Group B streptococcus - a pathogen not restricted to neonates.

Objectives: This was a retropective study of invasive group B streptococcal (GBS) infections isolated from blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), synovial fluid, peritoneal fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid and corpus vitreum in a defined region in southwest Sweden over a 14-year period.

Design: Information on all invasive GBS infections was obtained from all four bacteriological laboratories in the region, with data obtained from individual patient records.

Results: GBS was isolated from normally sterile body fluids in 1244 samples (579 from females and 665 from males) from 1101 patients.

Invasive pneumococcal disease in persons with predisposing factors is dominated by non-vaccine serotypes in Southwest Sweden.

Background: The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine PCV7 was introduced in Southwest Sweden in the child vaccination program in 2009, followed by PCV13 in 2010 and PCV10 in 2015. In this retrospective cohort study we assessed the pneumococcal serotype distribution in relation to predisposing factors, clinical manifestations and outcome during seven years after PCV introduction.

Methods: Clinical data from 1278 patients with 1304 episodes of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) between January 2009 and December 2015 in Region Västra Götaland, Sweden, were retrospectively collected from medical records.

STI with Mycoplasma genitalium-more common than Chlamydia trachomatis in patients attending youth clinics in Sweden.

The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in Sweden is well known, whereas the prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium is less well documented. Youth clinics offer free contraception advice, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and/or contact tracing for the age group 15-25 years. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of STIs, the presence of symptoms and the role of contact tracing.

Epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal infections: manifestations, incidence and case fatality rate correlated to age, gender and risk factors.

Background: Incidence, manifestations and case-fatality rate (CFR) of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) vary with age and comorbidities. New vaccines, changing age distribution, prolonged survival among immunocompromised patients and improved sepsis management have created a need for an update of basic facts to inform vaccine recommendations.

Methods: Age, gender and comorbidities were related to manifestations and death for 2977 consecutive patients with IPD in a Swedish region with 1.

Serotypes of group B streptococci in western Sweden and comparison with serotypes in two previous studies starting from 1988.

Background: Group B Streptococci (GBS) are the most common neonatal pathogens and infect immunocompromised and elderly individuals. The species has 10 different serotypes. Serotypes have been studied in the south-west area of Sweden in 1988-1997 and 1998-2001.

Clinical manifestations of invasive pneumococcal disease by vaccine and non-vaccine types.

Pneumococcal conjugated vaccines (PCVs) have shown protection against invasive pneumococcal disease by vaccine serotypes, but an increase in non-vaccine serotype disease has been observed. Type-specific effects on clinical manifestation need to be explored. Clinical data from 2096 adults and 192 children with invasive pneumococcal disease were correlated to pneumococcal molecular serotypes.

Effects of probiotic intake and gender on nontyphoid Salmonella infection.

Goals: The goal of the study was to examine if intake of Lactobacillus plantarum can accelerate clearance of nontyphoid Salmonella and reduce infection-related symptoms.

Background: Nontyphoid Salmonella is a major cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. Few studies have explored the effect of probiotics in these infections.

Invasive pneumococcal infections in Vellore, India: clinical characteristics and distribution of serotypes.

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae infection is a serious problem worldwide and the case fatality rate remains high. The aim of this study was to analyze the distribution of pneumococcal serotypes causing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), to survey the potential coverage of present and future vaccines, and to investigate differences between serotypes and groups of serotypes with regard to manifestation, case fatality rate, age, and other risk factors.

Methods: Isolates from 244 consecutive patients with IPD were collected at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India between January 2007 and June 2011, and clinical data were obtained retrospectively.

Invasive, paediatric, vaccine strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae: are there differences in clinical characteristics?

Invasive pneumococcal infections in 777 adults caused by 'invasive' (1, 7; n=187), 'paediatric' (6, 9, 14, 19, 23; n=304) and other (n=286) serogroups were compared. Infections caused by 'invasive' strains caused pneumonia more often than other serogroups and were more often isolated from younger patients without concomitant conditions and had lower case-fatality rate than 'paediatric' and other strains. The 2 latter groups differed little from each other.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of invasive pneumococcal isolates from a region in south-west Sweden 1998-2001.

Invasive disease caused by antibiotic resistant pneumococci is a worldwide problem. All invasive pneumococcal strains in an area of south-west Sweden with 1.7 million inhabitants were collected prospectively during 1998-2001.

Serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid related to vaccine serotypes and to clinical characteristics.

Pneumococci isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid from 1998 to 2001 in 2 counties in south-west Sweden were serotyped with the capsular reaction test. Of the 836 strains, 353 (42%), 598 (72%) and 789 (94%) belonged to serotypes included in the 7- and 11-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines and in the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine, respectively. The most common serotype was type 1 (119 isolates) followed in descending frequency by serotypes 7F, 9V, 14, 4 and 12F (90-49 isolates per serotype).