Publications by authors named "Burkhard Springer"

Unlabelled: In spring 2022, an increase in metallo-β-lactamase-producing (MBL-Pa) infections was detected in a hospital in Upper Austria. To identify the source of infection and to stop further transmissions, an epidemiological outbreak investigation including whole-genome sequencing (WGS)-based typing was conducted. The final case definition included cases admitted to the hospital between 2020 and 2023 with an MBL-Pa in one of the three genomic clusters identified.

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The objective of this study was to characterize spp. and related organisms isolated from powder dairy products intended for consumption by adults and older adults using whole-genome sequencing (WGS), and to identify genes and traits that encode antibiotic resistance and virulence. Virulence (VGs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were detected with the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD) platform, ResFinder, and MOB-suite tools.

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  • - The study focuses on antibiotic resistance in livestock, particularly food-producing animals, and its implications for public health, emphasizing the potential for resistant bacteria to enter the food chain.
  • - Researchers analyzed genetic characteristics of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from humans and poultry in Edo State, Nigeria, identifying 91 isolates using mass spectrometry and various testing methods to assess their resistance to 12 antibiotics.
  • - The findings revealed that several isolates, particularly from humans, carried extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) genes, highlighting the need for a comprehensive 'One Health' approach to monitor and manage antimicrobial resistance in the region.
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  • * A total of 109 bovine fecal samples and 43 environmental samples were tested, revealing that 17% of bovine and 19% of environmental isolates were antibiotic resistant, confirmed through advanced identification methods.
  • * Whole genome sequencing identified various resistance genes in all resistant isolates, with some showing multidrug resistance, indicating a significant spread of antibiotic resistance among livestock and environmental sources in Nigeria.
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Extraintestinal Escherichia coli sequence type 1193 (ST1193) is an important source of fluoroquinolone resistance, which has emerged in recent years. We report the first draft genome sequence and annotation of a multidrug-resistant E. coli ST1193 strain obtained from a wastewater treatment plant in Austria.

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We report the draft genomes of two Listeria monocytogenes strains that were isolated from the invasive alien snail species Arion vulgaris in Austria in 2019.

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The complex comprises several closely related entities, which are ubiquitous in the natural environment, including in plants, animals, and humans. is the major species within this complex. strains are opportunistic pathogens and a common cause of healthcare-associated infections.

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Article Synopsis
  • Extended Spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae pose a significant risk due to their role in multidrug-resistant infections and are on the WHO's global priority list for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
  • A study in Edo State, Nigeria, collected 217 clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae to assess the frequency of ESBL genes, with 148 (68.2%) of these being multidrug-resistant; 60 of those were confirmed to produce ESBL.
  • The predominant ESBL gene identified was CTX-M-15, found in 93.3% of the ESBL-positive isolates, highlighting the urgent need for ongoing surveillance of antibiotic resistance to mitigate its impact on public health.
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In late December 2018, an outbreak of listeriosis occurred after a group of 32 individuals celebrated in a tavern in Styria, Austria; traditional Austrian food (e.g. meat, meat products and cheese) was served.

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The aim of the present study was to investigate the diversity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that originated from Austrian companion animals during the last five-year period. A total of 90 non-repetitive MRSA isolates were obtained during diagnostic activities from autumn 2013 to autumn 2018. They originated from horses (n = 62), cats (n = 13), dogs (n = 10), rabbits (n = 2), a domestic canary, a zoo-kept hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus) and a semi-captive northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita).

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In Austria, all laboratories are legally obligated to forward human and food/environmental isolates to the National Reference Laboratory/Center (NRL) for . Two invasive human isolates of serotype 1/2a of the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern, previously unknown in Austria, were cultured for the first time in January 2016. Five further human isolates, obtained from patients with invasive listeriosis between April 2016 and September 2017, showed this PFGE pattern.

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  • In 2016, a pilot project by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety aimed to study antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in surface water by analyzing river water samples and comparing them with clinical isolates from hospitals.
  • Five isolates (three ESBL-producing and two carbapenem resistant) were found in water samples, and their genetic makeup was compared to 95 clinical isolates, revealing three distinct clusters of strains.
  • The study highlights a genetic link between waterborne and clinical strains, raising concerns about wastewater treatment plant effluents affecting public health, and underscores the need for strategies to control the spread of multi-resistant bacteria into the environment.
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Despite their general low incidence, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia (E.) coli (STEC) infections are considered an important public health issue due to the severity of illness that can develop, particularly in young children. We report on two Austrian petting zoos, one in Tyrol (2015) and one in Vorarlberg (2016), which were identified as highly likely infection sources of STEC infections.

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The increasing emergence of multi-resistant bacteria in healthcare settings, in the community and in the environment represents a major health threat worldwide. In 2016, we started a pilot project to investigate antimicrobial resistance in surface water. Bacteria were enriched, cultivated on selective chromogenic media and species identification was carried out by MALDI-TOF analysis.

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The occurrence of multidrug-resistant strains producing metallo-β-lactamases or extended-spectrum β-lactamases represents a serious public health threat. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of a multidrug-resistant carbapenemase-producing isolate recovered from the bronchoalveolar lavage specimen of a patient suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

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The increasing emergence of multiresistant bacteria in health care settings in the community and in the environment represents a major health threat worldwide. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of a community-acquired methicillin-resistant (CA-MRSA) USA300 isolate (W1) from a small river in southern Austria.

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Background: Enterobacteriaceae are ubiquitously present in nature and can be found in the intestinal tract of humans and animals as commensal flora. Multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae are increasingly reported and are a threat to public health implicating a need for accurate identification of the isolates to species level. In developing countries, identification of bacteria basically depends on conventional methods: culture and phenotypic methods that hamper the accurate identification of bacteria.

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Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is currently becoming the method of choice for characterization of Listeria monocytogenes isolates in national reference laboratories (NRLs). WGS is superior with regards to accuracy, resolution and analysis speed in comparison to several other methods including serotyping, PCR, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), and multivirulence-locus sequence typing (MVLST), which have been used thus far for the characterization of bacterial isolates (and are still important tools in reference laboratories today) to control and prevent listeriosis, one of the major sources of foodborne diseases for humans. Backward compatibility of WGS to former methods can be maintained by extraction of the respective information from WGS data.

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We report here the draft genome sequence of Listeria monocytogenes strain SLCC208 from Seeliger's historical Special Listeria Culture Collection, initially cultured from a human case in France in 1921. This is, to our knowledge, the oldest L. monocytogenes isolate available and may be useful for comparative genomic studies of L.

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We report on a cluster of shigellosis including 21 cases in refugees and two in local residents who worked in refugee transit centres, detected in Austria in 2015, between calendar weeks 29 and 47. The species isolated from the cluster cases, including one mixed infection, were S. sonnei (n = 13), S.

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Antibiotic resistance genes may be considered as environmental pollutants if anthropogenic emission and manipulations increase their prevalence above usually occurring background levels. The prevalence of aph(3')-IIa/nptII and aph(3')-IIIa/nptIII - frequent marker genes in plant biotechnology conferring resistance to certain aminoglycosides - was determined in Austrian soils from 100 maize and potato fields not yet exposed to but eligible for GMO crop cultivation. Total soil DNA extracts were analysed by nptII/nptIII-specific TaqMan real time PCR.

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The aminoglycoside phosphotransferase aph(3')-IIa primarily inactivates kanamycin and neomycin, whilst aph(3')-IIIa also inactivates amikacin. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of both resistance genes in major human pathogens to obtain their baseline prevalence in the gene pool of these bacterial populations in Austria. In total, 10 541 Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica subsp.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis survives and replicates in macrophages, where it is exposed to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that damage DNA. In this study, we investigated the roles of UvrA and UvrD1, thought to be parts of the nucleotide excision repair pathway of M. tuberculosis.

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