Vincenza La Fauci

Prevalence of serum anti-rubella virus antibodies among pregnant women in southern Italy.

To determine the prevalence of anti‐rubella virus antibodies and the level of knowledge about congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) among pregnant women living in southern Italy.

Congenital rubella syndrome and immunity status of immigrant women living in southern Italy: a cross-sectional, seroepidemiological investigation.

OBJECTIVES A National Programme to eliminate Measles and Congenital Rubella was implemented in Italy in 2003. It aimed to achieve elimination by 2010 in line with the targets set by the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of rubella antibodies in samples of immigrant women living in southern Italy. METHOD A seroepidemiologic study was conducted from 1 January 2008 to June 30 2009. 489 immigrant women resident in Messina were enrolled in the study. The detection of rubella antibodies was performed using a microparticle enzyme immunoassay. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic data including age, country of origin, educational level and knowledge about rubella. RESULTS The results of the seroepidemiological survey to detect rubella antibodies showed an overall seropositivity rate of 82.2%. Generally, knowledge about rubella and congenital rubella syndrome was lacking. CONCLUSION Many immigrants are susceptible to rubella and may benefit from vaccination programmes. Additional catch-up vaccination strategies are urgently needed to eliminate the risk of congenital rubella syndrome for future generations.

An Innovative Approach to Hospital Sanitization Using Probiotics: In Vitro and Field Trials

Background: The nosocomial infections continue to be a problem, even in hospitals where meticulous sanitization procedures are in place. The most commonly used methods employ chemical disinfectants which carry some disadvantages. Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of an innovative sanitization procedure using probiotic bacteria based on the principle of biological competition: Probiotic Cleaning Hygiene System (PCHS). Methods: The study included survival tests and in vitro and field trials. The in vitro trials tested three surfaces (washbasin, floor and desk) in the absence of recontamination. Field trials were carried out in order to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics in the presence of contaminants and to study whether probiotics are able to contain pathogens over time. Samples were taken from the floor in a corridor and an inpatient room and the dispensary washbasin twice daily (pre-sanitization and post-sanitization). Results: The in vitro tests on three surfaces, not subject to recontamination, resulted in an average reduction ranging from 92.2% to 99.9% after 24 h. From field trials it emerged that the bacterial count was totally eliminated for Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans and almost 100% elimination of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii e Klebsiella pneumoniae on all three surfaces after only six hours even when recontaminated. However, less satisfactory results were attained for Staphylococcus aureus. Conclusion: PCHS acts constantly and is durable over time due to the stabilization of a biofilm which is able to reduce and contain the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms. Probiotics are therefore effective innovative products to sanitize the hospital environment.

The Possible Role of Mobile Phones in Spreading Microorganisms inHospitals

Mobile phones belonging to healthcare workers and inpatients represent a potential source of microorganisms, some being well-known sources of hospital infections. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of contamination of the hands and mobile phones of healthcare workers and inpatients. The study comprised 200 healthcare workers and 100 inpatients of the University Hospital in Messina (Italy) between April 1 and June 31, 2013. Bacterial contamination was detected on 230 mobile phones (76.6%) and on 250 hands (83.3%). The most frequently isolated bacteria belonged to the Staphylococcus genus. For hospital staff, 78% of mobile phones and 86% of hands were found to be contaminated. Similar results were obtained for inpatients whose mobile phones tested positive in 74% of cases, while for hands the rate was 78%. These findings are in line with international literature and demonstrate that routine everyday use of mobile phones by healthcare workers and inpatients represents an important vehicle of contamination since potentially pathogenic agents, capable of causing nosocomial infections, can pass from the telephone to the hands and vice versa.

Reducing healthcare-associated infections incidence by a probiotic-based sanitation system: a multicentre, prospective, intervention study

Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) are a global concern, further threatened by the increasing drug resistance of HAI-associated pathogens. On the other hand, persistent contamination of hospital surfaces contributes to HAI transmission, and it is not efficiently controlled by conventional cleaning, which does not prevent recontamination, has a high environmental impact and can favour selection of drug-resistant microbial strains. In the search for effective approaches, an eco-sustainable probiotic-based cleaning system (Probiotic Cleaning Hygiene System, PCHS) was recently shown to stably abate surface pathogens, without selecting antibiotic-resistant species. The aim of this study was to determine whether PCHS application could impact on HAI incidence. A multicentre, pre-post interventional study was performed for 18 months in the Internal Medicine wards of six Italian public hospitals (January 1st 2016—June 30th 2017). The intervention consisted of the substitution of conventional sanitation with PCHS, maintaining unaltered any other procedure influencing HAI control. HAI incidence in the pre and post-intervention period was the main outcome measure. Surface bioburden was also analyzed in parallel. Globally, 11,842 patients and 24,875 environmental samples were surveyed. PCHS was associated with a significant decrease of HAI cumulative incidence from a global 4.8% (284 patients with HAI over 5,930 total patients) to 2.3% (128 patients with HAI over 5,531 total patients) (OR = 0.44, CI 95% 0.35–0.54) (P<0.0001). Concurrently, PCHS was associated with a stable decrease of surface pathogens, compared to conventional sanitation (mean decrease 83%, range 70–96.3%), accompanied by a concurrent up to 2 Log drop of surface microbiota drug-resistance genes (P<0.0001; Pc = 0.008). Our study provides findings which support the impact of a sanitation procedure on HAI incidence, showing that the use of a probiotic-based environmental intervention can be associated with a significant decrease of the risk to contract a HAI during hospitalization. Once confirmed in larger experiences and other target populations, this eco-sustainable approach might be considered as a part of infection control and prevention (IPC) strategies. Trial registration—ISRCTN International Clinical Trials Registry, ISRCTN58986947.