Sphingomonas paucimobilis Bloodstream Infections Associated with Contaminated Intravenous Fentanyl1

Compounding pharmacies should be required to follow good manufacturing practices, including end-product sterility testing

Genome Sequence of Fusobacterium nucleatum Subspecies Polymorphum — a Genetically Tractable Fusobacterium

Fusobacterium nucleatum is a prominent member of the oral microbiota and is a common cause of human infection. F. nucleatum includes five subspecies: polymorphum, nucleatum, vincentii, fusiforme, and animalis. F. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum ATCC 10953 has been well characterized phenotypically and, in contrast to previously sequenced strains, is amenable to gene transfer. We sequenced and annotated the 2,429,698 bp genome of F. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum ATCC 10953. Plasmid pFN3 from the strain was also sequenced and analyzed. When compared to the other two available fusobacterial genomes (F. nucleatum subsp. nucleatum, and F. nucleatum subsp. vincentii) 627 open reading frames unique to F. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum ATCC 10953 were identified. A large percentage of these mapped within one of 28 regions or islands containing five or more genes. Seventeen percent of the clustered proteins that demonstrated similarity were most similar to proteins from the clostridia, with others being most similar to proteins from other gram-positive organisms such as Bacillus and Streptococcus. A ten kilobase region homologous to the Salmonella typhimurium propanediol utilization locus was identified, as was a prophage and integrated conjugal plasmid. The genome contains five composite ribozyme/transposons, similar to the CdISt IStrons described in Clostridium difficile. IStrons are not present in the other fusobacterial genomes. These findings indicate that F. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum is proficient at horizontal gene transfer and that exchange with the Firmicutes, particularly the Clostridia, is common

Factors Influencing COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in the Workplace: Results From a Rapid Survey at 2 Corporations in Los Angeles County, California, 2021

ObjectivesAchieving widespread vaccine acceptance across various employment sectors is key to a successful public health response to COVID-19, but little is known about factors influencing vaccine acceptance among essential non-health care workers. We examined factors influencing vaccine acceptance among a sample of essential non-health care workers in California.MethodsWe conducted a survey in early spring 2021 at 2 corporations in Los Angeles County, California, to identify and describe factors influencing vaccine acceptance and the ability of incentives to increase this acceptance. We used modified Poisson regression analysis to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios and a best-subset selection algorithm to identify the strongest factors influencing vaccine acceptance.ResultsOf 678 workers who completed the survey, 450 were unvaccinated. Among unvaccinated participants, having trust in information about the vaccine from public health experts, having ≥1 chronic health condition related to COVID-19 severity, being Asian, and perceiving risk for COVID-19 were factors that most influenced vaccine acceptance. Most (271 of 296, 91.6%) participants who had trust in information from public health experts and 30.6% (30 of 98) of participants who did not have trust in information from public health experts said that they would accept the vaccine. Seventeen of 24 (70.8%) vaccine-hesitant workers who had trust in information from public health experts and 12 of 72 (16.7%) vaccine-hesitant workers who did not have trust in this information said that they would be more likely to accept the vaccine if an incentive were offered.ConclusionsEfforts to increase vaccine coverage at workplaces should focus on improving trust in the vaccine and increasing public awareness that the vaccine is free