Trends in fecal carriage of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in children before and after the implementation of international travel restrictions in response to COVID-19

Abstract

Qatar is located on the northeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula with a large expatriate population comprising 86% of the country's population, most of whom originate from Indian subcontinent countries [1]. International travel restrictions including a substantial reduction of inbound flights and restricted entry to the country to citizens and residency permit holders only, were implemented in Qatar on 2020 to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Consequently, the number of arrivals in Qatar declined almost 95% during the rest of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019 [1]. Analysis of quarterly trends revealed a significant and sustained decrease in the rate of colonization after the implementation of travel restrictions (P < 0.01), while testing rates did not vary significantly (P = 0.6) (Fig. 1). Furthermore, CPE carriage rate decreased 3.6-fold (95% CI, 1.5–10.5; P < 0.001) after March 15, 2020. In fact, the last CPE carriage episode in 2020 was detected at the end of July.