Carriage prevalence of antimicrobial resistance
in Hong Kong: a longitudinal study (abridged secondary publication)
KO Kwok1; EYY Chan1; S Riley2; B Cowling3; M Ip4
1 Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
2 MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling, Department for Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London
3 World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease
Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, The University of
Hong Kong
4 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
1. The decreasing point prevalence of extended-spectrum
beta-lactamase-producing Entero-bacteriaceae
(ESBL-E) in the general population
from 54.8% (July 2018 to April 2019) to 43.4%
(July 2019 to January 2020) suggests that the
government’s population-wide effort to combat
antimicrobial resistance has been effective.
2. The high proportion (29.6%) of individuals who were colonised persistently (for a mean of 42.0 weeks) with ESBL-E is worrying. This suggests potential outbreaks of infections caused by ESBL-E. More understanding on the transient nature of ESBL-E colonisation enables better implementation of prevention strategies.
3. As an additional household member increased the odds of one carrying ESBL-E persistently by 16%; future study of household transmission of ESBL-E is warranted.
4. Owing to the continual presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and carbapenem-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the community, an alert system should be in place to identify carriers discharged from healthcare settings, especially when the prevalence in the community remains low.
2. The high proportion (29.6%) of individuals who were colonised persistently (for a mean of 42.0 weeks) with ESBL-E is worrying. This suggests potential outbreaks of infections caused by ESBL-E. More understanding on the transient nature of ESBL-E colonisation enables better implementation of prevention strategies.
3. As an additional household member increased the odds of one carrying ESBL-E persistently by 16%; future study of household transmission of ESBL-E is warranted.
4. Owing to the continual presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and carbapenem-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the community, an alert system should be in place to identify carriers discharged from healthcare settings, especially when the prevalence in the community remains low.