Possible Prevalence and Transmission of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections Caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae among the Internally Displaced Persons in Tsunami Disaster Evacuation Camps of Sri Lanka

Objective The objective of this prospective study was to investigate the status of acute respiratory tract infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae in tsunami disaster evacuation camps. Methods Nasopharyngeal swabs (NP) of 324 internally displaced persons (IDP) in 3 different tsunami disaster evacuation camps of Sri Lanka were collected between March 18th and 20th, 2005, and analyzed for MIC, β-lactamase production, serotypes, PCR and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results Many IDP had respiratory symptoms and the prevalence of cough and/or sputum was 84%, 70.5% and 64.7% in the three camps. Twenty-one H. influenzae from 20 IDP and 25 S. pneumoniae from 22 IDP were isolated from the NP. All H. influenzae isolates were nontypeable, and 5 were β-lactamase producing. Seventeen pneumococci were susceptible, 5 showed intermediate resistance and 3 were fully resistant to penicillin G. Molecular analysis showed the 21 H. influenzae strains had 13 PFGE patterns and 25 pneumococci had 16 PFGE patterns. All 4 different PFGE patterns of H. influenzae strains were detected in a few IDP in camps 1 and 3, and 5 different PFGE patterns of serotype 3, 22A, 9A, 10A and 11A pneumococci were detected in a few IDP in camps 1 and 3. Conclusion Our data indicate acute respiratory tract infections caused by various types of H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae appear to have been prevalent, some of which were potentially transmitted from person to person in tsunami disaster evacuation camps

Molecular Epidemiological Study of Moraxella catarrhalis Isolated from Nosocomial Respiratory Infection Patients in a Community Hospital in Japan

Background Moraxella catarrhalis, occasionally, plays the essential role in nosocomial respiratory infection (NRI). Few studies have reported the route by which this organism spreads in a nosocomial infection outbreak. We identified characteristics of the strains isolated from NRI and attempted to reveal the potential nosocomial transmission routes. Methods A follow-up study has been performed in a Japanese community hospital between July 2002 and January 2003. M. catarrhalis clinical isolates were identified and β-lactamase production test as well as the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) have been examined. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and the multi locus sequence typing method (MLST) have been introduced as the effective "fingerprinting" methods. Results A total of 29 strains were isolated from 17 participants; 7 independent DNA fragment patterns were detected by PFGE. Pattern B (defined in this study) was dominant, and was detected both in strains from a health care worker (HCW) and inpatients. In the 9 selected strains analyzed by MLST, 7 unique MLST types were identified, which showed the congruence with the results of PFGE results. Conclusion Epidemiological analysis proved the transmission route from patient to patient, and suggested that more studies should be focused on identifying the possible transmission route between HCWs and inpatients