Refine
Document Type
- Article (3)
Language
- English (3)
Has Fulltext
- yes (3)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (3)
Keywords
- Germany (3) (remove)
Institute
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie (3) (remove)
Publisher
- MDPI (2)
- Frontiers Media S.A. (1)
Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are common opportunistic pathogens, but also ubiquitous human and animal commensals. Infection-associated CoNS from healthcare environments are typically characterized by pronounced antimicrobial resistance (AMR) including both methicillin- and multidrug-resistant isolates. Less is known about AMR patterns of CoNS colonizing the general population. Here we report on AMR in commensal CoNS recovered from 117 non-hospitalized volunteers in a region of Germany with a high livestock density. Among the 69 individuals colonized with CoNS, 29 had reported contacts to either companion or farm animals. CoNS were selectively cultivated from nasal swabs, followed by species definition by 16S rDNA sequencing and routine antibiotic susceptibility testing. Isolates displaying phenotypic AMR were further tested by PCR for presence of selected AMR genes. A total of 127 CoNS were isolated and Staphylococcus epidermidis (75%) was the most common CoNS species identified. Nine isolates (7%) were methicillin-resistant (MR) and carried the mecA gene, with seven individuals (10%) being colonized with at least one MR-CoNS isolate. While resistance against gentamicin, phenicols and spectinomycin was rare, high resistance rates were found against tetracycline (39%), erythromycin (33%) and fusidic acid (24%). In the majority of isolates, phenotypic resistance could be associated with corresponding AMR gene detection. Multidrug-resistance (MDR) was observed in 23% (29/127) of the isolates, with 33% (23/69) of the individuals being colonized with MDR-CoNS. The combined data suggest that MR- and MDR-CoNS are present in the community, with previous animal contact not significantly influencing the risk of becoming colonized with such isolates.
Hand hygiene is a cornerstone of infection prevention. However, few data are available for school children on their knowledge of infectious diseases and their prevention. The aim of the study was to develop and apply a standardized questionnaire for children when visiting primary schools to survey their knowledge about infectious diseases, pathogen transmission and prevention measures. Enrolling thirteen German primary schools, 493 questionnaires for grade three primary school children were included for further analyses, comprising 257 (52.1%) girls and 236 (47.9%) boys with an age range of 8–11 years. Out of 489 children, 91.2% participants indicated that they knew about human-to-human transmissible diseases. Of these, 445 children responded in detail, most frequently mentioning respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, followed by childhood diseases. Addressing putative hygiene awareness-influencing factors, it was worrisome that more than 40.0% of the children avoided visiting the sanitary facilities at school. Most of the children (82.9%) noted that they did not like to use the sanitary facilities at school because of their uncleanliness and the poor hygienic behavior of their classmates. In conclusion, basic infection awareness exists already in primary school age children. Ideas about the origin and prevention of infections are retrievable, however, this knowledge is not always accurate and adequately contextualized. Since the condition of sanitary facilities has a strong influence on usage behavior, the child’s perspective should be given more consideration in the design and maintenance of sanitary facilities.
Hand hygiene is a cornerstone of infection prevention. However, few data are available for school children on their knowledge of infectious diseases and their prevention. The aim of the study was to develop and apply a standardized questionnaire for children when visiting primary schools to survey their knowledge about infectious diseases, pathogen transmission and prevention measures. Enrolling thirteen German primary schools, 493 questionnaires for grade three primary school children were included for further analyses, comprising 257 (52.1%) girls and 236 (47.9%) boys with an age range of 8–11 years. Out of 489 children, 91.2% participants indicated that they knew about human-to-human transmissible diseases. Of these, 445 children responded in detail, most frequently mentioning respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, followed by childhood diseases. Addressing putative hygiene awareness-influencing factors, it was worrisome that more than 40.0% of the children avoided visiting the sanitary facilities at school. Most of the children (82.9%) noted that they did not like to use the sanitary facilities at school because of their uncleanliness and the poor hygienic behavior of their classmates. In conclusion, basic infection awareness exists already in primary school age children. Ideas about the origin and prevention of infections are retrievable, however, this knowledge is not always accurate and adequately contextualized. Since the condition of sanitary facilities has a strong influence on usage behavior, the child’s perspective should be given more consideration in the design and maintenance of sanitary facilities.