The importance of effect sizes when comparing cycle threshold values of SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Purpose: We aimed to elaborate whether cycle threshold (Ct) values differ significantly between wild type SARS-CoV-2 (wtV) and certain viral variants and how strong or weak a potential significant effect might be.

Methods: In a retrospective study, we investigated 1873 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples for the occurrence of viral marker mutations. Age, gender, clinical setting, days after onset of symptoms, and Ct values were recorded.

Where have the enteric viruses gone? - Differential effects on frequent causes of infectious diarrhoea by SARS-CoV-2 pandemic lockdown measures.

Background: Measures of distancing, wearing face/medical masks and lockdown introduced in many countries to meet the challenges of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have led to gross changes in the epidemiology of important infections. The observation of decline of positive norovirus tests after introduction of lockdown in Germany led us to investigate changes in the detection of major causes of diarrhoea by comparing pre-pandemic quarters (PPQ: 1Q/17 through 1Q/20) since 2017 and pandemic quarters (PQ: 2Q/20 through 1Q/21).

Methods And Setting: Bioscientia Laboratory Ingelheim is a large regional clinical pathology laboratory serving > 50 hospitals and > 5000 general practitioners and specialist outpatient practices located in the federal states Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Changing epidemiology of vancomycin-resistant : Results of a genome-based study at a regional neurological acute hospital with intensive care and early rehabilitation treatment.

Background: Vancomycin-resistant (VREfm) are an emerging threat worldwide. In Germany, a VRE-belt with higher VREfm prevalences transversing its central east-west axis and including the state of Hesse was previously described. Recently, we detected a predominant VREfm clone in hospitals throughout the Rhine-Main metropolitan area of Hesse.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in a large prospective cohort study of elite football players in Germany (May-June 2020): implications for a testing protocol in asymptomatic individuals and estimation of the rate of undetected cases.

Objectives: Elite professional football players and staff are a unique group that might give insight into the epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in Germany and thus can serve as a model for geographical distribution and an estimation of undetected infections.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study seroprevalence was determined twice in May and June 2020 in players and staff from the German Bundesliga. As screening assays, a commercial ELISA (Euroimmun) and a chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) (Roche) were used, and an in-house neutralization assay (NT) was used as reference standard.

Contrasting effects of linezolid on healthy and dysfunctional human neutrophils: reducing C5a-induced injury.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Patients with VAP have poorly functioning neutrophils, related to increased levels of the complement fragment C5a. The antibiotic linezolid has been useful in controlling MRSA-related VAP infections; however clinical benefit does not always correlate with antimicrobial effect, suggesting the possibility of immunomodulatory properties.

Temporal Changes in Patient-Matched Isolates from Infections: towards Defining a 'True' Persistent Infection.

is found naturally on the skin but is a common cause of persistent orthopaedic device-related infections (ODRIs). This study used a pan-genome and gene-by-gene approach to analyse the clonality of whole genome sequences (WGS) of 115 isolates from 55 patients with persistent ODRIs. Analysis of the 522 gene core genome revealed that the isolates clustered into three clades, and MLST analysis showed that 83% of the isolates belonged to clonal complex 2 (CC2).

Successful return to professional men's football (soccer) competition after the COVID-19 shutdown: a cohort study in the German Bundesliga.

Objectives: To evaluate the restart of the German Bundesliga (football (soccer)) during the COVID-19 pandemic from a medical perspective.

Methods: Participants were male professional football players from the two highest German leagues and the officials working closely with them. Our report covers nine match days spread over 9 weeks (May to July 2020).

Evaluation of a novel immunochromatographic lateral flow assay for rapid detection of OXA-48, NDM, KPC and VIM carbapenemases in multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

Purpose: The global spread and increasing clinical impact of carbapenemase-producing bacteria are alarming. Rapid diagnostic techniques for carbapenemase detection are of the utmost importance to prevent delays in efficient antibiotic therapy and the control of spread in hospitals. Recently, multiplex immunochromatographic lateral flow tests (ICTs) for the fast detection of carbapenemase-producers have become commercially available.

Disease-associated genotypes of the commensal skin bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis.

Some of the most common infectious diseases are caused by bacteria that naturally colonise humans asymptomatically. Combating these opportunistic pathogens requires an understanding of the traits that differentiate infecting strains from harmless relatives. Staphylococcus epidermidis is carried asymptomatically on the skin and mucous membranes of virtually all humans but is a major cause of nosocomial infection associated with invasive procedures.

Comparison of two commercial carbapenemase gene confirmatory assays in multiresistant Enterobacteriaceae and Acinetobacter baumannii-complex.

Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (MDR-GNB) producing carbapenemases are increasing at an alarming speed. Rapid confirmation of carbapenemase type will be an important diagnostic step in clinical microbiology laboratories not only to reduce the risk of transmissions but also for optimising antibiotic therapy in the future. We compared diagnostic reliability of two commercially available molecular assays (Check-Direct CPE vs.

Limitations in the use of PSMγ, agr, RNAIII, and biofilm formation as biomarkers to define invasive Staphylococcus epidermidis from chronic biomedical device-associated infections.

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a common cause of biomedical device-associated infections. Agr is the major quorum sensing system in staphylococci and regulates virulence factors. Four agr-specificity groups exist in S.

Complete Genome Sequence of 1457.

1457 is a frequently utilized strain that is amenable to genetic manipulation and has been widely used for biofilm-related research. We report here the whole-genome sequence of this strain, which encodes 2,277 protein-coding genes and 81 RNAs within its 2.4-Mb genome and plasmid.

Complicated sea urchin-induced wound infection caused by and in a 14-year-old boy.

Introduction: Wound infections with , a Gram-negative bacterium found in all temperate oceans, are rarely reported. However, a rising incidence of wound infections caused by requires better knowledge about this infectious agent.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a 14-year-old boy suffering from a wound infection caused by and after stepping on a sea urchin.

Recombination-Mediated Host Adaptation by Avian Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus are globally disseminated among farmed chickens causing skeletal muscle infections, dermatitis, and septicaemia. The emergence of poultry-associated lineages has involved zoonotic transmission from humans to chickens but questions remain about the specific adaptations that promote proliferation of chicken pathogens. We characterized genetic variation in a population of genome-sequenced S.

Biofilm Morphotypes and Population Structure among Staphylococcus epidermidis from Commensal and Clinical Samples.

Bacterial species comprise related genotypes that can display divergent phenotypes with important clinical implications. Staphylococcus epidermidis is a common cause of nosocomial infections and, critical to its pathogenesis, is its ability to adhere and form biofilms on surfaces, thereby moderating the effect of the host's immune response and antibiotics. Commensal S.

Effects of polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA) in an ex vivo model of whole blood killing and in prosthetic joint infection (PJI): A role for C5a.

Background: A major complication of using medical devices is the development of biofilm-associated infection caused by Staphylococcus epidermidis where polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA) is a major mechanism of biofilm accumulation. PIA affects innate and humoral immunity in isolated cells and animal models. Few studies have examined these effects in prosthetic joint infection (PJI).

Ecological Overlap and Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis.

The opportunistic pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis represent major causes of severe nosocomial infection, and are associated with high levels of mortality and morbidity worldwide. These species are both common commensals on the human skin and in the nasal pharynx, but are genetically distinct, differing at 24% average nucleotide divergence in 1,478 core genes. To better understand the genome dynamics of these ecologically similar staphylococcal species, we carried out a comparative analysis of 324 S.

Structural basis of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm formation: mechanisms and molecular interactions.

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a usually harmless commensal bacterium highly abundant on the human skin. Under defined predisposing conditions, most importantly implantation of a medical device, S. epidermidis, however, can switch from a colonizing to an invasive life style.

The Yersinia pestis HmsCDE regulatory system is essential for blockage of the oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis), a classic plague vector.

The second messenger molecule cyclic diguanylate is essential for Yersinia pestis biofilm formation that is important for blockage-dependent plague transmission from fleas to mammals. Two diguanylate cyclases (DGCs) HmsT and Y3730 (HmsD) are responsible for biofilm formation in vitro and biofilm-dependent blockage in the oriental rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis respectively. Here, we have identified a tripartite signalling system encoded by the y3729-y3731 operon that is responsible for regulation of biofilm formation in different environments.

Dormant cells of Staphylococcus aureus are resuscitated by spent culture supernatant.

We describe the first in vitro model of dormancy in Staphylococcus aureus, showing that cells are generated which can be resuscitated by addition of spent medium supernatant taken from cultures of the same organism. Over 30 days, culturable counts in dormant cultures of S. aureus SH1000 fell from 10(6)-10(7) cfu/ml to <10 cfu/ml as measured by the Most Probable Number method in liquid culture, while total counts as determined by microscopy, and supported by data from RT-qPCR, remained around 10(6)-10(7) cells/ml.

Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and Clostridium difficile diarrhoea in older inpatients (PLACIDE): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial.

Background: Antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD) occurs most frequently in older (≥65 years) inpatients exposed to broad-spectrum antibiotics. When caused by Clostridium difficile, AAD can result in life-threatening illness. Although underlying disease mechanisms are not well understood, microbial preparations have been assessed in the prevention of AAD.

Lucilia sericata chymotrypsin disrupts protein adhesin-mediated staphylococcal biofilm formation.

Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms cause chronic infections due to their ability to form biofilms. The excretions/secretions of Lucilia sericata larvae (maggots) have effective activity for debridement and disruption of bacterial biofilms. In this paper, we demonstrate how chymotrypsin derived from maggot excretions/secretions disrupts protein-dependent bacterial biofilm formation mechanisms.

Identification of clinical isolates of α-hemolytic streptococci by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry using MALDI Biotyper, and conventional phenotypic methods: a comparison.

Fifty-six α-hemolytic streptococcal isolates were identified using MALDI Biotyper MS (Bruker Daltonics), API 20 Strep (bioMérieux), and BD Phoenix (Becton, Dickinson). The gold standard for identification was 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis with 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer sequencing. The following percentages of isolates were correctly identified to the species level: MALDI Biotyper, 46%; BD Phoenix, 35%; and API 20 Strep, 26%.

An extracellular Staphylococcus epidermidis polysaccharide: relation to Polysaccharide Intercellular Adhesin and its implication in phagocytosis.

Background: The skin commensal and opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus epidermidis is a leading cause of hospital-acquired and biomaterial-associated infections. The polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA), a homoglycan composed of β-1,6-linked N-acetylglucosamine residues, synthesized by enzymes encoded in icaADBC is a major functional factor in biofilm accumulation, promoting virulence in experimental biomaterial-associated S. epidermidis infection.