Publikationen

Complete genome sequence of Pediococcus pentosaceus 13.7 2A-1 isolated from a Holstein Friesian dairy cattle

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Complete genome sequence of Pediococcus pentosaceus 13.7 2A-1 isolated from a Holstein Friesian dairy cattle Mariani Corea, Nadine; Titgemeyer, Fritz; Wachtarczyk, Jennifer; Meyer, Frank; Fischer, Sebastian W. Pediococcus pentosaceus was isolated from a Holstein Friesian dairy cattle from a conventionally operated farm. The complete genome of strain P. pentosaceus 13.7 2A-1 comprises 1.84 Mbp and 1,746 protein-coding sequences. The decoded genome sequence will serve to further study the strain for its use in food fermentation and foodsafety.

Drinking Water and Sanitation Safety Planning for Medical Facilities

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Drinking Water and Sanitation Safety Planning for Medical Facilities Kamm, Lara; Hagen, Ralf M.; Mutters, Nico T.; Schmithausen, Ricarda M.; Weppler, Ruth; Döhla, Manuel Drinking Water Safety Plans (DWSP) in buildings serve to identify health hazards associated with the drinking water system. Sanitation Safety Plans (SSP) fulfill the same purpose for the sewage system. Water Safety Plans (WSP) include DWSPs, SSPs, and water systems like gray water and firefighting water. WSPs are based on a high-quality description of the water systems. This paper presents a new methodology for describing water systems. In contrast to previous approaches, the system description begins at the point where the water is consumed. These points of use are described using ecomaps, which are then supplemented with information about the pipe network. This approach makes it possible to fulfill four relevant premises: (1) the system description includes all essential parts of the drinking water installation, (2) the system description is possible with usual equipment, (3) the system description can be carried out with the least possible additional personnel costs, and (4) the system description is controllable, versionable, changeable, and forgery-proof. The ecomaps created in this way are suitable for the next step within the WSP framework, namely hazard and risk assessment. In addition, the ecomaps can be integrated into a quality, occupational safety, or environmental management system. Aspects of water security can be added to enable the ecomaps to be used as the basis for a total integrated water management system.

Quality Management Outweighs Pandemic

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Quality Management Outweighs Pandemic Jakoby, Lena; Molitor, Ernst; Mutters, Nico T.; Weppler, Ruth; Rauschning, Dominic; Döhla, Manuel Background: Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) is of great clinical relevance, as it is the most common type of bacteremia. Several studies show that the quality of care and thus the outcome can be positively influenced by the involvement of infectious disease specialists and structured programs like Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS). In 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic occurred, which dominated the healthcare system and global events during this time. At the same time, a standard operational procedure (SOP) for SAB quality management (SABQM) was introduced in a German maximum-care hospital with 500 beds. Additionally, voluntary AMS team consultations were introduced in June 2021. This work addresses whether the introduction of SABQM has led to an improvement in the quality of care for SAB, despite the possible negative influences of the pandemic. Methods: Retrospective statistical analyses were conducted on all 145 cases coded as SAB at this hospital during the "pre-pandemic2 period (2017 to 2019, 75 cases) and the pandemic period (2020 to 2022, 70 cases). Population parameters and quality management parameters were extracted from the clinical patient documentation. In a first analysis, the SARS-CoV-2 status served as a discriminatory parameter to determine its influence on the quality of care within the "pandemic period". In a second analysis, the period served as a discriminatory parameter to determine its influence on the quality of care. In a third analysis, the use of AMS team consultation served as a discriminatory parameter to determine its influence on the quality of care in a subgroup of 42 cases from June 2021 to 2022. Results: The SARS-CoV-2 status had no influence on the population parameters or the quality management parameters. Between both analyzed periods, there was an improvement in the quality management parameters, with statistically significant higher rates of follow-up blood cultures, transthoracic echocardiography and adequate antibiotic therapy. AMS team consultation led to a relevant, but not statistically significant improvement in the quality management indicators. Conclusions: An SOP for SABQM leads to an improvement in the quality of care, even under the possible negative influences of a pandemic. AMS team consultations further strengthen this positive influence, even if this is not statistically significant due to the small number of cases in the subgroup analyzed.

Epidemiology and outcomes of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus infections

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Epidemiology and outcomes of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus infections Eichel, Vanessa M.; Last, Katharina; Brühwasser, Christina; Baum, Heike von; Dettenkofer, Markus; Götting, Tim; Grundmann, Hajo; Güldenhöven, Hanna; Liese, Jan; Martin, Maria; Papan, Cihan; Sadaghiani, Catharina; Wendt, Constanze; Werner, Guido; Mutters, Nico Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) cause many infections in the healthcare context. Knowledge regarding the epidemiology and burden of VRE infections, however, remains fragmented. We aimed to summarize recent studies on VRE epidemiology and outcomes in hospitals, long-term-care facilities (LTCFs) and nursing homes worldwide based on current epidemiological reports. We searched MEDLINE/PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for observational studies, which reported on VRE faecium and faecalis infections in in-patients published between January 2014 and December 2020. Outcomes were incidence, infection rate, mortality, length of stay (LOS), and healthcare costs. We conducted a meta-analysis on mortality (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020146389). Of 681 identified publications, 57 studies were included in the analysis. Overall quality of evidence was moderate to low. VRE incidence was rarely and heterogeneously reported. VRE infection rate differed highly (1e55%). The meta-analysis showed a higher mortality for VRE faecium bloodstream infections (BSIs) compared with VSE faecium BSIs (risk ratio, RR 1.46; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17e1.82). No difference was observed when comparing VRE faecium vs VRE faecalis BSI (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.52e1.93). LOS was higher in BSIs caused by E. faecium vs E. faecalis. Only three studies reported healthcare costs. In contrast to previous findings, our meta-analysis of included studies indicates that vancomycin resistance independent of VRE species may be associated with a higher mortality. We identified a lack of standardization in reporting outcomes, information regarding healthcare costs, and state-of-the-art microbiological species identification methodology, which may inform the set-up and reporting of future studies.