Evaluation of Phenotypic Tests for Carbapenemase Detection in Enterobacteriaceae in Tunisia.

Resistance to carbapenems in Enterobacteriaceae is a challenge for public health. Carbapenemase production is the leading mechanism. This work aims to evaluate four phenotypic methods for carbapenemase detection in comparison with a molecular method.

Usefulness of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra for rapid diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Tunisia.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) remains a challenging diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra (Cepheid, USA) for rapid diagnosis of EPTB in Tunisia. Eight hundred and forty-seven extrapulmonary samples collected from 2017 to 2021, were subjected to Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra.

Accuracy of the QIAxcel Automated System for MIRU-VNTR Genotyping of in Two Limited Resource Settings.

Mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing of complex (MTBC) isolates, based on 24 loci, is still widely used as the standard for routine molecular surveillance of tuberculosis (TB). QIAxcel system is proposed as an affordable tool that could replace conventional gel electrophoresis and provide high concordance with the reference methods regarding MIRU-VNTR typing of MTBC. We aimed to evaluate the QIAxcel accuracy for allele calling of MIRU-VNTR loci in two regional reference laboratories.

Whole-Genome Sequencing of Drug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains, Tunisia, 2012-2016.

To investigate transmission of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Tunisia, we performed whole-genome sequencing on 46 multidrug-resistant strains isolated during 2012-2016. Core-genome multilocus sequence typing grouped 30 strains (65.2%) into 3 clusters, indicating extensive recent transmission and Haarlem clone predominance.

Diagnosis of lymph node tuberculosis using the GeneXpert MTB/RIF in Tunisia.

Introduction: GeneXpert MTB/RIF is a fully-automated diagnostic molecular test which simultaneously detects tuberculosis (TB) and rifampicin (RIF) drug resistance. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of the GeneXpert MTB/RIF test for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in lymph node specimens and to show the place of Mycobacterium bovis as a major cause of TB lymphadenitis.

Material And Methods: This study was conducted simultaneously in the National Reference Laboratory for Mycobacteria of Ariana and the Central Laboratory of Sfax, from January to December 2013.

Detection of isoniazid and rifampin resistance of Mycobacteriumtuberculosis by a multiplex allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay.

Background: The use of molecular techniques is a major improvement for the rapid routine detection and control of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Materials: In this study, the multiplex allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (MAS-PCR) was developed to simultaneously detect the most frequent mutations associated with isoniazid (INH) and rifampin (RIF) resistance in a single assay.

Results: The assay was tested with 53 clinical isolates.

Severe pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia admitted to medical Tunisian ICU.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). There are no available data about this disease in Tunisian intensive care patients. The objective of this study is to describe the clinical and microbiological features of pneumococcal CAP and determine the prognostic factors.

Molecular epidemiology of a Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 1 outbreak in a Tunisian jail.

The microbiologic investigations of an outbreak implicating 17 inmates demonstrated the spread of a pneumococcal serotype 1 clone not only in this jail but also in the area of Tunis. This clone, which is fully susceptible to antibiotics but not included in the heptavalent conjugate vaccine, should be closely monitored.