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Volume 24, Number 9—September 2018
Perspective

Ethics of Infection Control Measures for Carriers of Antimicrobial Drug–Resistant Organisms

Babette RumpComments to Author , Aura TimenComments to Author , Marlies Hulscher, and Marcel Verweij
Author affiliations: The Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands (B. Rump, A. Timen); Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands (M. Hulscher); Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands (M. Verweij)

Main Article

Table 1

Detailed information from 227 consultations about antimicrobial-resistant organisms, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Bilthoven, the Netherlands, January 1, 2008–January 16, 2016*

Characteristic
 No. (%)
Type of multidrug-resistant organism
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus 177 (78)
Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci 18 (8)
Extended-spectrum β-lactamase 9 (4)
Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing Enterobactericeae 5 (2)
Unknown
 18 (8)
Setting
Long-term care facilities 61 (27)
Paramedical facilities 23 (10)
Home-care facilities 14 (6)
Rehabilitation centers 5 (2)
Carriage among healthcare workers 50 (22)
Social interaction of healthcare workers 32 (14)
Other 42 (19)

*In the Netherlands, 25 regional Public Health Services (PHS) are in charge of communicable disease control. Healthcare institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes have a responsibility to detect, monitor, and control outbreaks within their facility and report these to the PHS. The PHS assists healthcare institutions and professionals and provides advice on the basis of national guidelines. In turn, the Centre for Infectious Disease Control of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) acts as national public health authority; it develops and publishes national guidelines and offers support in outbreak management including a 24-hour consultation helpdesk for PHS and other health professionals. The center is consulted by PHS professionals >1,000 times/y about a variety of cases of notifiable diseases, outbreaks, and incidents that occur in the community (15,17,18). Since 2008, all consultations have been anonymously registered in a database. During the 8-year study period, RIVM registered 227 consultations associated with carriage of multidrug-resistant organisms that needed national guidance.

Main Article

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Page created: August 28, 2018
Page updated: August 28, 2018
Page reviewed: August 28, 2018
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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