Staphylococcal chromosome cassette evolution in Staphylococcus aureus inferred from ccr gene complex sequence typing analysis.

Staphylococcal chromosome cassette mec (SCCmec) elements within major lineages of healthcare- and community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clones were characterised using intra-SCCmec multilocus sequencing. A strong correlation was observed between sequence- and PCR-based typing methods (p <0.001).

community-acquired infection with healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: the role of home nursing care.

Objective: To better understand the role of indirect transmission in community-acquired infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Design: Prospective case-control study.

Setting: A French teaching hospital.

Prevalence and genetic relatedness of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Israel.

The aims of the study presented here were to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus carriage and, specifically, community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) carriage in children and their parents in Israel and to determine the genetic relatedness of these isolates. S.

Combination of multiplex PCRs for staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type assignment: rapid identification system for mec, ccr, and major differences in junkyard regions.

Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, in combination with genotyping of the Staphylococcus aureus chromosome, has become essential for defining methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clones in epidemiological studies. We have developed a convenient system for SCCmec type assignment.

Comparative inflammatory properties of staphylococcal superantigenic enterotoxins SEA and SEG: implications for septic shock.

The severity of Staphylococcus aureus sepsis is positively associated with staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) and negatively associated with the enterotoxin gene cluster (egc), which encodes five staphylococcal enterotoxins. We postulated that the variable, clinical severity of S. aureus sepsis might be a result of differences in the inflammatory properties of staphylococcal superantigens.

Staphylococcal enterotoxin-like toxins U2 and V, two new staphylococcal superantigens arising from recombination within the enterotoxin gene cluster.

To test the hypothesis that the Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin gene cluster (egc) can generate new enterotoxin genes by recombination, we analyzed the egc locus in a broad panel of 666 clinical isolates of S. aureus. egc was present in 63% of isolates, confirming its high prevalence.

[Decompression sickness accident management in remote areas. Use of immediate in-water recompression therapy. Review and elaboration of a new protocol targeted for a mission at Clipperton atoll].

In-Water Recompression (IWR) is defined as a treatment of decompression sickness by immediate underwater recompression after the onset of symptoms in remote areas where hyperbaric chambers are not available. At least three methods of IWR have been published. They used pure oxygen breathing for prolonged periods of time at a depth of 9 m.

Toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 challenges the neuroprotective functions of the choroidal epithelium and induces neurotoxicity.

To probe encephalopathy pathogenesis during toxic shock syndrome (TSS), we investigated the fate of bloodborne TSS toxin-1 (TSST-1) as it moves through the choroid plexus epithelium that forms the main blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier and the effect that TSST-1 has on choroidal barrier properties and on cultured neuronal cell viability. TSST-1 showed a slow, diffusional movement across a cellular model of the blood-CSF barrier but did not compromise the integrity of the barrier. Relevant to the acute symptoms of TSS, a combination of human leukocytes and the toxin induced a decrease in CSF clearance of the pyrogenic prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)).

Toxin gene content of the Lyon methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone compared with that of other pandemic clones.

The methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Lyon clone, detected throughout France, contains the enterotoxin A gene (sea), like other pandemic clones of clonal complex 8 (CC8). The egc locus was detected in MRSA pandemic clones of CC5, CC22, and CC45, occasionally with the toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 gene. The representative strain of the EMRSA-16 clone (CC30) harbored both sea and the egc locus.

Staphylococcal superantigens of the enterotoxin gene cluster (egc) for treatment of stage IIIb non-small cell lung cancer with pleural effusion.

There has been renewed interest in the superantigens as antitumor agents with the discovery of a group of bacterial superantigens known as the enterotoxin gene cluster (egc staphylococcal enterotoxins [SEs]). This article discusses the mechanisms by which egc SEs induce tumor killing and pleurodesis. The application of SE homolog and nucleic acid compositions as vaccines and for treatment of established tumors is reviewed.

Pneumonia and new methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone.

Necrotizing pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus strains carrying the Panton-Valentin leukocidin gene is a newly described disease entity. We report a new fatal case of necrotizing pneumonia. An S.

Distribution of the exfoliative toxin D gene in clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates in France.

Exfoliative toxin D (ETD) was identified recently as a new exfoliative toxin serotype. Like other exfoliative toxins, ETD induces intra-epidermal cleavage through the granular layer of the epidermis of neonatal mice. The distribution of ETD production was investigated in Staphylococcus aureus isolates from infected and colonised patients in France.

Rapid Staphylococcus aureus agr type determination by a novel multiplex real-time quantitative PCR assay.

The accessory gene regulator (agr) is a crucial regulatory component of Staphylococcus aureus involved in the control of bacterial virulence factor expression. We developed a real-time multiplex quantitative PCR assay for the rapid determination of S. aureus agr type.

Characterization of the Legionella anisa population structure by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

We analysed 38 French isolates of Legionella anisa by means of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) with single or double digestion. Double digestion was more discriminatory than single digestion, and can thus be useful for epidemiological studies of L. anisa.

Quantitative real-time Legionella PCR for environmental water samples: data interpretation.

Quantitative Legionella PCRs targeting the 16S rRNA gene (specific for the genus Legionella) and the mip gene (specific for the species Legionella pneumophila) were applied to a total of 223 hot water system samples (131 in one laboratory and 92 in another laboratory) and 37 cooling tower samples (all in the same laboratory). The PCR results were compared with those of conventional culture. 16S rRNA gene PCR results were nonquantifiable for 2.

Clonal distribution and differential occurrence of the enterotoxin gene cluster, egc, in carriage- versus bacteremia-associated isolates of Staphylococcus aureus.

The Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin gene cluster, egc, was detected in isolates from healthy individuals and in those from patients with bacteremia. The egc genes cooccur and are slightly enriched in strains from healthy carriers (present in 63.7% of carriage-associated isolates versus 52.

Detection of new methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clones containing the toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 gene responsible for hospital- and community-acquired infections in France.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clones harboring the toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (tst) gene have been detected in France and in Switzerland since 2002. During a passive survey conducted between 2002 and 2003, we collected 103 tst-positive S. aureus isolates from 42 towns in France, of which 27 were resistant to methicillin.

Panton-Valentine leukocidin-producing Staphylococcus aureus infections: report of 4 French cases.

We report 4 cases of community-acquired infections due to Staphylococcus aureus producing Panton-Valentin leukocidin (SA-PVL) with uncommon multivisceral localizations. These cases highlight the need to screen for PVL in patients with serious staphylococcal infections. All patients were cured.

Detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains resistant to multiple antibiotics and carrying the Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes in an Algiers hospital.

Forty-five Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-positive, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains were isolated in Algeria between 2003 and 2004; 18 isolates were isolated in the community and 27 in a hospital. Five PVL-positive hospital isolates were resistant to multiple antibiotics, including ofloxacin and gentamicin for three isolates.

The synthesis of highly potent, selective, and water-soluble agonists at the human adenosine A3 receptor.

Using a combination of parallel and directed synthesis, the discovery of a highly potent and selective series of adenosine A3 agonists was achieved. High aqueous solubility, required for the intended parenteral route of administration, was achieved by the presence of one or two basic amine functional groups.

High interlaboratory reproducibility of DNA sequence-based typing of bacteria in a multicenter study.

Current DNA amplification-based typing methods for bacterial pathogens often lack interlaboratory reproducibility. In this international study, DNA sequence-based typing of the Staphylococcus aureus protein A gene (spa, 110 to 422 bp) showed 100% intra- and interlaboratory reproducibility without extensive harmonization of protocols for 30 blind-coded S. aureus DNA samples sent to 10 laboratories.

Health related quality of life in people with hereditary neuromuscular diseases: an investigation of test-retest agreement with comparison between two generic questionnaires, the Nottingham health profile and the short form-36 items.

The present work attempts to define reproducibility, test-retest and internal consistencies of two standardised tools that measure health related quality of life (HRQoL), specifically as they apply to hereditary neuromuscular disease (HNMD): the Nottingham health profile (NHP) and the medical outcome study 36-item short-form questionnaire (MOS SF-36). A cross sectional survey of 108 hereditary neuromuscular disease patients completed the questionnaires consecutively in the course of multidisciplinary consultations in Reims between April 2002 and February 2005. The results of the study confirm the acceptability of using generic questionnaires such as the Nottingham health profile and the SF-36, and show good reliability for these instruments.

Emergence of two populations of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with distinct epidemiological, clinical and biological features, isolated from patients with community-acquired skin infections.

Background: Community-acquired skin and soft-tissue infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are an emerging clinical and epidemiological problem.

Objectives: To characterize community-acquired skin infections caused by S. aureus, and especially MRSA.

Favorable outcome of pneumonia due to Panton-Valentine leukocidin-producing Staphylococcus aureus associated with hematogenous origin and absence of flu-like illness.

Reported here is what is believed to be the first case of community-acquired pneumonia caused by a Panton-Valentine leukocidin-producing strain of Staphylococcus aureus in Spain. Although lung infections caused by S. aureus strains carrying this powerful leukocidin gene are associated with necrotizing pneumonia and high mortality, the previously healthy 28-year-old male reported here experienced a good clinical course and recovery.