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Epidemiology of Non-fermenting Gram-negative Bacilli

Learn more about the epidemiology of non-fermenting gram negative bacilli through the use of two studies.
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Nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli(NFGNB) are implicated in numerous infections, particularly in healthcare settings. You will discover other aspects of the epidemiology of non-fermenters, which differ depending on the offending NFGNB and the infection concerned.

The spread of infections caused by NFGNB is increasing, and their ubiquitous nature and antimicrobial resistance favours this spread. Numerous epidemiological studies exist that look into the role of non-fermenters in certain infections.

Non-fermenters and Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

A 10-year epidemiological study, at the Institute of Clinical Microbiology, into the incidence of NFGNB in UTIs in the southern region of Hungary observed the following:

  • NFGNB have epidemiological importance as pathogens, with NFGNB found in 3.46% ± 0.93% and 6.43% ± 0.81% of all positive urine samples – for outpatients and inpatients respectively.
  • Of the pathogenic NFGNB, Pseudomonas spp. and Acinetobacter spp. had the highest rates, being found in 78.7% and 19.6% of NFGNB positive samples.
The link to the full article about this study can be found in the see also section below.

Non-fermenters and Bacteraemia

The term bacteraemia refers to bloodstream infections, i.e. sepsis, caused by bacterial pathogens. The incidence of bacteraemia caused by NFGNB is rising globally. An observational year-long study, at a university hospital in Thailand, looked at the epidemiology of bacteraemia caused by “uncommon NFGNB” and found that:
  • 223 clinical isolates of NFGNB were seen in 221 patients.
  • A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa were seen most frequently with rates of 32.7% and 27.8%, respectively. Following this, bacteraemia caused by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, A. lwoffii, and Burkholderia pseudomallei were the next most common (5.4%, 4.9% and 2.7% respectively).
  • The percentage of infection-related mortality was 17.4% for bacteraemia caused by the uncommon NFGNB; this increases to 63.0% and 40.3%, respectively, for bacteraemia where A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa were isolated.
The link to the full article about this study can be found in the see also section below.

Such studies also investigated resistance patterns in NFGNB, and the change in resistance levels over the years. The mechanisms mediating this resistance will be covered in the next step.

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Challenges in Antibiotic Resistance: Non-Fermenting Gram Negative Bacteria

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