Potent bactericidal efficacy of copper oxide impregnated non-porous solid surfaces.

Background: The role of fomites and the environment in nosocomial infections is becoming widely recognized. In this paper we discuss the use of Cupron copper oxide impregnated non-porous solid surface in the hospital setting and present in vitro testing data via USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved testing protocols that demonstrate the efficacy of these products to assist in reduction in environmental contamination and potentially nosocomial infections.

Results: The two countertops tested passed all the acceptance criteria by the EPA (>99.

Clinical significance of Staphylococcus lugdunensis isolated from routine cultures.

Over 1 year, 42 Staphylococcus lugdunensis isolates, identified by phenotypic and genotypic testing, were recovered from clinical specimens. Thirty-six (86%) were clinically significant pathogens, mostly from healthy outpatients; 16 (44%) of 36 were isolated in pure culture; and 30 (83%) of 36 were from skin and soft-tissue infections.

Analysis of the genotype and virulence of Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates from patients with infective endocarditis.

Staphylococcus epidermidis is one of the most common causes of infections of prosthetic heart valves (prosthetic valve endocarditis [PVE]) and an increasingly common cause of infections of native heart valves (native valve endocarditis [NVE]). While S. epidermidis typically causes indolent infections of prosthetic devices, including prosthetic valves and intravascular catheters, S.

Gene acquisition at the insertion site for SCCmec, the genomic island conferring methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus becomes resistant to methicillin by acquiring a genomic island, known as staphylococcal chromosome cassette mec (SCCmec), which contains the methicillin resistance determinant, mecA. SCCmec is site-specifically integrated into the staphylococcal chromosome at a locus known as the SCCmec attachment site (attB). In an effort to gain a better understanding of the potential that methicillin-sensitive S.

Potential associations between hematogenous complications and bacterial genotype in Staphylococcus aureus infection.

Background: The impact of bacterial clonality on infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus is unclear.

Methods: Three hundred seventy-nine S. aureus isolates (125 methicillin-resistant S.

Evaluation of molecular typing methods in characterizing a European collection of epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains: the HARMONY collection.

We analyzed a representative sample of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from 11 European countries (referred to as the HARMONY collection) using three molecular typing methods used within the HARMONY group to examine their usefulness for large, multicenter MRSA surveillance networks that use these different laboratory methodologies. MRSA isolates were collected based on their prevalence in each center and their genetic diversity, assessed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). PFGE groupings (< or = 3 bands difference between patterns) were compared to those made by sequencing of the variable repeats in the protein A gene spa and clonal designations based on multilocus sequence typing (MLST), combined with PCR analysis of the staphylococcal chromosome cassette containing the mec genes involved in methicillin resistance (SCCmec).

Use of outer surface protein repeat regions for improved genotyping of Staphylococcus epidermidis.

Staphylococcus epidermidis is an important nosocomial pathogen, but little is known of its epidemiology. Accurate, reproducible typing systems would greatly improve epidemiologic investigations of S. epidermidis.

Evolutionary genetics of the accessory gene regulator (agr) locus in Staphylococcus aureus.

The accessory gene regulator (agr) locus influences the expression of many virulence genes in the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Four allelic groups of agr, which generally inhibit the regulatory activity of each other, have been identified within the species. Interference in virulence gene expression caused by different agr groups has been suggested to be a mechanism for isolating bacterial populations and a fundamental basis for subdividing the species.

Re-emergence of early pandemic Staphylococcus aureus as a community-acquired meticillin-resistant clone.

During the 1950s, the notorious penicillin-resistant clone of Staphylococcus aureus known as phage type 80/81 emerged and caused serious hospital-acquired and community-acquired infections worldwide. This clone was largely eliminated in the 1960s, concurrent with the widespread use of penicillinase-resistant beta lactams. We investigated whether early 80/81 isolates had the genes for Panton-Valentine leucocidin, a toxin associated with virulence in healthy young people.

Vancomycin susceptibility within methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus lineages.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with reduced vancomycin susceptibility vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA) has been reported from many countries. Whether resistance is evolving regularly in different genetic backgrounds or in a single clone with a genetic predisposition, as early results suggest, is unclear.

Genetic analysis of Staphylococcus aureus from intravenous drug user lesions.

Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of 48 methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus isolates from intravenous drug user abscesses/soft-tissue infections revealed 12 sequence types (STs) belonging to eight genetically distinct lineages. Only two novel STs were recovered (one isolate of each), indicating that isolates in this study were similar to those from previous studies of disease and carriage. However, ST59, the most common genotype recovered (from six individuals), may be adept at causing subcutaneous lesions in this patient population, as it is rare in carriage and disease.