Except for a few countries, comprehensive all-cause surveillance for bacteremia is not part of mandatory routine public health surveillance. We argue that time has come to include automated surveillance for bacteremia in the national surveillance systems, and explore diverse approaches and challenges in establishing bacteremia monitoring. Assessed against proposed criteria, surveillance for bacteremia should be given high priority.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of bloodstream infections (BSI) caused by vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) has caused concern. Nonetheless, it remains unclear whether these types are associated with an excess risk of severe outcomes when compared with infections caused by vancomycin-susceptible Enterococci (VSE). This cohort study included hospitalized patients in Denmark with -positive blood cultures collected between 2010 and 2019 identified in the Danish Microbiology Database.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered a One Health (OH) challenge, ideally demanding concerted efforts from the animal, human and environmental side. DANMAP, the Danish Integrated Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring and Research Program, is monitoring AMR and antimicrobial use in animals and humans. OH-EpiCap is an evaluation tool, developed to address essential elements in OH surveillance systems, such as the dimensions of the organization, operational activities and the impact of the surveillance activities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Seroprevalence studies can be used to measure the progression of national COVID-19 epidemics. The Danish National Seroprevalence Survey of SARS-CoV-2 infections (DSS) was conducted as five separate surveys between May 2020 and May 2021. Here, we present results from the two last surveys conducted in February and May 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere has been a renewed focus on threats to the human-animal-environment interface as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and investments in One Health collaborations are expected to increase. Efforts to monitor the development of One Health Networks (OHNs) are essential to avoid duplication or misalignment of investments. This Series paper shows the global distribution of existing OHNs and assesses their collective characteristics to identify potential deficits in the ways OHNs have formed and to help increase the effectiveness of investments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To compare the use of antibiotics in children in four Northern European countries.
Methods: We conducted a register-based study based on individual-level prescription data from national prescription registers. We identified all redeemed outpatient prescriptions for systemic antibiotics in children aged 0-14 years from July 2006 to June 2017 in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
"Testing Denmark" is a national, large-scale, epidemiological surveillance study of SARS-CoV-2 in the Danish population. Between September and October 2020, approximately 1.3 million people (age >15 years) were randomly invited to fill in an electronic questionnaire covering COVID-19 exposures and symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobal health and global economies are predicted to be severely affected by antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The three organizations World Health Organization/World Organisation for Animal Health/Food and Agriculture Organization (WHO/OIE/FAO) are working in their domains to prevent any future AMR crisis. Antimicrobial use (AMU), especially in food animals, is contributing to the development and dissemination of AMR bacteria and genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeroprevalence studies have proven an important tool to monitor the progression of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We present results of consecutive population-based seroprevalence surveys performed in Denmark in 2020. In spring, late summer and autumn/winter of 2020, invitation letters including a questionnaire covering symptoms were sent to representative samples of the population above 12 years and to parents of children below 18 years in the sample.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Nordic countries have comparable nationwide antibiotic resistance surveillance systems and individual antibiotic stewardship programmes. The aim of this study was to assess antibiotic resistance among major pathogens in relation to practice guidelines for hospital antibiotic treatment and antibiotic use in Nordic countries 2010-2018.
Methods: Antibiotic resistance among invasive isolates from 2010-2018 and aggregated antibiotic use were obtained from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
In June-November 2020, SARS-CoV-2-infected mink were detected in 290 of 1,147 Danish mink farms. In North Denmark Region, 30% (324/1,092) of people found connected to mink farms tested SARS-CoV-2-PCR-positive and approximately 27% (95% confidence interval (CI): 25-30) of SARS-CoV-2-strains from humans in the community were mink-associated. Measures proved insufficient to mitigate spread.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA novel variant of the plasmid-borne colistin resistance gene mcr-3 was detected on an IncHI2 plasmid in an ST131 CTX-M-55-producing Escherichia coli isolate from a Danish patient with bloodstream infection in 2014. The discovery of novel plasmid-borne genes conferring resistance to colistin is of special interest since colistin has reemerged as an important drug in the treatment of infections with multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCarbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are extremely multiresistant bacteria with few or no treatment options. Infections with CPE are associated with a mortality of 40-50%. In Denmark, CPE were first detected in 2008.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTaxonomy and identification of fastidious Gram negatives are evolving and challenging. We compared identifications achieved with the Vitek 2 Neisseria-Haemophilus (NH) card and partial 16S rRNA gene sequence (526 bp stretch) analysis with identifications obtained with extensive phenotypic characterization using 100 fastidious Gram negative bacteria. Seventy-five strains represented 21 of the 26 taxa included in the Vitek 2 NH database and 25 strains represented related species not included in the database.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAerococcus sanguinicola is a Gram-positive coccus first described in 2001. Infections in humans are rare but the use of 16S rRNA gene sequencing and improved phenotypic methods has facilitated the identification of A. sanguinicola.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBloodstream infections with Granulicatella (previous Abiotrophia) elegans are rare. A few reported cases were associated with infective endocarditis. Three cases of bacteraemia with G.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFErysipelas and bacteraemia with what initially was diagnosed as a non-haemolytic streptococcus is reported. As neither colony morphology nor clinical picture was characteristic of non-haemolytic streptococci, the isolate was sent to a reference laboratory. 16S rRNA sequencing and phenotypic characterization identified the strain as a streptolysin S-deficient S.
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