Correction: Scabies Mite Peritrophins Are Potential Targets of Human Host Innate Immunity.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.

An outbreak of acute rheumatic fever in a remote Aboriginal community.

Objectives: We describe the public health response to an outbreak of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) in a remote Aboriginal community.

Methods: In August 2021, the Northern Territory Rheumatic Heart Disease Control Program identified an outbreak of acute rheumatic fever in a remote Aboriginal community. A public health response was developed using a modified acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis protocol and the National Acute Rheumatic Fever Guideline for Public Health Units.

minSNPs: an R package for the derivation of resolution-optimised SNP sets from microbial genomic data.

Here, we present the R package, minSNPs. This is a re-development of a previously described Java application named Minimum SNPs. MinSNPs assembles resolution-optimised sets of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from sequence alignments such as genome-wide orthologous SNP matrices.

First Description of the Composition and the Functional Capabilities of the Skin Microbial Community Accompanying Severe Scabies Infestation in Humans.

Epidemiological studies link infection and impetigo. Scabies mites can promote (Group A ) and infections by breaching the skin barrier and excreting molecules that inhibit host innate immune responses. However, little is known about the composition and the function of the scabies-associated microbiota.

Molecular diagnosis of scabies using a novel probe-based polymerase chain reaction assay targeting high-copy number repetitive sequences in the Sarcoptes scabiei genome.

Background: The suboptimal sensitivity and specificity of available diagnostic methods for scabies hampers clinical management, trials of new therapies and epidemiologic studies. Additionally, parasitologic diagnosis by microscopic examination of skin scrapings requires sample collection with a sharp scalpel blade, causing discomfort to patients and difficulty in children. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic assays, combined with non-invasive sampling methods, represent an attractive approach.

Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology of an Emerging Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Positive ST5 Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Clone in Northern Australia.

Recently, we identified a sequence type 5 (ST5) clone in northern Australia with discrepant trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (SXT) susceptibility results. We aimed to identify isolates of this clone using Vitek 2 SXT resistance as a proxy and to compare its epidemiology with those of other circulating strains. We collated Vitek 2 susceptibility data for isolates collected through our laboratory and conducted a prospective, case-control study comparing clinical, microbiological, epidemiological, and genomic data for subsets of isolates reported as SXT resistant (cases) and SXT susceptible (controls) by Vitek 2.

Longitudinal whole-genome based comparison of carriage and infection associated Staphylococcus aureus in northern Australian dialysis clinics.

Background: The study objective was to reveal reservoirs potentially leading to Staphylococcus aureus infections in haemodialysis clinic clients in the tropical north of the Australian Northern Territory (NT). This client population are primarily Aboriginal Australians who have a greater burden of ill health than other Australians. Reservoir identification will enhance infection control in this client group, including informing potential S.

High-quality nuclear genome for Sarcoptes scabiei-A critical resource for a neglected parasite.

The parasitic mite Sarcoptes scabiei is an economically highly significant parasite of the skin of humans and animals worldwide. In humans, this mite causes a neglected tropical disease (NTD), called scabies. This disease results in major morbidity, disability, stigma and poverty globally and is often associated with secondary bacterial infections.

Correction to: Nevus of Ota - an intraoral presentation: a case report.

In the publication of this article [1], the figures were accidentally omitted due to an error. This has now been updated in the original article within the Case presentation section.

Identification and Discrimination of Chlamydia trachomatis Ocular and Urogenital Strains and Major Phylogenetic Lineages by CtGEM Typing, A Double-Locus Genotyping Method.

CtGEM typing was developed to subdivide the bacterial species Chlamydia trachomatis on the basis of genome phylogeny and anatomical tropism. The rationale was facilitation of surveillance for ocular strains, although the method is applicable to essentially any C. trachomatis surveillance application that does not require high resolution.

Concerns for efficacy of a 30-valent M-protein-based Streptococcus pyogenes vaccine in regions with high rates of rheumatic heart disease.

The prevalence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in the Aboriginal population of the Australian Northern Territory is high, and Streptococcus pyogenes skin infections likely contribute to this. A promising candidate S. pyogenes "30mer" vaccine is composed of 30 pharyngitis associated type-specific antigens from the S.

Nevus of Ota - an intraoral presentation: a case report.

Background: Nevus of Ota or "oculodermal melanocytosis" is a rare congenital hamartoma of dermal melanocytes causing a blue-gray hyperpigmentation of the eye and surrounding structures. The condition, originally described by Ota and Tanino in 1939, mainly affects the ophthalmic and maxillary divisions of the trigeminal nerve. We describe the first reported case of unilateral oculodermal melanocytosis in a Caucasian woman with oral buccal mucosal involvement.

Potential for Molecular Testing for Group A Streptococcus to Improve Diagnosis and Management in a High-Risk Population: A Prospective Study.

Background: In high-burden settings, guidelines recommend antibiotic treatment for all suspected group A (GAS) infections to prevent rheumatic fever and poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. Highly sensitive rapid GAS tests could reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in these settings.

Methods: This was a prospective study of the Xpert Xpress Strep A (Cepheid) molecular test compared with culture of throat swab samples collected at a referral hospital in northern Australia.

A cluster of acute rheumatic fever cases among Aboriginal Australians in a remote community with high baseline incidence.

Objectives: We report a cluster of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) cases and the public health response in a high-burden Australian setting.

Methods: The public health unit was notified of an increase in ARF cases in a remote Australian Aboriginal community. A multi-disciplinary group coordinated the response.

Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Children in a Remote Aboriginal Community in the Northern Territory: Hookworm is Rare but Strongyloides stercoralis and Trichuris trichiura Persist.

(1) Background: soil-transmitted helminths are a problem worldwide, largely affecting disadvantaged populations. The little data available indicates high rates of infection in some remote Aboriginal communities in Australia. Studies of helminths were carried out in the same remote community in the Northern Territory in 1994⁻1996 and 2010⁻2011; (2) Methods: fecal samples were collected from children aged <10 years and examined for helminths by direct smear microscopy.

Global Scale Dissemination of ST93: A Divergent Epidemic Lineage That Has Recently Emerged From Remote Northern Australia.

In Australia, community-associated methicillin-resistant (MRSA) lineage sequence type (ST) 93 has rapidly risen to dominance since being described in the early 1990s. We examined 459 ST93 genome sequences from Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, and Europe to investigate the evolutionary history of ST93, its emergence in Australia and subsequent spread overseas. Comparisons with other genomes indicate that ST93 is an early diverging and recombinant lineage, comprising of segments from the ST59/ST121 lineage and from a divergent but currently unsampled Staphylococcal population.

Phylogenetic relationships, stage-specific expression and localisation of a unique family of inactive cysteine proteases in Sarcoptes scabiei.

Background: Scabies is worldwide one of the most common, yet neglected, parasitic skin infections, affecting a wide range of mammals including humans. Limited treatment options and evidence of emerging mite resistance against the currently used drugs drive our research to explore new therapeutic candidates. Previously, we discovered a multicopy family of genes encoding cysteine proteases with their catalytic sites inactivated by mutation (SMIPP-Cs).

CtGEM typing: Discrimination of Chlamydia trachomatis ocular and urogenital strains and major evolutionary lineages by high resolution melting analysis of two amplified DNA fragments.

Chlamydia trachomatis infects the urogenital tract (UGT) and eyes. Anatomical tropism is correlated with variation in the major outer membrane protein encoded by ompA. Strains possessing the ocular ompA variants A, B, Ba and C are typically found within the phylogenetically coherent "classical ocular lineage".

Staphylococcus aureus Prostatic abscess: a clinical case report and a review of the literature.

Background: Prostatic abscess is a rare complication of acute bacterial prostatitis and is most commonly caused by Enterobacteriaceae. We report on a case of prostatic abscess caused by Staphylococcus aureus and conduct a review of the literature.

Case Presentative: We present a case of S.

Primary health clinic toilet/bathroom surface swab sampling can indicate community profile of sexually transmitted infections.

Background: The microbiome of built environment surfaces is impacted by the presence of humans. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that analysis of surface swabs from clinic toilet/bathroom yields results correlated with sexually transmitted infection (STI) notifications from corresponding human populations. We extended a previously reported study in which surfaces in toilet/bathroom facilities in primary health clinics in the Australian Northern Territory (NT) were swabbed then tested for nucleic acid from the STI agents and .

Management of proliferative verrucous leukoplakia: Justification for a conservative approach.

Background: Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is a progressive, multifocal, exophytic form of leukoplakia with high rates of malignant transformation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a cohort of patients with PVL in a single tertiary referral clinic.

Method: Cases meeting accepted diagnostic criteria were reviewed with regard to their pathology, demographic characteristics, management, and outcomes.

Contaminated fingers: a potential cause of positive urine specimens.

Objectives: The detection of an STI agent in a urogenital tract (UGT) specimen from a young child is regarded as being indicative of sexual abuse. However, the probabilities of contamination events that could conceivably lead to STI positive specimens in the absence of sexual contact are unclear. The objective was to estimate the potential for fingers that have come in contact with positive urine to detectably contaminate negative urine.