The rise and spread of a new pathogen: seroresistant Moraxella catarrhalis.

The nosocomial human pathogen Moraxella catarrhalis is one the most important agents of human respiratory tract infections. This species is composed of two distinct lineages, one of only moderate virulence, the so-called serosensitive subpopulation, and a second, the seroresistant one, which is enriched among strains that harbor two major virulence traits: complement resistance and adherence to epithelial cells. Using a suite of population genetics tools, we show that the seroresistant lineage is also characterized by higher homologous recombination and mutation rates at housekeeping genes relative to its less pathogenic counterpart.

Strict infection control measures do not prevent clonal spread of coagulase negative staphylococci colonizing central venous catheters in neutropenic hemato-oncologic patients.

Coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) are a main cause of catheter related infections (CRI). Earlier studies (1994-1996) revealed a high incidence of CRI (6 per 1000 catheter days) among neutropenic hemato-oncologic patients in the Erasmus MC Hematology Department (Rotterdam, The Netherlands). This was mainly explained by expansion of two methicillin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) clones (Nouwen et al.

A case of Mycoplasma hominis meningo-encephalitis in a full-term infant: rapid recovery after start of treatment with ciprofloxacin.

Unlabelled: The role of Mycoplasma hominisas a causative agent for neonatal sepsis and meningitis is still unclear. Meningitis secondary to M. hominisis well-described in the literature; however, M.

Galactomannan detection in computerized tomography-based broncho-alveolar lavage fluid and serum in haematological patients at risk for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis.

We determined the value of galactomannan (GM) detection in computerized tomography (CT)-based broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and serum for the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in haemato-oncological patients with neutropenia. CT of the thorax and BAL were performed systematically at predefined clinical indications. GM was determined by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; the clinicians were unaware of the results.

Phylogenetic background and virulence profiles of fluoroquinolone-resistant clinical Escherichia coli isolates from the Netherlands.

Thirteen fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli (FQREC) isolates from hospitalized patients in the Netherlands were found to represent predominantly (low-virulence) phylogenetic groups A and B1 and to lack extraintestinal virulence traits. These FQREC resemble animal-source E. coli and presumably pose little threat to noncompromised hosts.