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High-flying superbugs: Bouncy castles tied to MRSA skin infections
News briefToday at 4:30 p.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
MRSA
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Any parent of a young child has likely spent time supervising ricocheting kids in an inflatable bouncy castle. But an outbreak report last week in Eurosurveillance might give them some second thoughts.
The report describes an outbreak of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections involving 48 children ages 5 to 16 years, all but one of whom attended a party on a humid and intermittently rainy day in a suburb of Dublin that included inflatable play structures, including three bouncy castles.
Of the 47 children who attended the party, all played in the bouncy castles, with 19 telling investigators they had spent more than four hours in them. One infected child who did not attend the party had close, sustained contact with a child who was at the party and had symptoms.
All case-patients reported skin or other soft-tissue symptoms such as spots, pustules, and blisters, most commonly on their legs but also on their abdomens, hips or buttocks, and arms and hands. All sought medical attention, with four hospitalized.
Whole-genome sequencing of bacteria isolated from 22 case-patients found that all belonged the same MRSA strain (ST22-MRSA-IV) and produced Pantone-Valentine leucocidin (PVL), a toxin that can make staph infections more severe. PVL-positive ST22-MRSA-IV has been linked to outbreaks in India, China, and Japan, but the strain has only been reported sporadically in Ireland, the study authors note.
A novel outbreak
The outbreak was contained through treatment, decolonization of household contacts, and communication with the company that provided the bouncy castles, which was advised that the equipment should not be reused until it was adequately cleaned and disinfected.An estimated two in every 100 people carry MRSA on their skin, and CA-MRSA outbreaks are typically associated with close physical contact and crowded settings. But the authors say there’s been no documentation of outbreaks linked to bouncy castles.
“This is a novel mechanism for an outbreak of this size,” they wrote. “Public health practitioners should be aware of the risk of CA-MRSA outbreaks in contexts involving prolonged, close physical contact, such as play activities and contact sport.”
RSV infections linked to higher rates of air sample positivity in hospitalized patients
News briefToday at 4:27 p.m.
Stephanie Soucheray, MA
Topics
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
A recent study in the Journal of Medical Virology compared hospitalized patients with influenza A (IAV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to measure the presence of viral RNA in air samples collected near hospitalized patients.
Hospitalized patients in the Netherlands with positive nasopharyngeal swabs for RSV or IAV infection between December 18, 2024, and April 23, 2025, were included in the study. Thirty-nine of the patients had influenza, and 21 had RSV. Air samples taken 2 minutes apart, about 20 inches above and below the patients’ heads.
Overall, 18 of 60 (30%) patients had at least one positive air sample. “Air samples were significantly more frequently positive in patients infected with RSV compared to those infected with IAV: 57% versus 15%, respectively,” the authors wrote.
While the RSV patients produced more positive air samples, the authors caution this does not necessarily correlate to infectiousness.
“The higher air sample detection rate among patients infected with RSV as compared to those infected with IAV suggests that these viruses may have different airborne shedding patterns, although differences in infectious potential remain to be determined,” the authors concluded.
Ebola outbreak in DR Congo grows to 7,200 cases as government officials suggest transmission has peaked
News briefToday at 4:25 p.m.
Stephanie Soucheray, MA
Topics
Ebola
Viral Hemorrhagic Fever
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has hit another milestone, with 7,200 cases confirmed by the government today and spread of the virus to a seventh province, South Ubangi, late last week.
Minister says peak of outbreak was third week of August
Of the confirmed cases, nearly half, or 3,475 people, have died from their infections with the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. Contact-tracing rates hover around 88%, still too low for transmission control.On Saturday, DRC Minister of Communication Patrick Muyaya wrote on X that there were signs the outbreak was slowing. “The peak has been reached since the beginning of the third week of the month of August. Ten out of 61 health zones have not recorded any cases for at least 21 days. The main hotspots such as Nia Nia, Nizi, and Mongbwalu, are recording a continuous slowdown in transmission.”
Denmark hasn't identified a single case of congenital syphilis since 2016
News briefToday at 2:48 p.m.
Sarah Boden
Topics
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Denmark has eliminated congenital syphilis, despite an overall increase in the syphilis rate among Danish women of childbearing age.
The Scandinavian country achieved elimination status through a comprehensive prenatal screening program, according to new research published in Eurosurveillance, the journal of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Congenital syphilis, caused by the bacterium Treponima pallidum, is potentially life-threatening to babies or can cause severe birth defects. Pregnant patients receive Benzathine penicillin G to prevent transmission.
Several European countries have reported increases in congenital syphilis infections since 2015, but, as the study notes, Denmark has not had a single instance of a mother transmitting the disease, either during pregnancy or birth, to her baby since 2016.
"These results highlight the public health value of maintaining high screening coverage and robust surveillance, even in low-incidence countries," write the study's authors, led by Ulrik Lausten-Thomsen, MD, PhD, MSc, a neonatologist at Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet.
Continued surveillance is essential
From 2010 through 2024, researchers found just five cases of congenital syphilis among Danish-born babies.Two of the babies were born to women who arrived in Denmark late during their pregnancies and were not screened for syphilis. Two others were attributed to maternal infections acquired late in pregnancy after a negative screening result.
The researchers said the only preventable case resulted from a reporting irregularity that delayed treatment. Following this incident, protocols were revised to prevent similar outcomes.
Of the 172 pregnancies with confirmed active syphilis infections that the study identified, 83 (48.3%) were among women of non-Danish origin. The researchers concluded that for Denmark to preserve its elimination status for congenital syphilis, continued surveillance is essential, including among vulnerable groups.
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