Objectives: Laboratory-acquired infection (LAI) of SARS-CoV is well known, but MERS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 LAI has not yet been reported. Beginning last November, COVID-19 cases increased among laboratory staff at our 2,700-bed tertiary-care hospital. A 7-day home-quarantine policy for healthcare workers when household members were confirmed with SARS-COV-2 was lifted February 28. We investigated LAI and its risk factors. Methods: From March 21 to 25, all confirmed cases of COVID-19 among 176 laboratory staff were surveyed with questionnaire to collect the following data: symptom onset and period, SARS-CoV-2 PCR–positive sample date, age, sex, infection in household members, close contact with COVID-19 confirmed staff, work type, work unit, possibility of LAI and LAI risk factors. Results: In total, 54 laboratory staff (30.1%) were confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 infection; first 1 person on November 28 and 1 person on November 30, 2021, then 13 in February 2022 and 39 later in 2022. Overall, 22 cases had previously infected household members, and 9 cases suspected that they had had hospital contact with an infected patients through phlebotomy or bedside tests. In total, 25 cases of possible LAI mainly occurred in clusters of 3, 6, or 7 people through person-to-person transmission of a coworker who had an infected family member. The remaining 9 cases, including 1 sample receptionist, 2 urine analysis technicians, and 6 SARS-CoV-2 PCR test staff, may have been infected through an infected sample. However, person-to-person transmission was still possible because most shared a changing room and lounge in the same work unit. Conclusions: The most important cause of LAI is person-to-person transmission between coworkers; therefore, home quarantine is an effective measure to prevent LAI when a household member is infected wish SARS-CoV-2. Handling of infected specimens may be the second most common cause of LAI.

The risk factors of environmental contamination by SARS-CoV-2 are largely unknown. We analyzed 1,320 environmental samples obtained from COVID-19 patients over 1 year. The risk factors for contamination of COVID-19 patients’ surrounding environment were higher viral load in the respiratory tract and shorter duration from symptom onset to sample collection.

Background: Recently, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) have markedly increased, but no infection control policy has been established in South Korea. We investigated the current HAI surveillance system and executed a point-prevalence pilot study in LTCHs. Methods: HAIs were defined by newly established surveillance manual based on McGeer criteria revised in 2012. Three LTCHs in Seoul and Gyeonggi province were voluntarily recruited, and data were collected from up to 50 patients who were hospitalized on August 1. The medical records from September to November 2018 were retrospectively reviewed by a charge nurse for infection control per each hospitals after 1 day of training specific for LTCH surveillance. All data were reviewed by a senior researcher visiting onsite. Results: The participating hospitals had 272.33 ± 111.01 beds. Only 1 hospital had an onsite microbiological laboratory. In total, 156 patients were enrolled and 5 HAIs were detected, for a prevalence rate of 3.2%. The average patient age was 79.04 ± 9.92 years. The HAIs included 2 urinary tract infections, skin and soft-tissue infection, low respiratory infection, and conjunctivitis. Conclusions: This is the first survey of HAI in LTCHs in South Korea. The 3.2% prevalence rate is lower than those from previous reports from the European Union or the United States. This study supports the development of a national HAI surveillance and infection control system in LTCHs, although implementation may be limited due to the lack of laboratory support and infection control infrastructure in Korea.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a main pathogen causing community-acquired pneumonia in children and young adults. Since the emergence of macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae in the early 2000s in Japan, it has been increasingly reported worldwide as a growing problem in treatment for children. With increasing macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae and limited data regarding its characterization and molecular analysis, we investigated the dominant M. pneumoniae strains during the recent outbreak in South Korea, and evaluated if there was an association between a specific type and macrolide resistance. Between October 2014 and December 2016 in South Korea, 249 respiratory specimens obtained from patients with confirmed M. pneumoniae pneumonia were genotyped the P1 adhesin gene, and the mutations associated with resistance (A2063G and A2064G) were tested by sequencing the targeted domain V regions of the 23S ribosomal RNA gene. Results revealed that M. pneumoniae type 1 were predominant, which was strongly associated with macrolide-resistance during the whole study period. This is the first study assessing whether M. pneumoniae subtype is related to macrolide resistance during the outbreak of M. pneumoniae.

During the past decade, carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) has emerged and spread across the world.1 The major carbapenemase enzymes currently being reported are KPC, NDM-1, VIM, IMP, and OXA.2 Because carbapenemase can be effectively transmitted via mobile genetic elements, and current therapeutic options for CPE infections are extremely limited, CPE may be one of the most serious contemporary threats to public health. However, very little is known about the characteristics of CPE carriage during hospitalization. The aims of this study were to investigate the clearance rate of CPE carriage and determine the number of consecutive negative cultures required to confirm CPE clearance. We also examined CPE transmission among hospitalized patients.

Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;36(11):1361–1362

We investigated the neuropsychological profile of subjects in a subclinical obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) sample. Psychometrically defined subclinical obsessive-compulsive (n = 21) and control (n = 22) subjects were examined. Comprehensive neuropsychological tests evaluating verbal/nonverbal memory, attention, and executive function were administered. The subclinical obsessive-compulsive group showed poorer performances on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), F(1, 41) = 13.80, p < .001, and Trail-Making Test (TMT), F(1, 41) = 5.48, p < .05, compared with the control group. The subclinical obsessive-compulsive group showed higher rates of total errors, perseverative errors, and perseverative responses. In addition, the subclinical obsessive-compulsive group committed a greater number of errors in the TMT. However, the groups showed no performance differences in the TMT after controlling for the effects of depression and anxiety, F(1, 39) = 0.11, p = .739. These results suggest that subclinical obsessive-compulsives seemed to display deficits in executive functioning. This neuropsychological profile is consistent with current theories proposing that executive dysfunction may serve as the pathophysiological mechanism underlying the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder. (JINS, 2009, 15, 286–290.)