The effectiveness of a single-stage versus traditional three-staged protocol of hospital disinfection at eradicating vancomycin-resistant Enterococci from frequently touched surfaces.

Background: Environmental contamination is a reservoir for vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) in hospitals.

Methods: Environmental sampling of surfaces was undertaken anytime before disinfection and 1 hour after disinfection utilizing a sodium dichloroisocyanurate-based, 3-staged protocol (phase 1) or benzalkonium chloride-based, single-stage clean (phase 2). VRE colonization and infection rates are presented from 2010 to 2011, and audits of cleaning completeness were also analyzed.

Antibiotic resistance and resistance mechanisms in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli.

Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are recognized as the most common causative agents of bacterial gastroenteritis in the world and infections with these organisms occur more frequently than do infections due to Salmonella species, Shigella species, or Escherichia coli 0157:H7. The incidence of human Campylobacter infections has increased markedly in both developed and developing countries worldwide and, more significantly, so has the rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter strains, with evidence suggesting that the use of antibiotics, in particular the fluoroquinolones, as growth promoters in food animals and the veterinary industry is accelerating this trend. In this minireview, the patterns of emerging resistance to the antimicrobial agents useful in treatment of the disease are presented and the mechanisms of resistance to these drugs in Campylobacter spp are discussed.

Identification of putative zinc hydrolase genes of the metallo-beta-lactamase superfamily from Campylobacter jejuni.

DNA fragments encoding two putative zinc-dependent hydrolases, designated GLX2-1 and GLX2-2, from a clinical isolate of Campylobacter jejuni, strain 012, were cloned and sequenced. GLX2-1 was encoded by a sequence of 798 bp and GLX2-2 by a sequence of 597 bp. The amino acid sequences deduced from C.

Isolation and expression of a novel molecular class D beta-lactamase, OXA-61, from Campylobacter jejuni.

A novel beta-lactamase gene, blaOXA-61, from Campylobacter jejuni GC015 was cloned and its nucleotide sequence determined. blaOXA-61 encodes a protein of 257 amino acids in which the active-site STFK tetrad and conserved class D beta-lactamase motifs YGN and KTG were identified. A conserved sequence upstream of blaOXA-61 is required for expression in Campylobacter.

Taxonomy of Australian clinical isolates of the genus Photorhabdus and proposal of Photorhabdus asymbiotica subsp. asymbiotica subsp. nov. and P. asymbiotica subsp. australis subsp. nov.

The relationship of Photorhabdus isolates that were cultured from human clinical specimens in Australia to Photorhabdus asymbiotica isolates from human clinical specimens in the USA and to species of the genus Photorhabdus that are associated symbiotically with entomopathogenic nematodes was evaluated. A polyphasic approach that involved DNA-DNA hybridization, phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences and phenotypic characterization was adopted. These investigations showed that gyrB gene sequence data correlated well with DNA-DNA hybridization and phenotypic data, but that 16S rRNA gene sequence data were not suitable for defining species within the genus Photorhabdus.