This protocol covers the reporting procedures for the provincial surveillance program for carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacilli. It is aimed at professionals from infection prevention and control teams in the health and social services network.
In Quebec, laboratory surveillance of strains of carbapenemase-producing enterobacteria (EPC) was set up by the Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec (LSPQ) in 2010. The increase in cases declared in the first years of this surveillance justified the creation of the SPIN-BGNPC surveillance program. This program began in April 2014 and participation has been compulsory since 1is April 2017. The SPIN-BGNPC program committee, under the leadership of the INSPQ SPIN committee, has the mandate to develop, maintain, analyze and issue recommendations for this surveillance.
The spread of multidrug-resistant strains among Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) represents a threat to public health as it compromises the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy. In recent years, carbapenems have taken an important place in the treatment of infections caused by BGN. The emergence and spread of resistance to this class of antibiotics is therefore a matter of concern, because it inevitably leads to treatment problems and an increase in mortality.
This surveillance program only targets carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) but the term BGNPC is used to encompass any other BGNPC that may require special monitoring in the future.
