Characterization of a Novel Species of Isolated from a Healthcare Facility: sp. nov.

Two -like isolates, 8cVS16 and 9fVS26, were isolated from a water distribution system (WDS) in a healthcare facility. Cells were Gram- and Ziehl Neelsen-stain-negative, rod-shaped, motile, and exhibited a blue-white fluorescence under Wood's lamp at 365 nm. The strains grew in a range of 32-37 °C on BCYE with (C+), GVPC, and MWY agar medium, with a positive reaction for oxidase, catalase, and gelatinase.

Persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection with multiple clinical relapses in two patients with follicular lymphoma treated with bendamustine and obinutuzumab or rituximab.

Purpose: People with hematologic malignancies have a significantly higher risk of developing severe and protracted forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to immunocompetent patients, regardless of vaccination status.

Results: We describe two cases of prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection with multiple relapses of COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with follicular lymphoma treated with bendamustine and obinutuzumab or rituximab. The aim is to highlight the complexity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in this fragile group of patients and the necessity of evidence-based strategies to treat them properly.

sp. nov., isolated from a hotel water distribution system in northern Italy.

-like isolates, strains 27fs60, 30fs61 and 30cs62, were isolated from a hotel water distribution system in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy. Isolates were Gram- and Ziehl Neelsen-stain-negative, rod-shaped, with transitory flagella presence and able to grow at 32-37 °C (with an optimum at 32 °C) on buffered charcoal-yeast extract agar with l-cysteine, glycine-vancomycin-polymyxin B-cycloheximide agar and Wadowsky-Yee medium agar. The strains showed positive reactions for oxidase, hippurate and gelatinase and a weakly positive reaction for catalase.

Combining Traditional and Molecular Techniques Supports the Discovery of a Novel Species During Environmental Surveillance in a Healthcare Facility.

surveillance plays a significant role not only to prevent the risk of infection but also to study the ecology of isolates, their characteristics, and how their prevalence changes in the environment. The difficulty in isolation, identification, and typing results in a low notification rate; therefore, human infection is still underestimated. In addition, during surveillance, the special attention given to leads to an underestimation of the prevalence and risk of infection for other species.

Draft Genome Sequence of Species Isolated from Drinking Water in an Italian Industry.

We report the draft genome sequences of an environmental strain isolated from an industrial water distribution system in Italy. Macrophage infectivity potentiator ( and β-subunit of RNA polymerase () genes were used to perform the species identification. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) identified the isolate as belonging to a presumptive novel species, with a genome length of 3,281,851 bp.

New Insight regarding Non- Species Identification: Comparison between the Traditional Gene Classification Scheme and a Newly Proposed Scheme Targeting the Gene.

The identification of non- species (non-) in clinical and environmental samples is based on the gene, although several studies suggest its limitations and the need to expand the classification scheme to include other genes. In this study, the development of a new classification scheme targeting the gene is proposed to obtain a more reliable identification of 135 environmental isolates. All isolates were sequenced for the and genes, and the results were compared to study the discriminatory power of the proposed scheme.

A five-component infection control bundle to permanently eliminate a carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii spreading in an intensive care unit.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) infection outbreaks are difficult to control and sometimes require cohorting of CRAB-positive patients or temporary ward closure for environmental cleaning. We aimed at controlling the deadly 2018 CRAB outbreak in a 12 bed- intensive care unit (ICU) including 9 beds in a 220 m open space. We implemented a new multimodal approach without ward closure, cohorting or temporarily limiting admissions.

Beauveria bassiana keratitis: Management of an atypical clinical presentation.

We report an atypical presentation of keratitis which unusually presented in a 85-year-old patient with a corneal ulcer with an anterior segment inflammation and . Despite negative culture and unspecific results from panfungal PCR-based sequencing, the patient was treated for a presumed fungal infection. Following clinical deterioration an emergency surgical intervention with apposition of a corneal patch was performed.

Draft Genome Sequences of Presumptive Novel Species Isolated during Environmental Surveillance in Artificial Water Systems.

We present the draft genome sequences of three strains that were isolated from a hotel water distribution system. species identification was performed by macrophage infectivity potentiator () and RNA polymerase β subunit () gene sequencing. Whole-genome sequencing and average nucleotide identity results supported the hypothesis of new species isolation.

Evaluation of MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry in Diagnostic and Environmental Surveillance of Species: A Comparison With Culture and -Gene Sequencing Technique.

spp. are widespread bacteria in aquatic environments with a growing impact on human health. Between the 61 species, is the most prevalent in human diseases; on the contrary, non- species are less detected in clinical diagnosis or during environmental surveillance due to their slow growth in culture and the absence of specific and rapid diagnostic/analytical tools.

A Retrospective Whole-Genome Sequencing Analysis of Carbapenem and Colistin-Resistant Nosocomial Strains Isolated during an MDR Surveillance Program.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR ), in particular carbapenem-resistant (CR-), has become endemic in Italy, where alarming data have been reported on the spread of colistin-resistant CR- (CRCR-). During the period 2013-2014, 27 CRCR- nosocomial strains were isolated within the Modena University Hospital Policlinico (MUHP) multidrug resistance surveillance program. We retrospectively investigated these isolates by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis of the resistome, virulome, plasmid content, and core single nucleotide polymorphisms (cSNPs) in order to gain insights into their molecular epidemiology.

Advances in Control by a New Formulation of Hydrogen Peroxide and Silver Salts in a Hospital Hot Water Network.

surveillance is an important issue in public health, linked to the severity of disease and the difficulty associated with eradicating this bacterium from the water environment. Different treatments are suggested to reduce risk, however long-term studies of their efficiency are lacking. This study focused on the activity of a new formulation of hydrogen peroxide and silver salts, WTP828, in the hospital hot water network (HWN) to contain contamination during two years of treatment.

Genome-based taxonomic revision detects a number of synonymous taxa in the genus Mycobacterium.

The aim of this study was to clarify the taxonomic status of named species within the genus Mycobacterium. The analysis of genomes belonging to 174 taxa (species or subspecies) of the genus Mycobacterium was conducted using both the Average Nucleotide Identity and the Genome to Genome Distance. A number of synonymous taxa were detected.

Improvement of Legionnaires' disease diagnosis using real-time PCR assay: a retrospective analysis, Italy, 2010 to 2015.

AimTo evaluate real-time PCR as a diagnostic method for Legionnaires' disease (LD). Detection of DNA is among the laboratory criteria of a probable LD case, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, although the utility and advantages, as compared to culture, are widely recognised.MethodsTwo independent laboratories, one using an in-house and the other a commercial real-time PCR assay, analysed 354 respiratory samples from 311 patients hospitalised with pneumonia between 2010-15.

Immunophenotypic profile and clinical outcome of monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis in kidney transplantation.

Monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL) is a lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by clonal expansion of a B-cell population in peripheral blood of otherwise healthy subjects. MBL is divided into CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia)-like, atypical CLL-like and non-CLL MBL. The aim of this study was to evaluate immunophenotypic characteristics and clinical outcomes of MBL in kidney transplant (KT) recipients.

Two Overlapping Clusters of Group B Streptococcus Late-onset Disease in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Objectives: Current predominant routes of group B Streptococcus (GBS) transmission in preterm neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are poorly defined. We report 2 overlapping clusters of GBS late-onset disease (LOD) from June to September 2015 in an Italian NICU.

Methods: During the outbreak, possible sources of transmission (equipment, feeding bottles and breast pumps) were swabbed.

The new phylogeny of the genus Mycobacterium: The old and the news.

Background: Phylogenetic studies of bacteria have been based so far either on a single gene (usually the 16S rRNA) or on concatenated housekeeping genes. For what concerns the genus Mycobacterium these approaches support the separation of rapidly and slowly growing species and the clustering of most species in well-defined phylogenetic groups. The advent of high-throughput shotgun sequencing leads us to revise conventional taxonomy of mycobacteria on the light of genomic data.

Genomic characterization of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae have remained, for many years, the primary species of the genus Mycobacterium of clinical and microbiological interest. The other members of the genus, referred to as nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), have long been underinvestigated. In the last decades, however, the number of reports linking various NTM species with human diseases has steadily increased and treatment difficulties have emerged.

Effect of monochloramine treatment on colonization of a hospital water distribution system by Legionella spp.: a 1 year experience study.

Contamination of hot water distribution systems by Legionella represents a great challenge due to difficulties associated with inactivating microorganisms, preserving the water characteristics. The aim of this study was to examine over the course of 1 year in 11 fixed sites, the impact of monochloramine disinfection on Legionella, heterotrophic bacteria (36 °C), Pseudomonas aeruginosa contamination, and chemical parameters of a plumbing system in an Italian hospital. Three days after installation (T0), in the presence of monochloramine concentration between 1.

Acute hepatitis B caused by a vaccine-escape HBV strain in vaccinated subject: sequence analysis and therapeutic strategy.

HBV vaccine contains the 'a' determinant region, the major immune-target of antibodies (anti-HBs). Failure of immunization may be caused by vaccine-induced or spontaneous 'a' determinant surface gene mutants. Here, we evaluate the possible lack of protection by HBV vaccine, describing the case of an acute hepatitis B diagnosed in a 55-year-old Caucasian male unpaid blood donor, vaccinated against HBV.

Characterization of 17 strains belonging to the Mycobacterium simiae complex and description of Mycobacterium paraense sp. nov.

Fourteen mycobacterial strains isolated from pulmonary samples of independent patients in the state of Pará (Brazil), and three strains isolated in Italy, were characterized using a polyphasic approach. Thorough genetic investigation, including whole-genome sequencing, demonstrated that the strains belong to the M. simiae complex, being most closely related to Mycobacterium interjectum.