Endemic carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa with acquired metallo-beta-lactamase determinants in European hospital.

Acquired metallo-beta-lactamases (MBLs) can confer broad-spectrum beta-lactam resistance (including carbapenems) not reversible by conventional beta-lactamase inhibitors and are emerging resistance determinants of remarkable clinical importance. In 2001, multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa carrying bla(VIM) MBL genes were found to be widespread (approximately 20% of all P. aeruginosa isolates and 70% of the carbapenem-resistant isolates) at Trieste University Hospital.

Development of a microdilution method to evaluate Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug susceptibility.

A new rapid microdilution method, employing the dye resazurin as an indicator of mycobacterial growth, was developed to evaluate drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis reference strain H37Rv and of 13 M. tuberculosis susceptible or multidrug-resistant clinical strains. Different growth conditions were evaluated.

Molecular characterization of integrons in epidemiologically unrelated clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii from Italian hospitals reveals a limited diversity of gene cassette arrays.

Integron carriage by 36 epidemiologically unrelated Acinetobacter baumannii isolates collected over an 11-year period from patients in six different Italian hospitals was investigated. Sixteen type 1 integron-positive isolates (44%) were found, 13 of which carried the same array of cassettes, i.e.

Microbiological characterisation of Burkholderia cepacia isolates from cystic fibrosis patients: investigation of the exopolysaccharides produced.

Eleven strains of Burkholderia cepacia were isolated directly from clinical specimens: 10 from sputum of cystic fibrosis patients, and one from a vaginal swab. They were biochemically identified using API20NE and confirmed by a PCR-based assay. The genomovar characterisation obtained by specific PCR amplification revealed seven strains belonging to genomovar I, three belonging to genomovar IIIA and one belonging to genomovar IV.