterial pathogens, which complicates the treatment of infectious diseases. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria play an important role in increasing the risk associated with the usage of surface waters (e.

Prevalence of multidrug-resistant and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in urban community wastewater.

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) and the spread of multidrug-resistant and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli via wastewater to environmental compartments are of rapidly growing global health concern. Health care facilities, industries and slaughterhouses discharge high loads of ABR bacteria with their wastewater. However, the general community is often the biggest indirect discharger.

Clinically Relevant Isolates from Process Waters and Wastewater of Poultry and Pig Slaughterhouses in Germany.

is frequently associated with multiple antimicrobial resistances and a major cause of bacterial extraintestinal infections in livestock and humans. However, data on the epidemiology of (i) multidrug-resistant (MDR) and (ii) extraintestinal pathogenic (ExPEC) in poultry and pig slaughterhouses in Germany is currently lacking. Selected isolates ( = 71) with phenotypic resistance to cephalosporins from two poultry and two pig slaughterhouses expressing high MDR rates (combined resistance to piperacillin, cefotaxime and/or ceftazidime, and ciprofloxacin) of 51.

Colistin-Resistant Isolated From Process Waters and Wastewater From German Poultry and Pig Slaughterhouses.

Due to the high prevalence of colistin-resistant in poultry and pigs, process waters and wastewater from slaughterhouses were considered as a hotspot for isolates carrying plasmid-encoded, mobilizable colistin resistances ( genes). Thus, questions on the effectiveness of wastewater treatment in in-house and municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as well as on the diversity of the prevailing isolates, plasmid types, and their transmissibility arise. Process waters and wastewater accruing in the delivery and unclean areas of two poultry and two pig slaughterhouses were screened for the presence of target colistin-resistant bacteria (i.

Clinically relevant antibiotic-resistant bacteria in aquatic environments - An optimized culture-based approach.

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant clinically relevant facultative pathogenic bacteria in the environment has become one of the most important global health challenges. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) have been found in surface waters and wastewater treatment plants. Drinking water guidelines and the EU bathing water directive 2006/7/EC include the surveillance of defined microbiological parameters on species level, while the monitoring of ARB is missing in all existing guidelines.

Research Note: Tracing pathways of entry and persistence of facultative pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in a commercial broiler farm with substantial health problems.

On a commercial broiler farm with substantial health problems, shown by a reported loss rate of approx. 10% and regular antibiotic use, samples were taken at different locations in 2 barns, with the aim of analyzing possible entry routes and persistence of pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria as well as revealing weak points in sanitation. Therefore, swab samples for biofilm and water samples from animal drinking water lines and the spray cooling system were taken twice immediately before restocking.

Bacteria isolated from hospital, municipal and slaughterhouse wastewaters show characteristic, different resistance profiles.

Multidrug-resistant bacteria cause difficult-to-treat infections and pose a risk for modern medicine. Sources of multidrug-resistant bacteria include hospital, municipal and slaughterhouse wastewaters. In this study, bacteria with resistance to 3rd generation cephalosporins were isolated from all three wastewater biotopes, including a maximum care hospital, municipal wastewaters collected separately from a city and small rural towns and the wastewaters of two pig and two poultry slaughterhouses.

YycH and YycI Regulate Expression of Autolysins by Activation of WalRK Phosphorylation.

is a facultative pathogen that can encode numerous antibiotic resistance and immune evasion genes and can cause severe infections. Reduced susceptibility to last resort antibiotics such as vancomycin and daptomycin is often associated with mutations in , an essential two-component regulatory system (TCS). This study focuses on the WalK accessory membrane proteins YycH and YycI and their influence on WalRK phosphorylation.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antimicrobial residues in wastewater and process water from German pig slaughterhouses and their receiving municipal wastewater treatment plants.

Slaughterhouse process- and wastewater are considered as a hotspot for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antimicrobial residues and may thus play an important role for their dissemination into the environment. In this study, we investigated occurrence and characteristics of ESKAPE bacteria (E. faecium, S.

Rapid point-of-care testing for SARS-CoV-2 in a community screening setting shows low sensitivity.

Objective: With the current SARS-CoV2 outbreak, countless tests need to be performed on potential symptomatic individuals, contacts and travellers. The gold standard is a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-based system taking several hours to confirm positivity. For effective public health containment measures, this time span is too long.

ESKAPE Bacteria and Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli Isolated from Wastewater and Process Water from German Poultry Slaughterhouses.

The wastewater of livestock slaughterhouses is considered a source of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria with clinical relevance and may thus be important for their dissemination into the environment. To get an overview of their occurrence and characteristics, we investigated process water ( = 50) from delivery and unclean areas as well as wastewater ( = 32) from the in-house wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of two German poultry slaughterhouses (slaughterhouses S1 and S2). The samples were screened for ESKAPE bacteria ( spp.

The investigation of antibiotic residues, antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotic-resistant organisms in a drinking water reservoir system in Germany.

Between August 2018 and June 2019, a river system in Germany that supplies a drinking water reservoir and is subject to the discharge from two sewage treatment plants was monitored for antibiotic residues via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, antibiotic resistance genes (including bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, mcr) via qualitative real-time PCR and antibiotic-resistant bacteria [belonging to the ESKAPE-group (Enterococcus faecium, Staphyhlococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter ssp.; with resistance against Carbapenemases, Cephalosporines and Colistin) and Escherichia coli] based on cultivation methods followed by a characterization via MALDI-TOF MS and susceptibility testing applying microdilution. Residues of macrolide antibiotics such as clarithromycin (up to 0.

Association between antibiotic residues, antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in anthropogenic wastewater - An evaluation of clinical influences.

The high use of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine has led to a wide spread of antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance into the environment. In recent years, various studies have shown that antibiotic residues, resistant bacteria and resistance genes, occur in aquatic environments and that clinical wastewater seems to be a hot spot for the environmental spread of antibiotic resistance. Here a representative statistical analysis of various sampling points is presented, containing different proportions of clinically influenced wastewater.

The Washing Machine as a Reservoir for Transmission of Extended-Spectrum-Beta-Lactamase (CTX-M-15)-Producing Klebsiella oxytoca ST201 to Newborns.

During the period from April 2012 to May 2013, 13 newborns (1 to 4 weeks of age) and 1 child in a pediatric hospital ward in Germany were colonized with producing an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) (CTX-M-15). A microbiological source-tracking analysis with human and environmental samples was carried out to identify the source and transmission pathways of the clone. In addition, different hygienic intervention methods were evaluated.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria and resistance genes in biofilms in clinical wastewater networks.

Increasing isolation rates of resistant bacteria in the last years require identification of potential infection reservoirs in healthcare facilities. Especially the clinical wastewater network represents a potential source of antibiotic resistant bacteria. In this work, the siphons of the sanitary installations from 18 hospital rooms of two German hospitals were examined for antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic residues including siphons of showers and washbasins and toilets in sanitary units of psychosomatic, haemato-oncological, and rehabilitation wards.