Objective:To analyze the short-term hospital-based transmission characteristics and gene variation of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) by genome-wide technique to provide evidence for transmission control. Methods:The experimental strain was derived from all the CRKP isolated in Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology from October 2022 to December 2023. Strain identification and drug susceptibility were tested with VITEK 2-Compact automatic bacterial identification drug susceptibility analyzer or disk method, and the results were interpreted through whole genome sequencing. The ST type, carbapenem resistance gene, virulence factor, and O serotype of the collected strains were analyzed.Results:Among the 115 strains of CRKP, 94 strains were isolated from the intensive care unit (ICU), accounting for 81.7%, and 21 strains were isolated from the non-intensive care unit (NICU), accounting for 18.3%. The 115 strains of CRKP can be divided into 11 ST types, of which ST11 type was the most (54.8%, 63/115), followed by ST15 type (22.6%, 26/115) and ST5492 type (15.7%, 18/115). Type ST5492 was a new clonal group in the region. The 115 strains of CRKP could be divided into 7 O serotypes, most of which were O2a type(32.2%,37/115), followed by O5 type(30.4%,35/115) and O1 type(27.8%,32/115). The resistance genes of carbapenem antibiotics showed that there were 107 strains carrying the blaKPC-2 gene, one strain with the blaNDM-1 gene, and one strain with both the blaKPC-2 and blaNDM-13 genes. Virulence genes were detected in 55 CRKP strains (47.8%, 55/115), among which six strains detected peg-344, iucA, iroB, rmpA, and rmpA2 virulence genes (5.2%, 6/115). Four virulence genes ( peg-344, iucA, rmpA, and rmpA2) were detected in 34 strains (29.6%, 34/115). Three virulence genes ( iucA, iroB and rmpA) were detected in two strains (1.7%, 2/115). Three virulence genes ( peg-344, iucA and rmpA) were detected in one strain (0.8%, 1/115). IucA and rmpA virulence genes were detected in 12 strains (10.4%, 12/115). KPC-2_ST11_O2a, KPC-2_ST15_O1 and KPC-2_ST5492_O5 were dominant clones, and their distribution was mainly in the intensive care unit. The whole genome sequence analysis showed that there were three dominant clones, among which ST11 clones were subdivided into three dominant O serotypes, all of which were mainly in the intensive care unit. Conclusion:The popular strain in the hospital of CRKP is a KPC-2_ST11 clone group carrying iucA, rmpA/rmpA2, with cross-department transmission and mutation. ST5492 is a newly-launched clone type. The intensive care unit of hvKP carrying five virulence genes, including peg-344, should be alert to the epidemic risk of CR-hvKP outbreak.

Objective:To analyze the short-term hospital-based transmission characteristics and gene variation of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) by genome-wide technique to provide evidence for transmission control. Methods:The experimental strain was derived from all the CRKP isolated in Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology from October 2022 to December 2023. Strain identification and drug susceptibility were tested with VITEK 2-Compact automatic bacterial identification drug susceptibility analyzer or disk method, and the results were interpreted through whole genome sequencing. The ST type, carbapenem resistance gene, virulence factor, and O serotype of the collected strains were analyzed.Results:Among the 115 strains of CRKP, 94 strains were isolated from the intensive care unit (ICU), accounting for 81.7%, and 21 strains were isolated from the non-intensive care unit (NICU), accounting for 18.3%. The 115 strains of CRKP can be divided into 11 ST types, of which ST11 type was the most (54.8%, 63/115), followed by ST15 type (22.6%, 26/115) and ST5492 type (15.7%, 18/115). Type ST5492 was a new clonal group in the region. The 115 strains of CRKP could be divided into 7 O serotypes, most of which were O2a type(32.2%,37/115), followed by O5 type(30.4%,35/115) and O1 type(27.8%,32/115). The resistance genes of carbapenem antibiotics showed that there were 107 strains carrying the blaKPC-2 gene, one strain with the blaNDM-1 gene, and one strain with both the blaKPC-2 and blaNDM-13 genes. Virulence genes were detected in 55 CRKP strains (47.8%, 55/115), among which six strains detected peg-344, iucA, iroB, rmpA, and rmpA2 virulence genes (5.2%, 6/115). Four virulence genes ( peg-344, iucA, rmpA, and rmpA2) were detected in 34 strains (29.6%, 34/115). Three virulence genes ( iucA, iroB and rmpA) were detected in two strains (1.7%, 2/115). Three virulence genes ( peg-344, iucA and rmpA) were detected in one strain (0.8%, 1/115). IucA and rmpA virulence genes were detected in 12 strains (10.4%, 12/115). KPC-2_ST11_O2a, KPC-2_ST15_O1 and KPC-2_ST5492_O5 were dominant clones, and their distribution was mainly in the intensive care unit. The whole genome sequence analysis showed that there were three dominant clones, among which ST11 clones were subdivided into three dominant O serotypes, all of which were mainly in the intensive care unit. Conclusion:The popular strain in the hospital of CRKP is a KPC-2_ST11 clone group carrying iucA, rmpA/rmpA2, with cross-department transmission and mutation. ST5492 is a newly-launched clone type. The intensive care unit of hvKP carrying five virulence genes, including peg-344, should be alert to the epidemic risk of CR-hvKP outbreak.

Objective:To analyze the drug resistance characteristics of Klebsiella pneumoniae in the nasopharynx of hospitalized patients in North China from 2022 to 2023. Methods:From November 2022 to July 2023, nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 100 inpatients in Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology, and Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated and cultured. At the same time, the clinical data of the patients were collected, including gender, age, department, clinical diagnosis of disease type, etc. The minimum inhibitory concentration of strains was detected by an automatic bacterial drug sensitivity system. The drug resistance genes, ST types, capsule serotypes and population structure of the strains were analyzed by whole genome sequencing and data analysis. Results:Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from 55 nasopharyngeal swabs of 100 inpatients(55.00%). Among the 55 inpatients with Klebsiella pneumoniae in the nasopharynx, 70.91% (39/55) were male, with an age distribution concentrated between 61 and 80 years old (58.18%, 32/55), and 50.91% (28/55) were in intensive care units (ICU). The main underlying disease type was nervous system disease (49.09%, 27/55). The results of drug sensitivity showed that the non-susceptibility rates of 55 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae to cephalosporins, quinolones, aztreonam and nitrofurantoin were all more than 80.00%. Twenty-eight carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains (50.91%), 47 extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing strains (85.45%), and 48 multi-drug-resistant strains (87.27%) were detected. A total of 11 antibiotic resistance genes were detected, including carbapenems (carrying rate 76.36%) and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (carrying rate 96.36%). The 55 strains could be divided into 17 ST types, and the most common type was ST11 (25.45%). The 55 strains were divided into 18 capsular serotypes, among which K102 was the most prevalent (23.64%). OXA-1_ST307_K102 (21.82%) and KPC-2_ST5492_K125 (18.18%) were the dominant clones, distributed in the Department of Neurosurgery and ICU. The result of whole genome sequence analysis showed that there were four clusters with high homology among the 55 strains. The strains from the ICU formed two independent clusters, and strains from the Neurology ICU and Neurosurgery department formed one cluster respectively. Conclusion:The carrying rate of Klebsiella pneumoniae in the nasopharynx of inpatients is high, and the drug resistance of the strains is serious. There are many types of drug-resistant genes.

Objective:To analyze the drug resistance characteristics of Klebsiella pneumoniae in the nasopharynx of hospitalized patients in North China from 2022 to 2023. Methods:From November 2022 to July 2023, nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 100 inpatients in Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology, and Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated and cultured. At the same time, the clinical data of the patients were collected, including gender, age, department, clinical diagnosis of disease type, etc. The minimum inhibitory concentration of strains was detected by an automatic bacterial drug sensitivity system. The drug resistance genes, ST types, capsule serotypes and population structure of the strains were analyzed by whole genome sequencing and data analysis. Results:Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from 55 nasopharyngeal swabs of 100 inpatients(55.00%). Among the 55 inpatients with Klebsiella pneumoniae in the nasopharynx, 70.91% (39/55) were male, with an age distribution concentrated between 61 and 80 years old (58.18%, 32/55), and 50.91% (28/55) were in intensive care units (ICU). The main underlying disease type was nervous system disease (49.09%, 27/55). The results of drug sensitivity showed that the non-susceptibility rates of 55 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae to cephalosporins, quinolones, aztreonam and nitrofurantoin were all more than 80.00%. Twenty-eight carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains (50.91%), 47 extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing strains (85.45%), and 48 multi-drug-resistant strains (87.27%) were detected. A total of 11 antibiotic resistance genes were detected, including carbapenems (carrying rate 76.36%) and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (carrying rate 96.36%). The 55 strains could be divided into 17 ST types, and the most common type was ST11 (25.45%). The 55 strains were divided into 18 capsular serotypes, among which K102 was the most prevalent (23.64%). OXA-1_ST307_K102 (21.82%) and KPC-2_ST5492_K125 (18.18%) were the dominant clones, distributed in the Department of Neurosurgery and ICU. The result of whole genome sequence analysis showed that there were four clusters with high homology among the 55 strains. The strains from the ICU formed two independent clusters, and strains from the Neurology ICU and Neurosurgery department formed one cluster respectively. Conclusion:The carrying rate of Klebsiella pneumoniae in the nasopharynx of inpatients is high, and the drug resistance of the strains is serious. There are many types of drug-resistant genes.

Objective:To analyze the genomic epidemiological subtyping of carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) isolated from a Third-class A hospital in Zhengzhou. Methods:From December 4, 2019 to January 10, 2020, 67 strains of CRKP were isolated from the samples submitted by the clinical departments of a Third-class A teaching hospital in Zhengzhou for microbiological testing. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and carbapenem resistance genes were identified by whole genome sequencing and sequence analysis. Based on the whole genome SNP, the phylogenetic tree was constructed, and 67 CRKP strains were divided into clonal groups. The isolation ward and date of each clone group were analyzed.Results:Sixty-seven CRKP strains were classified into four MLST types (STs), of which 64 were ST11. There were 62 ST11 strains carrying blaKPC-2 gene. Based on genome-wide SNP phylogenetic tree, 64 ST11 strains were divided into four clone groups, two of which were dominant clone groups, including 33 and 27 strains respectively; the other two clone groups only contained 2 strains respectively. There was no aggregation of the dominant clones in the isolation department and date. Conclusion:Multiple clonal groups of ST11 strain carrying blaKPC-2 gene are differentiated during spreading, and they can spread in parallel and independently in the same hospital.

Objective:To analyze the genomic epidemiological subtyping of carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) isolated from a Third-class A hospital in Zhengzhou. Methods:From December 4, 2019 to January 10, 2020, 67 strains of CRKP were isolated from the samples submitted by the clinical departments of a Third-class A teaching hospital in Zhengzhou for microbiological testing. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and carbapenem resistance genes were identified by whole genome sequencing and sequence analysis. Based on the whole genome SNP, the phylogenetic tree was constructed, and 67 CRKP strains were divided into clonal groups. The isolation ward and date of each clone group were analyzed.Results:Sixty-seven CRKP strains were classified into four MLST types (STs), of which 64 were ST11. There were 62 ST11 strains carrying blaKPC-2 gene. Based on genome-wide SNP phylogenetic tree, 64 ST11 strains were divided into four clone groups, two of which were dominant clone groups, including 33 and 27 strains respectively; the other two clone groups only contained 2 strains respectively. There was no aggregation of the dominant clones in the isolation department and date. Conclusion:Multiple clonal groups of ST11 strain carrying blaKPC-2 gene are differentiated during spreading, and they can spread in parallel and independently in the same hospital.

Background: Diabetes can complicate hypertension management by increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. Studies targeting diabetes detection in hypertensive individuals demonstrating an increased risk of diabetes are lacking.We aimed to assess the performance of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and its cut-off point in detecting diabetes in the abovementioned population. Methods: Data from 4,096 community-dwellers with hypertension but without known diabetes were obtained from the Study on Evaluation of iNnovated Screening tools and determInation of optimal diagnostic cut-off points for type 2 diaBetes in Chinese muLti-Ethnic (SENSIBLE) study; these data were randomly split into exploration (70% of the sample) and internal validation (the remaining 30%) datasets. The optimal HbA1c cut-off point was derived from the exploration dataset and externally validated using another dataset from 2,431 hypertensive individuals. The oral glucose tolerance test was considered the goldstandard for confirming diabetes. Results: The areas under the ROC curves for HbA1c to detect diabetes were 0.842, 0.832, and 0.829 for the exploration, internal validation, and external validation datasets, respectively. An optimal HbA1c cut-off point of 5.8% (40 mmol/mol) yielded a sensitivity of 76.2% and a specificity of 74.5%. Individuals who were not diagnosed as having diabetes by HbA1c at 5.8% (40 mmol/mol) had a lower 10-year CVD risk score than those diagnosed as having diabetes (P = 0.01). HbA1c ≤ 5.1% (32 mmol/mol) and ≥ 6.4% (46 mmol/mol) could indicate the absence and presence of diabetes, respectively. Conclusions HbA1c could detect diabetes effectively in community-dwellers with hypertension.

The laboratory medicine is aimed to support clinical decisions and patient health by providing accurate results. The internal statistical quality control (SQC) can help laboratories detecting the instability of the analytical system and preventing laboratories from reporting the patient results with medically important errors, so it is essential to ensure the quality of testing results and patient safety. The traditional methods of designing SQC strategy are based on the probability of error detection (P_ed) and the probability of false rejection (P_fr). With the introduction of risk management concepts, the design of SQC strategy began to be based on the patient risk parameter [MaxE(N_uf)] proposed by Parvin, which means the maximum increase in the number of unacceptable patient results reported compared to the in-control condition during the existence of an undetected out-of control error condition. MaxE(N_uf) is related to the SQC frequency and patient risk, which is very essential for optimizing the SQC frequency and designing a risk-based SQC strategy.

Two decades have passed since the first bacterial whole-genome sequencing, which provides new opportunity for microbial genome. Consequently, considerable genetic diversity encoded by bacterial genomes and among the strains in the same species has been revealed. In recent years, genome sequencing techniques and bioinformatics have developed rapidly, which has resulted in transformation and expedited the application of strategy and methodology for bacterial genome comparison used in dissection of infectious disease epidemics. Bacterial whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatic computing allow genotyping to satisfy the requirements of epidemiological study in disease control. In this review, we outline the significance and summarize the roles of bacterial genome sequencing in the context of bacterial disease control and prevention.We discuss the applications of bacterial genome sequencing in outbreak detection, source tracing, transmission mode discovery, and new epidemic clone identification. Wide applications of genome sequencing and data sharing in infectious disease surveillance networks will considerably promote outbreak detection and early warning to prevent the dissemination of bacterial diseases.
Bacteria ; genetics ; Bacterial Infections ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; transmission ; Bacterial Typing Techniques ; Disease Outbreaks ; prevention & control ; Genome, Bacterial ; Genotype ; Humans ; Population Surveillance ; Whole Genome Sequencing

Objective To investigate the status of blood specimen acceptability for clinical chemistry tests in routine medical laboratories of China. Methods The questionnaires were assigned to the laboratories which participated in the routine chemistry exter-nal quality assessment (EQA) programs proposed by National Health Commission for Clinical Laboratory. The questionnaires included general information of participants and information about unacceptable blood specimens. Participants were required to record all the in-formation concerning unacceptable blood specimen received from 1stto 31stJuly, 2017. The data from each laboratory were reported and collected via special online system.Results A total of 866 valid questionnaires were collected.Of 15 981 752 specimens received dur-ing the data collection period unqualified 122 00 specimens were rejected with overall rejection rate of 0.076%. The main reasons for unacceptable specimens were hemolysis (33.98%), insufficient specimen quantity (10.78%) and chylemia/lipemia (10.62%). The rejected specimens were related to the original laboratories, types of container and specimen, transportation manner and operating staff of blood collection. Conclusion Certain problems existed in the receiving and management system for unqualified blood specimen in our country and remaining to be perfected. The clinical laboratories should pay more attention for pre-examination stage, including routinely monitoring unacceptable specimens, analyzing related data at the most possible granular levels, identifying the main problem and taking effective measures.