Massimo Ciccozzi1, Eleonora Cella2, Giancarlo Ceccarelli3, Serena Vita3, Giordano Dicuonzo4, Maurizio Lopalco5, Francesca Antonelli4, Alessia Conti4, Rossella Ottaviani4, Marina De Cesaris4, Silvia Spoto6, Silvia Angeletti7. 1. Department of Infectious, Parasitic, and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Epidemiology Unit, Reference Centre on Phylogeny, Molecular Epidemiology, and Microbial Evolution (FEMEM), National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy; Unit of Clinical Pathology and Microbiology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Italy. 2. Unit of Clinical Pathology and Microbiology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Italy; Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, University of Rome, "Sapienza", Policlinico "Umberto I", Rome, Italy. 3. Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, University of Rome, "Sapienza", Policlinico "Umberto I", Rome, Italy; Migrant Health Research Organisation (Mi-HeRO) - Centro di Ricerca sulla Salute delle Popolazioni Mobili e Globale, Italy. 4. Unit of Clinical Pathology and Microbiology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Italy. 5. Sanitary Bureau of Asylum Seekers Center of Castelnuovo di Porto, Rome, Italy, Auxilium Società Cooperativa Sociale, Senise, PZ, Italy. 6. Internal Medicine Department, University Hospital Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy. 7. Unit of Clinical Pathology and Microbiology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Italy. Electronic address: s.angeletti@unicampus.it.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Eritrean migrants accounted for the majority of people who drowned in the Mediterranean this year. Recently, data deficit about international migration has been reported. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-three Eritrean migrants, upon their arrival in Italy, were accommodated at the asylum seekers center of Castelnuovo di Porto, together with 25 sanitary workers, and received microbiological surveillance at the Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit of the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome. RESULTS: Gram-negative bacteria, mostly Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca, were frequently recovered in surveillance swabs. Gram-positive bacteria, represented by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus, were also isolated in surveillance swabs. In migrants, polymicrobial swabs were recovered at high frequency, and unusual microorganisms, rarely found in our country, were isolated. CONCLUSION: The polymicrobial colonization and the high prevalence of gram-negative bacteria represent the baseline characteristics of this migrant population from Eritrea. The presence of unusual microorganisms can be potentially pathogenic to asymptomatic carriers at risk of developing clinical disease if immunosuppressed or subjected to invasive procedures. In conclusion, active microbiological surveillance can represent an advantage for the host country in terms of data collection and by tracing unusual or resistant microorganisms by monitoring migrants' health status.
BACKGROUND: Eritrean migrants accounted for the majority of people who drowned in the Mediterranean this year. Recently, data deficit about international migration has been reported. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-three Eritrean migrants, upon their arrival in Italy, were accommodated at the asylum seekers center of Castelnuovo di Porto, together with 25 sanitary workers, and received microbiological surveillance at the Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit of the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome. RESULTS: Gram-negative bacteria, mostly Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca, were frequently recovered in surveillance swabs. Gram-positive bacteria, represented by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus, were also isolated in surveillance swabs. In migrants, polymicrobial swabs were recovered at high frequency, and unusual microorganisms, rarely found in our country, were isolated. CONCLUSION: The polymicrobial colonization and the high prevalence of gram-negative bacteria represent the baseline characteristics of this migrant population from Eritrea. The presence of unusual microorganisms can be potentially pathogenic to asymptomatic carriers at risk of developing clinical disease if immunosuppressed or subjected to invasive procedures. In conclusion, active microbiological surveillance can represent an advantage for the host country in terms of data collection and by tracing unusual or resistant microorganisms by monitoring migrants' health status.
Authors: M Ciccozzi; E Riva; S Vita; E Cella; M Fogolari; S Spoto; M Lopalco; G Ceccarelli; S Angeletti Journal: Public Health Date: 2018-07-20 Impact factor: 2.427