Non-invasive infections are associated with different serotypes than invasive infections, Belgium, 2020 to 2023.

BackgroundDespite widely implemented pneumococcal vaccination programmes, remains a global risk for human health. can cause invasive (IPD) or non-invasive pneumococcal disease (NIPD). Surveillance is mainly focusing on IPD, assessing the full impact of pneumococcal vaccination programmes on pneumococcal disease is challenging.

Strategy to develop and validate digital droplet PCR methods for global antimicrobial resistance wastewater surveillance.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is currently one of the world's top 10 health threats, causing infections to become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, disability, and death. Accurate surveillance is a key component in the fight against AMR. Wastewater is progressively becoming a new player in AMR surveillance, with the promise of a cost-effective real-time tracking of global AMR profiles in specific regions.

Personalized bacteriophage therapy outcomes for 100 consecutive cases: a multicentre, multinational, retrospective observational study.

In contrast to the many reports of successful real-world cases of personalized bacteriophage therapy (BT), randomized controlled trials of non-personalized bacteriophage products have not produced the expected results. Here we present the outcomes of a retrospective observational analysis of the first 100 consecutive cases of personalized BT of difficult-to-treat infections facilitated by a Belgian consortium in 35 hospitals, 29 cities and 12 countries during the period from 1 January 2008 to 30 April 2022. We assessed how often personalized BT produced a positive clinical outcome (general efficacy) and performed a regression analysis to identify functional relationships.

Multicenter comparison of Etest, Vitek2 and BD Phoenix to broth microdilution for beta-lactam susceptibility testing of Streptococcus pneumonia.

Purpose: To assess performance of Etest®, Vitek®2 and BD Phoenix™ to determine the susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains to penicillin, ampicillin and cefotaxime.

Methods: Sixty unique S. pneumoniae challenge strains were selected to cover a wide range of penicillin, ampicillin and cefotaxime minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs).

Design and Validation of RT-PCR Assays to Differentiate Vaccine Strains from Wild-Type Field Isolates.

The timely differentiation of the AviPro Salmonella VAC T and VAC E strains from the wild-type ser. Typhimurium and ser. Enteritidis isolates is crucial for effectively monitoring veterinary isolates.

Meeting Report of the Second Symposium of the Belgian Society for Viruses of Microbes and Launch of the Phage Valley.

The second symposium of the Belgian Society for Viruses of Microbes (BSVoM) took place on 8 September 2023 at the University of Liège with 141 participants from 10 countries. The meeting program covered three thematic sessions opened by international keynote speakers: two sessions were devoted to "Fundamental research in phage ecology and biology" and the third one to the "Present and future applications of phages". During this one day symposium, four invited keynote lectures, nine selected talks and eight student pitches were given along with thirty presented posters.

The phage-encoded PIT4 protein affects multiple two-component systems of .

More and more isolates have become resistant to antibiotics like carbapenem. As a consequence, ranks in the top three of pathogens for which the development of novel antibiotics is the most crucial. The pathogen causes both acute and chronic infections, especially in patients who are the most vulnerable.

A genomic appraisal of invasive Salmonella Typhimurium and associated antibiotic resistance in sub-Saharan Africa.

Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease manifesting as bloodstream infection with high mortality is responsible for a huge public health burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is the main cause of iNTS disease in Africa.

Multicenter interlaboratory study of routine systems for the susceptibility testing of temocillin using a challenge panel of multidrug-resistant strains.

Accurate susceptibility result of temocillin (TMO) is important for treating infections caused by multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales. This multicenter study aimed to investigate the performance of routine temocillin testing assays against Enterobacterales challenging strains. Forty-seven selected clinical isolates were blindly analyzed by 12 Belgian laboratories using VITEK® 2 (n = 5) and BD Phoenix™ (n = 3) automated systems, ETEST® gradient strip (n = 3), and disk (3 brands) diffusion method (DD; n = 6) for temocillin susceptibility using standardized methodology.

A global genomic analysis of Salmonella Concord reveals lineages with high antimicrobial resistance in Ethiopia.

Antimicrobial resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Concord (S. Concord) is known to cause severe gastrointestinal and bloodstream infections in patients from Ethiopia and Ethiopian adoptees, and occasional records exist of S. Concord linked to other countries.

Foundation of the Belgian Society for Viruses of Microbes and Meeting Report of Its Inaugural Symposium.

The Belgian Society for Viruses of Microbes (BSVoM) was founded on 9 June 2022 to capture and enhance the collaborative spirit among the expanding community of microbial virus researchers in Belgium. The sixteen founders are affiliated to fourteen different research entities across academia, industry and government. Its inaugural symposium was held on 23 September 2022 in the Thermotechnical Institute at KU Leuven.

Characterization of a Bacteriophage GEC_vB_Bfr_UZM3 Active against .

is a commensal gut bacterium that is associated with a number of blood and tissue infections. It has not yet been recognized as one of the drug-resistant human pathogens, but cases of the refractory infections, caused by strains that are not susceptible to the common antibiotic regimes established for have been more frequently reported. Bacteriophages (phages) were found to be a successful antibacterial alternative to antibiotic therapy in many cases of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections.

Salmonella Durban meningitis: case report and genomics study.

Background: Bacterial meningitis caused by non-typhoid Salmonella can be a fatal condition which is more common in low and middle-income countries.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a Salmonella meningitis in a Belgian six-month old male infant. The first clinical examination was reassuring, but after a few hours, his general state deteriorated.

The evolution and international spread of extensively drug resistant Shigella sonnei.

Shigella sonnei causes shigellosis, a severe gastrointestinal illness that is sexually transmissible among men who have sex with men (MSM). Multidrug resistance in S. sonnei is common including against World Health Organisation recommended treatment options, azithromycin, and ciprofloxacin.

Targeted Chromosomal Barcoding Establishes Direct Genotype-Phenotype Associations for Antibiotic Resistance in Mycobacterium abscessus.

A bedaquiline-resistant Mycobacterium abscessus isolate was sequenced, and a candidate mutation in the gene was identified as responsible for the antibiotic resistance phenotype. To establish a direct genotype-phenotype relationship of this mutation which results in a Asp-to-Ala change at position 29 (D29A), we developed a recombineering-based method consisting of the specific replacement of the desired mutation in the bacterial chromosome. As surrogate bacteria, we used two M.

Using a combination of short- and long-read sequencing to investigate the diversity in plasmid- and chromosomally encoded extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) in clinical and isolates in Belgium.

For antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance, it is important not only to detect AMR genes, but also to determine their plasmidic or chromosomal location, as this will impact their spread differently. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is increasingly used for AMR surveillance. However, determining the genetic context of AMR genes using only short-read sequencing is complicated.

Validation of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy for Serotyping of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy (IR Biotyper; Bruker) allows highly discriminatory fingerprinting of closely related bacterial strains. In this study, FT-IR spectroscopy-based capsular typing of Streptococcus pneumoniae was validated as a rapid, cost-effective, and medium-throughput alternative to the classical phenotypic techniques. A training set of 233 strains was defined, comprising 34 different serotypes and including all 24 vaccine types (VTs) and 10 non-vaccine types (NVTs).

The AMR-ARRAY: A modular bead array detecting β-lactam, (fluoro) quinolone, colistin, aminoglycoside and macrolide resistance determinants in Gram-negative bacteria.

The aim of this study was to develop a highly multiplexed bead array to detect genes and/or mutations frequently associated with resistance to antimicrobials of the β-lactam, (fluoro)quinolone, colistin, macrolide and aminoglycoside families in Enterobacteriaceae such as Escherichia coli, Shigella spp. and Salmonella spp. Ligase Chain Reaction and the Luminex® technology were combined in a 53-plex assay designed to target selected genetic markers with 3 internal controls.

Metabolic reprogramming of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by phage-based quorum sensing modulation.

The Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) is a multifunctional quorum sensing molecule of key importance to P. aeruginosa. Here, we report that the lytic Pseudomonas bacterial virus LUZ19 targets this population density-dependent signaling system by expressing quorum sensing targeting protein (Qst) early during infection.

Multicentre study on the reproducibility of MALDI-TOF MS for nontuberculous mycobacteria identification.

The ability of MALDI-TOF for the identification of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) has improved recently thanks to updated databases and optimized protein extraction procedures. Few multicentre studies on the reproducibility of MALDI-TOF have been performed so far, none on mycobacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of MALDI-TOF for the identification of NTM in 15 laboratories in 9 European countries.

Retrospective evaluation of routine whole genome sequencing of at the Belgian National Reference Center, 2019.

Objectives: Since January 2019, the Belgian National Reference Center for Mycobacteria (NRC) has switched from conventional typing to prospective whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of all submitted complex (MTB) isolates. The ISO17025 validated procedure starts with semi-automated extraction and purification of gDNA directly from the submitted MGIT tubes, without preceding subculturing. All samples are then sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq sequencer and analyzed using an in-house developed and validated bioinformatics workflow to determine the species and antimicrobial resistance.

Genomic epidemiology of persistently circulating MDR Shigella sonnei strains associated with men who have sex with men (MSM) in Belgium (2013-19).

Objectives: Shigella sonnei resistant to first-line antibiotics azithromycin and ciprofloxacin are on the rise globally. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of MDR S. sonnei in Belgium and to identify origins and circulating clusters through WGS.

Coverage of the national surveillance system for human Salmonella infections, Belgium, 2016-2020.

Introduction: The surveillance of human salmonellosis in Belgium is dependent on the referral of human Salmonella isolates to the National Reference Center (NRC). Knowledge of current diagnostic practices and the coverage of the national Salmonella surveillance system are important to correctly interpret surveillance data and trends over time, to estimate the true burden of salmonellosis in Belgium, and to evaluate the appropriateness of implementing whole-genome sequencing (WGS) at this central level.

Methods: The coverage of the NRC was defined as the proportion of all diagnosed human Salmonella cases in Belgium reported to the NRC and was assessed for 2019 via a survey among all licensed Belgian medical laboratories in 2019, and for 2016-2020 via a capture-recapture study using the Sentinel Network of Laboratories (SNL) as the external source.

The bacteriophage LUZ24 "Igy" peptide inhibits the Pseudomonas DNA gyrase.

The bacterial DNA gyrase complex (GyrA/GyrB) plays a crucial role during DNA replication and serves as a target for multiple antibiotics, including the fluoroquinolones. Despite it being a valuable antibiotics target, resistance emergence by pathogens including Pseudomonas aeruginosa are proving problematic. Here, we describe Igy, a peptide inhibitor of gyrase, encoded by Pseudomonas bacteriophage LUZ24 and other members of the Bruynoghevirus genus.