As international travel is rapidly increasing, more people are being exposed to potentially more antibiotic resistant bacteria, a changed infectious disease epidemiology, and an increased risk of accidents and crime. Research-based advice is needed to adequately inform travellers about these risks. We studied travellers who sought advice from the Travel Medicine Clinic at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Umeå University Hospital, as well as university students from Umeå, Stockholm, and Gothenburg travelling abroad for study, research, and clinical exchange programs. From retrospective data at the Travel Medicine Clinic, we found that pre-existing health problems were rare among travellers from Umeå seeking pre- travel health advice and vaccinations. In addition, we found that the travel destination and the sex of the traveller affected vaccination levels. Although hepatitis A is endemic to both Thailand and Turkey, compared to travellers to Thailand few travellers to Turkey visited the clinic for hepatitis A vaccination. The data also revealed that more women than men were vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis despite comparable trips. A prospective survey study showed that travellers felt that the pre-travel health advice they received was helpful. Two-thirds of the travellers followed the advice given although they still fell ill to the same extent as those who were not compliant with the advice. Factors outside the control of travellers likely affect the travel-related morbidity. Compared to older travellers, younger travellers were less compliant with advice, fell ill to a greater extent, and took greater risks during travel. In a prospective survey study, we found that healthcare students had higher illness rates and risk exposure when abroad compared to students from other disciplines. This difference was mainly due to the fact that healthcare students more often travelled to developing regions during their study period abroad. When abroad, half of all students increased their alcohol consumption and this was linked to an increased risk of theft and higher likelihood of meeting a new sex partner. The healthcare students participating in the survey study also submitted stool samples before and after travel. These samples were tested for the presence of antibiotic resistance, both by selective culturing for ESBL-PE (Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Producing Enterobacteriaceae) as well as by metagenomic sequencing. About one-third (35%) of the students became colonised by ESBL-PE following their study abroad. The strongest risk factor for colonisation was travel destination; for example, 70% of students who had travelled to India became colonised. Antibiotic treatment during travel was also a significant risk factor for colonisation. The stool samples from a subset of study subjects were analysed using metagenomic sequencing. From this we learned that although the majority of resistance genes in the gut microbiome remained unchanged following travel, several clinically important resistance genes increased, most prominently genes encoding resistance to sulphonamide, trimethoprim, and beta-lactams. Overall, taxonomic changes associated with travel were small but the proportion of Proteobacteria, which includes several clinically important bacteria (e.g., Enterobacteriaceae), increased in a majority of the study subjects. Clearly, there are risks associated with international travel and these risks include outside factors as well as the personal behaviour of travellers. We believe our results can be used to develop better pre-travel advice for tourists as well as university students studying abroad resulting in safer travel.

Orientador: Maria Luiza Moretti / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T02:52:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Kuboyama_RogerioHakio_D.pdf: 1899697 bytes, checksum: 863826cd141f1e5f89eb90d272c0c330 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Os objetivos do presente estudo, conduzido retrospectivamente, utilizando cepas isoladas de espécimens clínicos obtidos de pacientes internados em dois hospitais brasileiros entre fevereiro de 2001 e junho de 2004 foram descrever: a presença de cepas de Klebsiella pneumoniae produtoras de beta-lactamases de espectro estendido (ESBLs), o melhor método e o substrato preferido para os testes de triagem e de confirmação da produção de ESBLs, a relação epidemiológica das cepas obtidas e analisar os fatores de risco para infecção por cepa produtora de ESBLs. A fim de investigar a relação genética das cepas, foram utilizadas as análises do DNA plasmidial e do DNA cromossômico por eletroforese em campo pulsátil (PFGE). Um total de 89 cepas de K. pneumoniae foram coletadas de diversos sítios anatômicos. Os espécimens clínicos mais comuns dos quais foram isoladas cepas produtoras foram urina (12,4%) e sangue (10,1%). Utilizando os critérios estabelecidos pelo CLSI (testes de triagem), 35 (39,3%) cepas de K. pneumoniae foram consideradas possivelmente produtoras de ESBLs, enquanto que o teste de aproximação de discos (DDAT) revelou distorções características nas zonas de inibição produzidas pela molécula do clavulanato em 96, 62,5, 50, 18,8 e 12,5% das cepas ao redor dos discos contendo aztreonam, cefotaxima, ceftazidima, ceftriaxona e cefpodoxima, respectivamente. Das 89 cepas, 32 (36%) foram consideradas produtoras de ESBLs baseadas no teste confirmatório pelo método Oxoid de discos-combinados. O disco contendo cefotaxima foi capaz de confirmar 100 % dos produtores de ESBLs enquanto que o disco contendo ceftazidima deixou de confirmar 2 cepas produtoras. Dez e 32 diferentes perfis plasmidiais foram observados dentre as cepas de K. pneumoniae produtoras e não produtoras, respectivamente. A PFGE demonstrou melhor poder discriminatório fornecendo 15 e 55 perfis de DNA cromossômico dentre as cepas ESBLs-positivas e ESBLs-negativas, respectivamente. Da análise univariada, as variáveis significativamente associadas com infecção por cepas de K. pneumoniae produtoras de ESBLs foram: uso de cefalosporinas de quarta geração, de lincosamida, de carbapenêmicos, de glicopeptídeos, cirurgia recente, traqueostomia, idade, dias em uso de lincosamida, dias em uso de glicopeptídeos, número total de antibióticos e duração da terapia antimicrobiana. Ao realizar a análise multivariada, utilizando um modelo de regressão logística que incluía as variáveis estatisticamente significantes da análise univariada (P < 0,05), número total de antibióticos permaneceu como única variável independente para infecção por cepa de K. pneumoniae produtora de ESBLs (OR, 1,60; IC95%, 1,194-2,145.; P = 0,0017). Os dados obtidos revelam: uma taxa relativamente alta da produção de ESBLs em cepas de K. pneumoniae obtidas de pacientes das instituições estudadas; a insuficiência da análise plasmidial na elucidação da relação genética dentre as cepas produtoras de ESBLs; aztreonam como melhor substrato indicador da produção presuntiva de ESBLs e cefotaxima como o melhor substrato no teste confirmatório pelo método Oxoid de discoscombinados / Abstract: The objectives of this study conducted restrospectively using strains isolated from clinical specimens obtained from patients hospitalized in two Brazilian hospitals between February 2001 to June 2004 were to describe the presence of extended-spectrum b-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strains, the best method and the preferred substrate for screening and confirming ESBL production and the epidemiological relatedness of ESBL-producing strains and analyse the risk factors for infection due to ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae. To investigate the genetic relatedness of the strains, plasmid analysis and chromosomal DNA analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were used. A total of 89 K. pneumoniae were collected from diverse body sites. The most commom specimens yielding ESBL-producing strains were urine (12.4%) and blood (10.1%). Using CLSI criteria (ESBL screening breakpoints), 35 K. pneumoniae (39.3%) had presumptive ESBL phenotype, while using the double-disk approximation test (DDAT) characteristic clavulanate-induced distortions of inhibition zones were found in 96, 62.5, 50, 18.8 and 12.5% of the strains around the disks containing aztreonam, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone and cefpodoxime, respectively. Of 89 isolates, 32 (36%) produced ESBL based on the confirmatory Oxoid combination disk method. The disk containing cefotaxime was able to confirm 100% of the ESBL producers while the disk containing ceftazidime was not able to confirm 2 ESBL-positive strains. Ten and 32 different plasmid profiles were observed among the ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae and non ESBL producers, respectively. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed the best discriminatory power giving 15 and 55 different chromosomal DNA profiles among the ESBL-positive and ESBL-negative K. pneumoniae, respectively. From univariate analysis, variables significantly associated with infection by an ESBL-producing strain of K. pneumoniae included the following: use of 4st-generation cephalosporins, lincosamide, carbapenems, glycopeptides, recent surgery, tracheostomy, age, days in using of lincosamide, days in using of glycopeptides, total number of antibiotics and duration of the antimicrobial therapy. The only variable that remained independent risk factor for acquiring infection due to ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae after multivariable analysis using a logistic regression model, which included the variables associated with acquiring infection by ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae by univariate analysis (P < 0.05), was total number of antibiotics (OR, 1.60; 95%CI, 1.194-2.145; P = 0.0017). In summary, these data indicate that ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae occur at a relatively high incidence at our institutions and the plasmid analysis is not sufficient to identify relationships between ESBL-producing strains of K. pneumoniae. The ESBL screening breakpoints and DDAT with aztreonam appear to be good indicators in presumptive detection of ESBL-producing strains and the cefotaxime used in the Oxoid combination disk method constituted the best substrate in the confirmatory test / Doutorado / Ciencias Basicas / Doutor em Clínica Médica

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