Behaviors and Exposures Associated with Pathogen Carriage at a Large Community Gathering

• Activity Number: 534 - Contributed Poster Presentations: Section on Statistics in Epidemiology
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 1, 2018 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics in Epidemiology
• Author(s): Ruby Bayliss* and Meghan Mason and Bozena Morawski and James Johnson and Connie Clabots
• Companies: St. Catherine University and St. Catherine University and University of Minnesota and University of Miinesota and Minneapolis VA Health Care System
• Keywords: Prevalence; Community-acquired; Pathogen Transmission; Antibiotic resistance; Environmental Microbiology; Mixed Effects

Abstract

Antibiotic-resistant infections are often attributed to hospital settings, but community-acquired infections are increasingly documented. The objective of this study was to examine relationships between human behavior and pathogen-carriage at the 2014 Minnesota State Fair. Microbiological samples were collected from the hands of participants using a plating technique. Participants completed a questionnaire inquiring about demographics, handwashing practices, and exposures and activities potentially associated with pathogen carriage. Mixed effects logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios between questionnaire variables and pathogen outcomes. Of the 206 specimens collected, 11.2% had gram positive, 14.7% had gram negative enteric and 15.5% had gram negative non-enteric bacterial growth. The only statistically significant factor was the association between age and gram negative enteric pathogens (OR children v. adult = 5.0, p < 0.001). Carriage of pathogens at this community event was no different than population estimates. To continue to prevent against community-acquired infections, efforts to encourage handwashing at large community gatherings should be sustained.