Intrinsic epidemicity of Streptococcus pneumoniae depends on strain serotype and antibiotic susceptibility pattern.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of invasive diseases worldwide. It spreads through an interindividual transmission, followed by usually harmless colonization of the host. Possible transmission differences reflecting intrinsic strain features (e.

Antibiotics for nasopharyngitis are associated with a lower risk of office-based physician visit for acute otitis media within 14 days for 3- to 6-year-old children.

Objectives: This study was designed to analyse factors potentially influencing children's return visits to physicians for symptoms of acute otitis media (AOM) within 14 days after being diagnosed with nasopharyngitis (NP), and the impact of recent antibiotic use.

Design: A controlled population-based pharmaco-epidemiological trial in 3- to 6-year-old children conducted from January to May 2000.

Setting: Three different geographical regions in France.

Reduction of antibiotic use in the community reduces the rate of colonization with penicillin G-nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Background: There is a lack of evidence documenting the impact of optimized antibiotic use on the rates of colonization with penicillin G-nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae (PNSP) in children. This study evaluates the effect of community-based intervention strategies on the prevalence of pnsp colonization.

Methods: A controlled, population-based pharmacoepidemiological trial was conducted from January through May 2000.

Amoxicillin-clavulanate therapy increases childhood nasal colonization by methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus strains producing high levels of penicillinase.

We examined factors associated with penicillinase production by nasal carriage Staphylococcus aureus strains in 648 children aged 3 to 6 years attending 20 randomly sampled playschools. The children were prospectively monitored for drug use and medical events for 6 months and were then screened for S. aureus carriage.

Role of the quorum-sensing system in experimental pneumonia due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in rats.

The virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is partly controlled by the las quorum-sensing system. A rat model of acute pneumonia was used to investigate the pathophysiological impact of this system by comparing the virulence of the wild-type virulent laboratory strain PAO1 with that of its lasR-deleted mutant PAOR. In comparison with PAO1, PAOR was avirulent after an instillation of 106 cfu (mortality rates, 72 versus 0%, respectively; p < 0.

Transfusion-related infectious mononucleosis.

Careful donor selection has reduced but not eliminated the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections. We report a case of transfusion-related infectious mononucleosis. Given the pivotal role of Epstein-Barr virus in the development of lymphoproliferative disorders after solid-organ transplantation, its potential transmission by blood products deserves to be considered in this population.

Moving from recommendation to implementation and audit: part 1. Current recommendations and programs: a critical commentary.

Growing concern over the spread of resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobials has prompted a plethora of recommendations for its control. Strategic programs for resistance containment have been initiated in various countries, particularly in Western Europe and North America. The World Health Organization and the European Union have responded to the need for international action by publishing guidance and encouraging collaboration.

Narrow versus broad spectrum antibacterials: factors in the selection of pneumococcal resistance to beta-lactams.

Streptococus pneumoniae represents an interesting model to discuss the relative impact of broad versus narrow spectrum antibacterials as potential selectors for resistance. Indeed, this pathogen is responsible for potentially severe infections in the community, and has a great capacity for acquisition of resistance to antibacterial agents. It has been the focus of many studies to elucidate some unique aspects of molecular biology, including the adaptive mechanisms responsible for emergence and spread of multiresistance.

Early bacterial and inflammatory responses to antibiotic therapy in a model of polymicrobial peritonitis in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the consequences of different more or less selective treatments on the microbiological and inflammatory responses within the peritoneum. METHODS: The early effects of various antibiotic regimens were evaluated in a model of polymicrobial peritonitis with specifically prepared organisms. Six regimens (amoxycillin plus gentamicin, pefloxacin, ornidazole, pefloxacin plus ornidazole, imipenem and imipenem plus gentamicin) were evaluated at 24 h and 3 days in a non-fatal model of peritonitis in rats achieved by implantation of a capsule containing Escherichia coli, Bacteroides fragilis and Enterococcus faecalis.

Evaluation of the effect of interleukin-10 on the multiplication of Mycobacterium avium complex in human macrophages and in C57BL/6 mice.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of recombinant human IL-10 (rhIL-10) on MAC infection of human macrophages and C57BL/6 mice. METHODS: We compared rhIL-10 with the effects of the immunosuppressive drugs prednisolone and cyclosporin A, both in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: There was no effect of rhIL-10 on the multiplication of MAC in human macrophages after 1 week of infection.