MRSA harboring mecA variant gene mecC, France.

We describe human cases and clustered animal cases of mecA(LGA251)-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in France. Our report confirms that this new variant has a large distribution in Europe. It may represent a public health threat because phenotypic and genotypic tests seem unable to detect this new resistance mechanism.

High dose daily interferon-alpha induction and secondary adjunction of ribavirin in treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C. A multicentric, randomised, controlled trial.

Objectives: To evaluate in naive patients with chronic hepatitis C 1- the efficacy and safety of one month interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) induction regimen; 2- the potential virological benefit of a secondary adjunction of ribavirin among HCV RNA negative patients after 20 weeks of IFN therapy, with or without an initial 4-week IFN induction.

Material And Methods: 151 naive HCV-RNA positive patients presenting with biopsy- proven chronic hepatitis C and elevated ALT were randomised in a 2: 1 ratio in two arms: IFN-alpha 3 MU thrice a week (tiw) for 24 weeks (non-induced patients); IFN-alpha 6 MU daily for two weeks, then 3 MU daily for two weeks then 3 MU tiw for 20 weeks (induced patients). At week 24, HCV-RNA negative patients were randomised to receive in addition or not ribavirin 1-1.

Recognition of two genetic groups in the Klebsiella oxytoca taxon on the basis of chromosomal beta-lactamase and housekeeping gene sequences as well as ERIC-1 R PCR typing.

Whilst searching for a molecular method to identify the different species of Raoultella and Klebsiella oxytoca, it was observed that the OXY-1 and OXY-2 beta-lactamase-producing K. oxytoca isolates displayed two distinguishable enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-1R profiles. It was hypothesized that the two groups of chromosomal beta-lactamases might correspond to two groups of strains in the K.