Carbapenemase-producing organism (CPO) infection or colonisation

Statutory notification

• Carbapenemase-producing organism (carbapenemase-producing Acinetobacter baumannii (CPAB) complex, carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) and carbapenemase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CPPA)) colonisation or infection is notifiable in Western Australia.
• Case definition: See notifiable disease case definitions (Word 1.29MB).
• Notification: Private and public laboratories that identify carbapenem-producing organisms are required to forward the isolate with patient details to the PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA Gram-negative Reference Laboratory located at the QEII Medical Centre.
• See also description of statutory medical notifications in Western Australia.

Public health summary

• Infectious agent: Carbapenemase-producing organism is a collective term that refers to organisms of the order Enterobacterales and genera Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas that have been identified to carry an acquired carbapenemase gene, including CPAB CPE and CPPA.
• Transmission: Person-to-person through direct contact with an infected or colonised person or the contaminated hands of a healthcare worker, or indirectly from contact with contaminated environmental surfaces or medical equipment.
• Incubation period:  Variable.
• Infectious period: As long as the carbapenemase-producing organism is shed from the infected or colonised person.
• Case exclusion: Do not exclude. Healthcare facility patients colonised or infected with a carbapenemase-producing organism should be managed in a single room with dedicated bathroom facilities as per the Guidelines for the Screening and Management of Multi-resistant Organisms in Healthcare Facilities.
• Contact exclusion: Do not exclude.
• Treatment: Antibiotic treatment for clinical infection as recommended by the doctor.
• Immunisation: None available.
• Case follow-up: Is conducted by hospitals, and the Communicable Disease Control Directorate, as required.

Information and resources for health providers 

• CPO (Carbapenemase-producing organisms)- information for consumers (Healthy WA)
• Guidelines for the Screening and Management of Multi-resistant Organisms in Healthcare Facilities

Notifiable disease data and reports

• CPAB complex, CPE and CPPA infection or colonisation is a notifiable condition via laboratory notification in WA. Private and public laboratories that identify CPAB, CPE or CPPA cases are required to forward the isolate with patient details to the PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA Gram-negative Reference Laboratory located at the QEII Medical Centre for molecular testing and notification to the National Alert System for Critical Antimicrobial Resistances (CARAlert). CPAB, CPE and CPPA surveillance data are reported separately to other notifiable infectious disease data.