Three New Reportable Multidrug-Resistant Organism Disease Conditions in Wisconsin
The Bureau of Communicable Diseases (BCD) is announcing that infection or colonization with two carbapenemase-producing, multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) and one multidrug-resistant fungal organism will soon be reportable communicable disease conditions in Wisconsin. As of July 1, 2022, confirmed and probable cases of the following will be considered Category II reportable communicable diseases:
- Carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CP-CRAB)
- Carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CP-CRPA)
- Candida auris
To date, surveillance for these three organisms has been based on voluntary submission of isolates by clinical laboratories to the Wisconsin State Laboratory Hygiene (WSLH). The addition of these organisms as reportable diseases will enable systematic, statewide surveillance, which is an essential part of controlling their spread.
WSLH will continue to perform free confirmatory testing for these organisms and to automatically send confirmed results to the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS) to support public health response and surveillance.
Updated Reporting Requirements for Carbapenemase-Producing Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales (CP-CRE)
In addition to these newly reportable communicable diseases, BCD is also updating reporting requirements for CP-CRE cases in Wisconsin. Per BCD memo 2022-05, and in alignment with reporting requirements for CP-CRAB and CP-CRPA, CP-CRE is now a Category II (rather than Category I) reportable disease condition in Wisconsin.
Furthermore, BCD Memo 2022-05 notes that infection preventionists in hospitals and nursing homes are no longer required to report cases of CRE to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), due to the availability of case information in WEDSS through confirmatory testing by WSLH.
New Resources for Health Care Facilities and Local and Tribal Health Departments on Reportable MDROs
A number of new resources have been developed to support acute care and long-term care facilities, as well as local and tribal health departments, with disease investigation and follow-up for these organisms. Visit the Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Prevention Program’s Reportable MDROs website to access resources including:
- Fact sheets and resources on conducting point prevalence screening when a case is identified in a facility
- Organism-specific fact sheets for health care settings
- Case definition and reporting information (EpiNets)
- Brief videos for local and tribal health department staff on completing WEDSS case investigation forms for carbapenemase-producing organisms and Candida auris
- Links to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resources and information related to the control of these organisms in health care settings
Additional resources, including a new guide for nursing homes on responding to the presence of a targeted MDRO in their facility, will be added to the website in the coming weeks.
The HAI Prevention Program will also be holding setting-specific webinars on the newly reportable MDROs in the coming weeks. The webinars will include a brief overview of the organisms and what is known about their prevalence in Wisconsin, a discussion of what the addition of these organisms as reportable conditions means for health care facilities for surveillance and response, a review of the support and resources available from the HAI Prevention Program, and opportunities for participants to ask questions.
Setting-Specific Webinars on Newly Reportable MDROs:
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Long-Term Care Facilities: Thursday, April 28; 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. (as part of the existing DHS Long-Term Care Education Series)
- Local and Tribal Health Departments: Wednesday, June 1; 2–3 p.m. (as part of the June monthly BCD webinar for local and tribal health departments)
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Acute Care Facilities: Tuesday, June 21; 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
No registration is necessary for these webinars.
For questions regarding the newly reportable MDROs, visit the HAI Prevention Program Reportable MDROs website. Contact information for HAI Prevention Program staff is available on the HAI Prevention Program website.
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