Regional Surveillance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Epidemiology in Monongalia County, WV

Emily Airing,* Aaron Malkowski, and Mariette Barbier
Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Presentation No.: 71

Assigned Category (Presentation Format): Health Sciences (Poster Presentations)

Student’s Major: Immunology and Medical Microbiology

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for nosocomial infections in patients with underlying comorbidities and in immunocompromised individuals. Here, the prevalence of P. aeruginosa infections in West Virginia and associated comorbidities was determined from data derived from patients diagnosed with P. aeruginosa between 2008 and 2018 at Ruby Memorial Hospital. Diabetes, Cystic Fibrosis, heart disease, and cancer comorbidities were studied to determine relevance to P. aeruginosa infection. The incidence of P. aeruginosa infection and concurrent number of deaths was observed to be highest in children between ages 0-4. Within these patients, P. aeruginosa infections were primarily associated with diseases of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, and congenital malformations. This distribution was different than the entire cohort, as diseases of the circulatory, endocrine, and respiratory systems were the most prevalent. Overall, the data obtained from this study highlights the importance of monitoring young, diabetic, or immunocompromised patients to prevent P. aeruginosa infections in these vulnerable populations.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: the WVU IMMB Undergraduate Research Internship Program (Jennifer Franko)