Social distancing and bacteraemia in the time of COVID-19

Background Social distancing was the predominant strategy used to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims To study the impact of social distancing on the incidence of bacteraemia. The number of admitted patients with positive blood cultures in April-May 2020 in one tertiary medical centre was compared with the number during the same period in the previous 3 years (April-May 2017-2019). Methods Retrospective review of all positive blood cultures from January to July in the years 2017-2020. Results There were fewer cases of Streptococcus bacteraemia as well as coagulase-negative Staphylococcus bacteraemia and other possible contaminated blood cultures in April-May 2020. Compared with the previous 3 years, the incidence of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteraemia among all bacteraemias was lower in April-May 2020 (5%) than in 2017-2019 (12.0%; 95% confidence interval 10.3-14.1%). In general, fewer cases of bacteraemia caused by oropharynx organisms were observed in April-May 2020; only 6 cases versus 31 (95% confidence interval 10-53) during the same period in 2017-2019. Only one case of S. pneumoniae bacteraemia was observed in April-May 2020 and its percentage among all bacteraemias was lower in April-May 2020 (0.4%) than during the same period in 2017-2019 (3.3%). Conclusion The incidences of streptococcal bacteraemia and bacteraemia of organisms transmitted through respiratory secretions were lower when there were social distancing restrictions. Adopting measures of social distancing may decrease the morbidity from bacteraemia caused by oropharynx and respiratory bacteria.