There has been a great increase in the incidence of infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to antibiotic agents. Many of these infections result in worse outcomes of patients and increased costs to the healthcare system. The study aims to survey two germs that are resistant to a wide range of antibiotics used today. The investigators are particularly interested in studying the potential to stop the spread and prevent outbreaks of these germs through contact isolation of patients affected by these germs. Patients will be included in the study if they have an antibiotic resistant infection caused by any of the 2 bacteria: E. coli and K. pneumoniae. The research team will then perform rectal, skin (armpit, groin, umbilicus), throat, urine, and, if applicable, wound cultures to determine other sites where the germ may be present but not causing an infection. The study coordinator will furthermore examine the patient's medical record and conduct a short interview in order to evaluate specific information about the bacteria that have been recovered. This research does not involve any interventions beyond collection of specimens and there are no added risks to the patients from the conduction of the study. Neither will there be a benefit at the patient level. The benefit will be at the level of the patient population, i.e. at a larger scale once the information collected is analyzed. Only the principal investigator and study coordinators will have access to all patient-specific information. Once all information is collected, all patient identifiers, such as name and medical record number, will be deleted.
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Number of colonization sites
Timeframe: 3 days