Humoral immunity to tetanus, diphtheria and polio in adults after treatment for hematological malignancies.

Introduction: After chemotherapy, children with acute lymphocytic leukemia lose immunity and need revaccination against tetanus and diphtheria. However, little is known about immunity in adult patients after treatment for hematological malignancies. In this study, we assessed serology levels against polio, diphtheria and tetanus in adult patients after conventional treatment for leukemia and lymphoma.

Transmission dynamics study of tuberculosis isolates with whole genome sequencing in southern Sweden.

Epidemiological contact tracing complemented with genotyping of clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates is important for understanding disease transmission. In Sweden, tuberculosis (TB) is mostly reported in migrant and homeless where epidemiologic contact tracing could pose a problem. This study compared epidemiologic linking with genotyping in a low burden country.

Helicobacter pylori antibodies and iron deficiency in female adolescents.

Objective: Iron deficiency (ID) is a common clinical problem worldwide, affecting primarily females. Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection has been shown to be associated with ID. The objective of this study was to define the prevalence of HP antibodies in female adolescents, and to find out if there was a correlation between HP infection and ID.

Increase of β-lactam-resistant invasive Haemophilus influenzae in Sweden, 1997 to 2010.

The proportions of Haemophilus influenzae resistant to ampicillin and other β-lactam antibiotics have been low in Sweden compared to other countries in the Western world. However, a near-doubled proportion of nasopharyngeal Swedish H. influenzae isolates with resistance to β-lactams has been observed in the last decade.

The hygienic effectiveness of 2 different skin cleansing procedures.

Purpose: This study was designed to assess the ability of 2 skin cleaning procedures to remove transient microbial flora from the skin.

Design: The study is a direct comparison of 2 washing procedures: soap and water washing versus cleansing with a no-rinse cleanser.

Setting And Subjects: The trial was performed at the research facilities of the Department of Clinical Bacteriology at the University of Göteborg.

Genetic profiling of Campylobacter jejuni strains from humans infected in Sweden or in Thailand, and from healthy Swedish chickens, studied by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

The major objective of the study was to explore the genomic diversity between Campylobacter jejuni (C.jejuni) from different sources as a tool for epidemiological considerations. Subtyping was performed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and the enzyme used for cleavage was SmaI.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC).

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli has since the last 2 decades been known to cause severe and bloody diarrhoea as well as haemorrhagic colitis (HC) and haemorrhagic uraemic syndrome (HUS) especially among children. The importance of screening for EHEC among children and older patients with severe symptoms is apparent. Production of the verocytotoxins VT1 and VT2 are the main features of EHEC, and the VT types and mode of action during human infection is described.

Species identification by genotyping and determination of antibiotic resistance in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli from humans and chickens in Sweden.

Campylobacter is today the most common cause of human bacterial enteritis in Sweden, as well as in most other industrialized countries. Common sources of infection are undercooked chicken meat, unpasteurized milk and contaminated drinking water. One aim with our present study was to identify the species Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains from humans and chickens using a polymerase chain reaction/restriction enzyme analysis (PCR/REA) method, as well as traditional hippurate hydrolysis test.

Genetic profiling of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli strains in relation to clonality and clinical signs of infection.

Sixty-seven human strains of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) (from patients with more or less severe symptoms) were serogrouped and arranged according to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. We used PCR to investigate the strains according to known or putative virulence factors, and associations with disease were studied. All EHEC strains with the same PFGE pattern belonged to the same serogroup.