Burkholderia cenocepacia ST-250 in cystic fibrosis patients in Switzerland: Genomic investigation of transmission routes.

This report describes the characterization of Burkholderia cenocepacia isolates belonging to sequence type (ST)-250, detected in eight patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) in Switzerland. We retrospectively analyzed 18 isolates of B. cenocepacia ST-250 isolated between 2003 and 2015 by whole-genome sequencing and evaluated clinical and epidemiological data.

Ongoing toxin-positive diphtheria outbreaks in a federal asylum centre in Switzerland, analysis July to September 2022.

Two diphtheria outbreaks occurred in a Swiss asylum center from July to October 2022, one is still ongoing. Outbreaks mainly involved minors and included six symptomatic respiratory diphtheria cases requiring antitoxin. Phylogenomic analyses showed evidence of imported and local transmissions of toxigenic strains in respiratory and skin lesion samples.

Meticillin-resistant Contact Screening Strategy in a Low Prevalence Setting; a Nested Case-Control Study.

Background: The optimal screening strategy in hospitals to identify secondary cases after contact with a meticillin-resistant (MRSA) index patient in a low prevalence setting is not well defined. We aimed at identifying factors associated with documented MRSA transmissions.

Method: Single center, retrospective, nested case-control study.

The Sputum Microbiome in Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Its Association With Disease Manifestations: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Each day, approximately 27,000 people become ill with tuberculosis (TB), and 4,000 die from this disease. Pulmonary TB is the main clinical form of TB, and affects the lungs with a considerably heterogeneous manifestation among patients. Immunomodulation by an interplay of host-, environment-, and pathogen-associated factors partially explains such heterogeneity.

Group B streptococcal colonization in elderly women.

Background: In non-pregnant adults, the incidence of invasive Group B Streptococcus (GBS) disease is continuously increasing. Elderly and immunocompromised persons are at increased risk of infection. GBS commonly colonizes the vaginal tract, though data on colonization in the elderly are scarce.

Prevalence and significance of bacterial contamination of autologous stem cell products.

There is limited and conflicting information on the prevalence of contamination of haematopoietic stem and progenitor cell products (HPCPs), and their optimal management remains unclear. The authors reviewed the microbial surveillance data of HPCPs collected between January 2002 and December 2019 for autologous transplantation at the study institution to determine the prevalence of microbial contamination and the potential infectious complications among recipients. Among 3935 HPCPs, 25 (0.

Pediatric fever in neutropenia with bacteremia-Pathogen distribution and in vitro antibiotic susceptibility patterns over time in a retrospective single-center cohort study.

Background: Fever in neutropenia (FN) is a potentially life-threatening complication of chemotherapy in pediatric cancer patients. The current standard of care at most institutions is emergency hospitalization and empirical initiation of broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy.

Methods: We analyzed in retrospect FN episodes with bacteremia in pediatric cancer patients in a single center cohort from 1993 to 2012.

Duration of Pre-Operative Antibiotic Treatment and Culture Results in Patients With Infective Endocarditis.

Background: Bacterial growth in cultures of resected heart valves of patients with infective endocarditis (IE) is influenced by pre-operative antibiotic treatment (preop-AT).

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the time dependency of valve culture results (positive valve culture [PVC] vs. negative valve culture) on preop-AT.

A Sample-to-Report Solution for Taxonomic Identification of Cultured Bacteria in the Clinical Setting Based on Nanopore Sequencing.

Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene is commonly used for the identification of bacterial isolates in diagnostic laboratories and mostly relies on the Sanger sequencing method. The latter, however, suffers from a number of limitations, with the most significant being the inability to resolve mixed amplicons when closely related species are coamplified from a mixed culture. This often leads to either increased turnaround time or absence of usable sequence data.

spp. nosocomial outbreak assessment using rapid MALDI-TOF MS based typing, confirmed by whole genome sequencing.

Background: A number of episodes of nosocomial spp bacteremia (two cases per year) were observed at Bern University Hospital, Switzerland, from 2015 to 2017. This triggered an outbreak investigation.

Methods: Cases of spp bacteremias that occurred between August 2011 and February 2017 were investigated employing line lists, environmental sampling, rapid protein- (MALDI-TOF MS), and genome-based typing (pulsed field gel electrophoresis and whole genome sequencing) of the clinical isolates.

Bacterial colonization of handheld devices in a tertiary care setting: a hygiene intervention study.

Background: Tablet computers are increasingly being used in hospital patient care and are often colonized with important human pathogens, while the impact of disinfection interventions remains controversial.

Method: In a prospective hygiene intervention study we consecutively sampled tablet computers exclusively used in a high-resource general internal medicine tertiary care setting with high routine hygiene measures. Our aim was to examine the change in colonizing bacteria on tablet computers before and after the introduction of a mandatory twice daily tablet disinfection intervention.

Phenotypic and Genomic Analyses of Burkholderia stabilis Clinical Contamination, Switzerland.

A recent hospital outbreak related to premoistened gloves used to wash patients exposed the difficulties of defining Burkholderia species in clinical settings. The outbreak strain displayed key B. stabilis phenotypes, including the inability to grow at 42°C; we used whole-genome sequencing to confirm the pathogen was B.

Phylogenomics reveal that Mycobacterium kansasii subtypes are species-level lineages. Description of Mycobacterium pseudokansasii sp. nov., Mycobacterium innocens sp. nov. and Mycobacterium attenuatum sp. nov.

Among the species Mycobacterium kansasii, seven subtypes have been previously reported based on the PCR and the restriction fragment length polymorphism of the gene hsp65. Here, we used whole-genome sequencing to refine M. kansasii taxonomy and correct multiple inconsistencies.

Adjunctive gentamicin did not improve outcome of enterococcal bacteraemia in neutropenic patients: a propensity scored matched study.

Background: Patients with haematologic malignancies receiving chemotherapy have a high risk of developing febrile neutropenia and bloodstream infections. The benefit of adjunctive gentamicin treatment for enterococcal bloodstream infections is debated. In this study, we compare the treatment outcome of a cell wall-active antibiotic with and without gentamicin for enterococcal bacteraemia in patients with neutropenia.

Discovery and Characterization of sp. nov., a Nontuberculous Mycobacterium Isolated From Human Lungs.

Bacteria belonging to the genus are predominantly responsible for pulmonary diseases; most notably causes granulomatous pulmonary infections. Here we describe a novel slow growing mycobacterial species isolated from respiratory samples from five patients, four with underlying pulmonary disease. The isolates were characterized by biochemical and molecular techniques, including whole genome sequencing.

Bacterial and Fungal Keratitis: A Retrospective Analysis at a University Hospital in Switzerland.

Background: Infectious keratitis is a serious corneal disease and may lead to permanent visual deterioration if not treated rapidly and effectively. In order to determine possible changes in the spectrum of pathogens over time, we evaluated the pathogenic organisms of keratitis at a university hospital in Switzerland, comparing two time periods within a decade.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 417 patients with the clinical diagnosis of bacterial or fungal keratitis in 2006/07 and 2015/16 were enrolled.

Swept-wavelength lasers based on GaSb gain-chip technology for non-invasive biomedical sensing applications in the 1.7-2.5 μm wavelength range.

The infrared spectral region beyond 1.7 μm is of utmost interest for biomedical applications due to strong overtone and combination absorption bands in a variety of important biomolecules such as lactates, urea, glucose, albumin, etc. In this article, we report on recent progress in widely tunable swept-wavelength lasers based on type-I GaSb gain-chip technology, setting a new state-of-the-art in the 1.

Mycobacterium decipiens sp. nov., a new species closely related to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex.

Two mycobacterial strains with close similarity to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) were isolated from cutaneous lesions of patients in the USA and Italy. At the phenotypic level, similarities to the MTBC included slow growth rate, rough morphotype of the unpigmented colonies and nearly identical high-performance liquid chromatography profiles of mycolic acids. In contrast to the MTBC, the strains were niacin- and nitrate-negative, and catalase-positive both at 68 °C and in semi-quantitative tests.

Mycobacterium aquaticum sp. nov., a rapidly growing species isolated from haemodialysis water.

The characterization of five Iranian isolates, four from hospital haemodialysis water and one from the sputum of a patient, led to the detection of a novel mycobacterium species. The strains were characterized by mucoid colonies developing in 3-5 days at temperatures ranging from 25 to 37 °C. The biochemical test pattern was unremarkable while the HPLC profile of mycolic acids resembled that of Mycobacterium fortuitum.

[Preanalytical step in bacteriology : a practical overview for family physicians].

Physicians play a key role in the accuracy of bacteriological results by appropriate prescription and the quality of sample collection, preservation and transport. Samples for diagnostic purposes are of use if analysis results have an impact on the therapeutic approach. They have minimal risk of contamination, are usually obtained invasively, and may be targeted to detection of specific bacteria.

Use of Xenopus Frogs to Study Renal Development/Repair.

The Xenopus genus includes several members of aquatic frogs native to Africa but is perhaps best known for the species Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis. These species were popularized as model organisms from as early as the 1800s and have been instrumental in expanding several biological fields including cell biology, environmental toxicology, regenerative biology, and developmental biology. In fact, much of what we know about the formation and maturation of the vertebrate renal system has been acquired by examining the intricate genetic and morphological patterns that epitomize nephrogenesis in Xenopus.

Clinical and epidemiological analysis of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus infections in humans and comparative genetic analysis with strains isolated from cattle.

Background: Campylobacter fetus subspecies fetus (CFF) is an important pathogen for both cattle and humans. We performed a systematic epidemiological and clinical study of patients and evaluated the genetic relatedness of 17 human and 17 bovine CFF isolates by using different genotyping methods. In addition, the serotype, the dissemination of the genomic island containing a type IV secretion system (T4SS) and resistance determinants for tetracycline and streptomycin were also evaluated.

Mycobacterium saopaulense sp. nov., a rapidly growing mycobacterium closely related to members of the Mycobacterium chelonae--Mycobacterium abscessus group.

Five isolates of non-pigmented, rapidly growing mycobacteria were isolated from three patients and,in an earlier study, from zebrafish. Phenotypic and molecular tests confirmed that these isolates belong to the Mycobacterium chelonae-Mycobacterium abscessus group, but they could not be confidently assigned to any known species of this group. Phenotypic analysis and biochemical tests were not helpful for distinguishing these isolates from other members of the M.

Colonization with resistant microorganisms in patients transferred from abroad: who needs to be screened?

Background: While multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) are a global phenomenon, there are significant regional differences in terms of prevalence. Traveling to countries with a high MDRO prevalence increases the risk of acquiring such an organism. In this study we determined risk factors for MDRO colonization among patients who returned from a healthcare system in a high-prevalence area (so-called transfer patients).