The completeness and timeliness of the pertussis questionnaire-based enhanced surveillance system (ESS) among infants and reported pertussis data within the electronic nationwide notification system ...(NNS) in the years 2015, 2017 and 2019 were evaluated in a pilot study.
The completeness of the variables for demographic characteristics, date of symptom onset, hospitalisation and vaccination status were assessed in both systems. Timeliness of reporting in the NNS was analysed as the interval between symptom onset and a) the date of first specimen collection (diagnostic delay), and b) the date of the Regional Public Health Authority receiving notification (notification delay).
A total of 121 confirmed pertussis cases were reported to the NNS in the study years, while in the ESS a total of 104 confirmed cases were reported in infants. In both systems most cases were in the age group of one completed month of life (20% versus 23%) and males (55% versus 55%). The majority of cases were hospitalised (81% versus 85%) and unvaccinated (77% versus 78%). Within the NNS, the first dose of vaccine was reported in 13 cases, the second dose in 11, and third dose in three cases. Within the NNS, 100% completeness of following variables was found: symptom onset, week and region of reporting, age, gender and place of isolation. Median diagnostic delay was nine days. Median notification delay was 18 days.
Data completeness was high in the NNS, except for lack of vaccination data in those eligible by age. Efforts to improve the completeness of laboratory-related variables and timeliness are essential. Based on the study results, the project of improving the ESS for infants will continue with regular evaluation.
Pregnant women are among the priority groups to receive influenza vaccines in the Czech Republic since 2011, data on vaccination coverage are not yet available. The aim of the study was to determine ...the influenza vaccination coverage (IVC) and provide source data for further activities.
A prospective observational study was performed in a large maternity hospital in Prague. The self-completed questionnaire was distributed to 5,475 pregnant women between September 1, 2020 and August 31, 2021. Questions included maternal sociodemographic characteristics, influenza vaccination status and sources of maternal vaccination recommendations during pregnancy.
A total of 4,617 completed questionnaires have been analysed. The median age of study participants (N = 4,592) was 33 years (range: 18-51 years). The majority (69.7%) of women had completed their university education, most women were childless (58.5%) or had one child (32.5%) before the start of the study. Less than 2% of women reported being vaccinated against influenza during their pregnancy (1.5%; 95% CI, 1.1-1.9%). Only 21% of women knew that it's possible to get vaccinated against influenza during pregnancy. Participants considered influenza vaccination in pregnancy as important (3.3%), useful (41.1%) and useless (44.4%). Out of 959 pregnant women who had information about influenza vaccination during pregnancy, only 6.9% were vaccinated, while among those who did not have this information, 0.1% were vaccinated during pregnancy (p < 0.001). The most frequent source of information was Internet, then media and a general practitioner.
The IVC during pregnancy in our study was extremely low. In order to improve IVC among pregnant women, it is necessary to increase awareness of recommendations and vaccination options among the public and professionals and incorporating vaccination recommendation in routine antenatal practice.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This observational study aimed to analyse data from big maternity hospital, determine the vaccination coverage and provide source information for further activities.
Although vaccination of pregnant ...women against pertussis is recommended in the Czech Republic, data on vaccination coverage are not available.
The self-completed questionnaire was distributed to 5,475 pregnant women in the maternity hospital between 2020 and 2021. Questionnaires collected mother's sociodemographic characteristics, pertussis vaccination status and sources of recommendations for vaccinations during pregnancy.
A total of 4,617 completed questionnaires were analysed. Pertussis vaccination coverage during pregnancy was 1.6 % (95% confidence interval, 1.3-2.0 %). Only 12.5 % of women knew about the possibility of being vaccinated against pertussis during pregnancy. Women considered pertussis vaccination in pregnancy as important (12.9 %), useful (49.1 %) and useless (24.0 %). Of 579 pregnant women who had information about pertussis vaccination during pregnancy, only 12.1 % were vaccinated, while among those who did not have this information, 0.1% were vaccinated during pregnancy (p < 0.001). The most frequent source of information was Internet, then a general practitioner.
It is necessary to raise awareness of recommendations for pregnancy vaccination among public and professionals, to emphasize the benefits of such vaccination in order to increase the vaccination coverage (Tab. 3, Ref. 31). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: pertussis, whooping cough, pregnancy, vaccination, health knowledge, prevention.
imposes a great burden on medical systems worldwide. Surveillance of trends of antibiotic resistance provides a great deal of information needed for antimicrobial stewardship programmes nationwide. ...Clinical data from long-term, continuous surveillance on trends of antibiotic resistance of
in Slovakia is missing. One hundred and forty-nine samples of
were isolated over a period of four years. A panel of 19 antibiotics from seven antibiotic categories were tested for the bacterium's susceptibility. Resistance results were evaluated, and the significance of patterns was estimated using simple linear regression analysis. All isolates were more than 85% resistant to at least 13 out of the 19 tested antibiotics. A significant rise in resistance was recorded for aminoglycosides and imipenem from 2019 to 2022. Colistin and ampicillin-sulbactam have been the only antibiotics maintaining more than 80% efficacy on the bacterium to date. A significant rise in extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains among carbapenem-resistant (CR) isolates has been recorded. Multidrug-resistance (MDR) among all
isolates and XDR among CR strains of the bacterium have risen significantly in the last four years.
A. baumannii imposes a great burden on medical systems worldwide. Surveillance of trends of antibiotic resistance provides a great deal of information needed for antimicrobial stewardship programmes ...nationwide. Clinical data from long-term, continuous surveillance on trends of antibiotic resistance of A. baumannii in Slovakia is missing. One hundred and forty-nine samples of A. baumannii were isolated over a period of four years. A panel of 19 antibiotics from seven antibiotic categories were tested for the bacterium’s susceptibility. Resistance results were evaluated, and the significance of patterns was estimated using simple linear regression analysis. All isolates were more than 85% resistant to at least 13 out of the 19 tested antibiotics. A significant rise in resistance was recorded for aminoglycosides and imipenem from 2019 to 2022. Colistin and ampicillin-sulbactam have been the only antibiotics maintaining more than 80% efficacy on the bacterium to date. A significant rise in extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains among carbapenem-resistant (CR) isolates has been recorded. Multidrug-resistance (MDR) among all A. baumannii isolates and XDR among CR strains of the bacterium have risen significantly in the last four years.
The surface treatment impact on corrosion resistance of the stainless steel AISI 316L welded by the TIG method is studied. Chemical and mechanical surface finishing changes its chemical composition, ...real size, energy and topography. The mentioned phenomena have great influence on corrosion resistance of the stainless steel which is caused by existence of stable, thin and well adherent passive layer. Because the quality of the passive film is strongly influenced by welding, the surface treatment is very important with regard to its susceptibility to local corrosion. Surfaces of the welded stainless steel were finished by the mechanical methods (grinding, garnet blasting) and chemical one (pickling). The properties of variously prepared surfaces were studied by SEM. Corrosion resistance was determined by the exposition test using for local corrosion evaluation and metallographic analysis. The experimental outcomes confirmed that the surface finishing has significant effect on the corrosion behavior of welded stainless steel AISI 316L. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
BACKGROUNDEnterococcus species account for most of the human enterococcal HAI and multidrug-resistant infections and have become a major threat to modern public health. We examine the rise in the ...number of vancomycin resistant E. faecium blood stream and urinary tract infections in a COVID-19 department during an epidemiologic outbreak investigation to detect and eliminate nosocomial clusters of the bacteria. METHODS Strain identification was performed by classical isolation and biochemical and cultivation methods. Antibiotic testing results were interpreted according to European committee on antimicrobial susceptibility testing (EUCAST) guidelines. Six isolated samples underwent the whole genome sequencing (WGS) during the outbreak investigation. Isolate relatedness was determined using the core genome multi-locus sequence typing. RESULTS WGS revealed two genotypically distinct VRE clusters, one of which had genetically closely related patients and environmental isolates. The cluster was terminated by enhanced infection control strategies. CONCLUSIONS This study provides the first description of an outbreak caused by vanB-ST117 and vanA-ST17 E. faecium strains among COVID-19 patients in Slovakia. This study can help to raise the awareness about the need for strict adherence to infection control measures and the implementation of rational antimicrobial stewardship as a routine part of COVID-19 management (Tab. 3, Fig. 3, Ref. 27). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, antibiotic resistant, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, bacterial outbreak, healthcare-associated infection.
This work deals with impact of the surface treatment on corrosion resistance of the stainless steel AISI 316L welded by the TIG method. Chemical and mechanical treatment changes chemical composition, ...component size, surface free energy and topography of surface. These specifications have a great influence on corrosion resistance of the stainless steel which is caused by existence of stable, thin and well adherent passive layer. Surfaces of the welded stainless steel were modified by two mechanical treatment methods (grinding, garnet blasting) and one chemical (pickling). The properties of variously prepared surfaces were studied by SEM. Corrosion behaviour of the specimens with different surface treatment was investigated by exposition tests in the 6% FeCl3 solution and also by the electrochemical polarization in the NaCl solution.
The main aim of this work is to monitor the surface treatment impact on the corrosion resistance of the welded stainless steel AISI 316L to local corrosion forms. The excellent corrosion resistance ...of austenitic stainless steel is caused by the existence of stable, thin and well adhering passive layer which quality is strongly influenced by welding. Therefore surface treatment of stainless steel is very important with regard to its local corrosion susceptibility. Surfaces of welded stainless steel were treated by various mechanical methods (grinding, garnet blasting). Surface properties were studied by SEM, corrosion resistance was evaluated after exposition tests in chlorides environment using weight and metalographic analysis. The experimental outcomes confirmed that the mechanical finishing has significant effect on the corrosion behavior of welded stainless steel AISI 316L. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Oxidative damage is considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis of several diseases, such as diabetes mellitus (DM), atherosclerosis, cardiovascular complications and chronic renal ...failure. DM is associated with the oxidative stress and formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Different drugs inhibit oxidative stress and formation of advanced glycation end products. Aminoguanidine (AG) has been proposed as a drug of potential benefit in prophylaxis of the complications of DM. Recent reports show a pro-oxidant activity of AG. Therefore we examined the effect of structural analogue of AG, its Schiff base with pyridoxal-pyridoxylidene aminoguanidine (PAG) on the level of selected markers of oxidative stress. We found that PAG decreased total damage to DNA in controls as well as in diabetic group of rats. However, we also found that PAG supplementation increases susceptibility of lipoproteins to oxidation and formation of conjugated dienes in both, diabetic as well as control animals. Its administration to diabetic rats decreases antioxidant capacity of plasma. Therefore, it is necessary to search for other structural modifications of AG that would combine its higher anti-diabetic activity with less toxicity.
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