Hospital population density and risk of respiratory infection: Is close contact density dependent?

Respiratory infections acquired in hospital depend on close contact, which may be affected by hospital population density. Models of infectious disease transmission typically assume that contact rates are independent of density (frequency dependence) or proportional to it (linear density dependence), without justification. We evaluate these assumptions by measuring contact rates in hospitals under different population densities.

Development and validation of a French job-exposure matrix for healthcare workers: JEM Soignances.

Objectives: This study aimed to develop and evaluate a job-exposure matrix (JEM) specific to healthcare workers, JEM Soignances, based on self-reported data.

Methods: The JEM was constructed using data from healthcare workers within the CONSTANCES cohort (N=12 489). Job titles and sectors of activity (eg, hospital activities) defined occupational groups.

Using contact network dynamics to implement efficient interventions against pathogen spread in hospital settings: A modelling study.

Background: Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are hotspots for pathogen transmission. Infection control interventions are essential, but the high density and heterogeneity of interindividual contacts within LTCF may hinder their efficacy. Here, we explore how the patient-staff contact structure may inform effective intervention implementation.

Paris 2024 Olympic Games: A risk enhancer for autochthonous arboviral diseases epidemics?

Objectives: The anticipated increase in international tourist flows and the first locally acquired dengue cases in the Paris region in October 2023 have raised concerns about potential arbovirus outbreaks during the 2024 Olympics. Unlike previous mass sporting events at risk of arbovirus outbreaks, Paris is a nonendemic arbovirus area, requiring a unique investigation.

Methods: Therefore, we analyzed factors conducive to possible arbovirus epidemics in temperate regions: vector distribution in the Paris area, seasonal global arboviral disease patterns, projected visitor demographics, and international flight bookings.

An algorithm to build synthetic temporal contact networks based on close-proximity interactions data.

Small populations (e.g., hospitals, schools or workplaces) are characterised by high contact heterogeneity and stochasticity affecting pathogen transmission dynamics.

Predicting consequences of COVID-19 control measure de-escalation on nosocomial transmission and mortality: a modelling study in a French rehabilitation hospital.

Introduction: Infection control measures are effective for nosocomial COVID-19 prevention but bear substantial health-economic costs, motivating their "de-escalation" in settings at low risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Yet consequences of de-escalation are difficult to predict, particularly in light of novel variants and heterogeneous population immunity.

Aim: To estimate how infection control measure de-escalation influences nosocomial COVID-19 risk.

Exploring factors shaping antibiotic resistance patterns in during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented to block SARS-CoV-2 transmission in early 2020 led to global reductions in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). By contrast, most European countries reported an increase in antibiotic resistance among invasive isolates from 2019 to 2020, while an increasing number of studies reported stable pneumococcal carriage prevalence over the same period. To disentangle the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on pneumococcal epidemiology in the community setting, we propose a mathematical model formalizing simultaneous transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and antibiotic-sensitive and -resistant strains of .

Preventing iatrogenic HCV infection: A quantitative risk assessment based on observational data in an Egyptian hospital.

When compliance with infection control recommendations is non-optimal, hospitals may play an important role in hepatitis C (HCV) transmission. However, few studies have analyzed the nosocomial HCV acquisition risk based on detailed empirical data. Here, we used data from a prospective cohort study conducted on 500 patients in the Ain Shams hospital (Cairo, Egypt) in 2017 with the objective of identifying (i) high-risk patient profiles and (ii) transmission hotspots within the hospital.

Assessing respiratory epidemic potential in French hospitals through collection of close contact data (April-June 2020).

The transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 within hospitals can exceed that in the general community because of more frequent close proximity interactions (CPIs). However, epidemic risk across wards is still poorly described. We measured CPIs directly using wearable sensors given to all present in a clinical ward over a 36-h period, across 15 wards in three hospitals in April-June 2020.

Identifying individual and organizational predictors of accidental exposure to blood (AEB) among hospital healthcare workers: A longitudinal study.

Background: Accidental exposure to blood (AEB) poses a risk of bloodborne infections for healthcare workers (HCWs) during hospital activities. In this study, we identified individual behavioral and organizational predictors of AEB among HCWs.

Methods: The study was a prospective, 1-year follow-up cohort study conducted in university hospitals in Paris, France.

How have mathematical models contributed to understanding the transmission and control of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare settings? A systematic search and review.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, mathematical models have been widely used to inform public health recommendations regarding COVID-19 control in healthcare settings. The objective of this study was to systematically review SARS-CoV-2 transmission models in healthcare settings, and to summarize their contributions to understanding nosocomial COVID-19. A systematic search and review of published articles indexed in PubMed was carried out.

Collateral impacts of pandemic COVID-19 drive the nosocomial spread of antibiotic resistance: A modelling study.

Background: Circulation of multidrug-resistant bacteria (MRB) in healthcare facilities is a major public health problem. These settings have been greatly impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, notably due to surges in COVID-19 caseloads and the implementation of infection control measures. We sought to evaluate how such collateral impacts of COVID-19 impacted the nosocomial spread of MRB in an early pandemic context.

Sick leave due to COVID-19 during the first pandemic wave in France, 2020.

Objectives: To quantify the burden of COVID-19-related sick leave during the first pandemic wave in France, accounting for sick leaves due to symptomatic COVID-19 ('symptomatic sick leaves') and those due to close contact with COVID-19 cases ('contact sick leaves').

Methods: We combined data from a national demographic database, an occupational health survey, a social behaviour survey and a dynamic SARS-CoV-2 transmission model. Sick leave incidence from 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020 was estimated by summing daily probabilities of symptomatic and contact sick leaves, stratified by age and administrative region.

A new ranking index to identify the work-related psychosocial factors most impacting mental health: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: In modern professional life, mental health prevention and promotion have become a major challenge for decision-makers. Devising appropriate actions requires better understanding the role played by each work-related psychosocial factor (WPSF). The objective of this study was to present a relevant tool to hierarchise WPSFs that jointly takes into account their (impact on mental health) and their (the proportion of the population exposed to WPSF).

Estimating the risk of incident SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers in quarantine hospitals: the Egyptian example.

In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, Egypt established a unique care model based on quarantine hospitals where only externally-referred confirmed COVID-19 patients were admitted, and healthcare workers resided continuously over 1- to 2-week working shifts. Using a mathematical model accounting for the false-negative rates of RT-PCR tests, we computed the incidence rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs, while unveiling the proportion of infections remaining undiagnosed despite routine testing. We relied on longitudinal data, including results of routine RT-PCR tests, collected within three Egyptian quarantine hospitals.

Multilevel approach to individual and organisational predictors of stress and fatigue among healthcare workers of a university hospital: a longitudinal study.

Objective: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of experiencing stress and fatigue due to the demands of their work within hospitals. Improving their physical and mental health and, in turn, the quality and safety of care requires considering factors at both individual and organisational/ward levels. Using a multicentre prospective cohort, this study aims to identify the individual and organisational predictors of stress and fatigue of HCWs in several wards from university hospitals.

Understanding the pathways leading to socioeconomic inequalities in HIV testing uptake in 18 sub-Saharan African countries.

Objective: To better understand the different pathways linking socioeconomic position and HIV testing uptake in 18 sub-Saharan African countries.

Design: We used cross-sectional population-based surveys between 2010 and 2018.

Methods: Using a potential outcomes framework and the product method, we decomposed the total effect linking wealth and recent (<12 months) HIV testing into direct effects, and indirect effects, via internal (related to individual's ability to perceive need for and to seek care) or external (ability to reach, pay for and engage in healthcare) mediators to calculate the proportion mediated (PM) by each mediator.

Meta-analysis: risk of hepatitis C virus infection associated with hospital-based invasive procedures.

Background: Healthcare settings, where invasive procedures are frequently performed, may play an important role in the transmission dynamics of blood-borne pathogens when compliance with infection control precautions is suboptimal.

Aims: To understand and quantify the role of hospital-based invasive procedures on hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify recent studies reporting association measures of HCV infection risk that are linked to iatrogenic procedures.

Measuring Basic Reproduction Number to Assess Effects of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions on Nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 Transmission.

Outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 infection frequently occur in hospitals. Preventing nosocomial infection requires insight into hospital transmission. However, estimates of the basic reproduction number (R) in care facilities are lacking.

Modelling the impact of antimicrobial use and external introductions on commensal E. coli colistin resistance in small-scale chicken farms of the Mekong delta of Vietnam.

Colistin is a critically important antimicrobial for human medicine, and colistin-resistant Escherichia coli are commonly found in poultry and poultry products in Southeast Asia. Here, we aim at disentangling the within-farm and outside-farm drivers of colistin resistance in small-scale chicken farms of the Mekong delta of Vietnam. Nineteen Vietnamese chicken farms were followed up along a whole production cycle, during which weekly antimicrobial use data were recorded.

[Dual-use research on modified pathogens in the laboratory: What framework for what issue?].

Technological advances in synthetic biology have made in vitro modification, or even creation, of viruses easier and more affordable. Several research studies using synthesis of potential pandemic pathogens led to controversies in the 2010's. More recently, the hypothesis that Covid-19 pandemics could originate from a lab escape is still under debate.