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BacteriologyTreponema pallidum Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing To Augment Syphilis Screening among Men Who Have Sex with MenSyphilis rates in much of the world are now at their highest levels in almost three decades, and new approaches to controlling syphilis, including diagnostic tests with shorter window periods, are urgently needed.
EpidemiologyCarbapenem-Nonsusceptible Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates from Intensive Care Units in the United States: a Potential Role for New β-Lactam Combination AgentsPseudomonas aeruginosa, a frequent pathogen in the intensive care unit (ICU), has the propensity to develop antibiotic resistance. In particular, carbapenem-nonsusceptible (NS) P. aeruginosa poses tremendous challenges, and new antibiotics will be needed to treat this phenotype. Here we determine...
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesGenoType NTM-DR Performance Evaluation for Identification of Mycobacterium avium Complex and Mycobacterium abscessus and Determination of Clarithromycin and Amikacin ResistanceWe evaluated the GenoType NTM-DR (NTM-DR) line probe assay for identifying Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) species and Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies and for determining clarithromycin and amikacin resistance. Thirty-eight reference strains and 145 clinical isolates (58 MAC and 87...
VirologyProficiency Testing of Virus Diagnostics Based on Bioinformatics Analysis of Simulated In Silico High-Throughput Sequencing Data SetsQuality management and independent assessment of high-throughput sequencing-based virus diagnostics have not yet been established as a mandatory approach for ensuring comparable results. The sensitivity and specificity of viral high-throughput sequence data analysis are highly affected by bioinformatics processing using publicly available and custom tools and databases and thus differ widely between individuals and institutions.
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Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesBacterial Genotyping of Central Nervous System Tuberculosis in South Africa: Heterogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection and Predominance of Lineage 4Tuberculous meningitis (TBM), the most severe extrapulmonary manifestation of tuberculosis, is caused by the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The M. tuberculosis complex includes seven lineages, all described to harbor a unique geographical dissemination pattern and clinical presentation. In...
EpidemiologyInvasive Pneumococcal Disease and Influenza Activity in a Pediatric Population: Impact of PCV13 Vaccination in Pandemic and Nonpandemic Influenza Periods...The objective of this study was to analyze the incidence, clinical presentation, and severity of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD)-causing serotypes and the impact of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination during epidemic and nonepidemic influenza periods in Catalonia, Spain. This was a prospective study in persons aged <18 years diagnosed with IPD between 2012 and 2015 in three Catalan pediatric hospitals.
BacteriologyFrancisella tularensis Periprosthetic Joint Infections Diagnosed with Growth in CulturesTularemia caused by Francisella tularensis is a zoonotic infection of the Northern Hemisphere that mainly affects the skin, lymph nodes, bloodstream, and lungs. Other manifestations of tularemia are very rare, especially those with musculoskeletal involvement. Presenting in 2016, we diagnosed two cases of periprosthetic knee joint infections (PJI) caused by...
Clinical Veterinary MicrobiologyGenomic, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Public Health Insights into Enterococcus spp. from Australian ChickensDue to Australia’s management of antimicrobial use in poultry, particularly the discontinued use of avoparcin for nearly 20 years, it is hypothesized that vancomycin-resistant enterococci associated with human disease are not derived from poultry isolates.
