Publications by authors named "Sam van Goethem"
Article Synopsis
- An opportunistic pathogen caused an 18-month outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Antwerp, Belgium, affecting 61 neonates, with ten confirmed infections resulting in serious conditions, including one fatal case.
- The risk of acquiring the infection was significantly higher in neonates nursing in incubators, highlighted by statistical analysis (OR: 2.99; p < 0.05).
- Whole genome sequencing revealed multiple clusters and the importance of ongoing surveillance and specific infection control measures in NICUs to prevent similar outbreaks in the future.
Value of pneumococcal PCR in respiratory samples for exclusion of pneumococcal pneumonia.
JAC Antimicrob Resist
December 2023
Background: is the main aetiological agent in bacterial pneumonia. Therefore pneumococcal PCR is often included in respiratory multiplex PCR panels, both commercial and in-house. But respiratory PCR results for are difficult to interpret due to frequent non-pathogenic colonization on the mucosal surface of the upper airways with pneumococci or to cross-reaction of the PCR target in non-pneumococcal streptococci.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFollow-up blood cultures in Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: a probability-based optimization.
Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis
October 2022
Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) is a relevant finding which prompts a thorough diagnostic work-up. Follow-up blood cultures (BC) are essential in this work-up. We investigate the probability of detecting an ongoing bacteremia after initiation of active therapy according to the number of BC taken at key time points.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - This study examined how SARS-CoV-2 spreads within households by following 276 households with a confirmed case, utilizing daily symptom tracking and self-sampling of blood and nasal swabs for testing.
- - The findings revealed a secondary attack rate (SAR) of 45.7%, indicating that a significant number of household members caught the virus, particularly early after exposure, with asymptomatic and mild cases being less likely to transmit the virus.
- - Results suggested that typical infection control measures didn't significantly reduce transmission, highlighting the importance of the index case's age and symptom status in influencing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in homes.
Novel vancomycin resistance gene cluster in ST1486, Belgium, June 2021.
Euro Surveill
September 2021
We identified a novel gene cluster in a clinical isolate with vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 4 µg/mL. The ligase gene, , was part of a operon cluster of 4,589 bp on a putative novel integrative conjugative element located in a ca 98 kb genomic region presumed to be acquired by horizontal gene transfer from and sp. 499.
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