Improvement of Legionnaires' disease diagnosis using real-time PCR assay: a retrospective analysis, Italy, 2010 to 2015.

AimTo evaluate real-time PCR as a diagnostic method for Legionnaires' disease (LD). Detection of DNA is among the laboratory criteria of a probable LD case, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, although the utility and advantages, as compared to culture, are widely recognised.MethodsTwo independent laboratories, one using an in-house and the other a commercial real-time PCR assay, analysed 354 respiratory samples from 311 patients hospitalised with pneumonia between 2010-15.

Genomic characterization of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae have remained, for many years, the primary species of the genus Mycobacterium of clinical and microbiological interest. The other members of the genus, referred to as nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), have long been underinvestigated. In the last decades, however, the number of reports linking various NTM species with human diseases has steadily increased and treatment difficulties have emerged.

Impact of Pre-Analytical Time on the Recovery of Pathogens from Blood Cultures: Results from a Large Retrospective Survey.

Background: Prompt identification of bloodstream pathogens is essential for optimal management of patients. Significant changes in analytical methods have improved the turnaround time for laboratory diagnosis. Less attention has been paid to the time elapsing from blood collection to incubation and to its potential effect on recovery of pathogens.

Usutu virus infections in humans: a retrospective analysis in the municipality of Modena, Italy.

Objective: To monitor the spread and to evaluate the role for public health of Usutu virus (USUV) in an endemic area of Italy.

Methods: The survey was retrospectively conducted by detecting USUV RNA and USUV antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid and serum samples collected between 2008 and 2011 from 915 patients with or without neurologic impairments in the area of the municipality of Modena, Italy. Organs of birds and pools of mosquitoes were also tested for USUV RNA.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis outbreak in an Italian prison: tolerance of pyrazinamide plus levofloxacin prophylaxis and serial interferon gamma release assays.

The optimal treatment for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in subjects exposed to multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) remains unclear, and the change in response of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QTB-IT) test during and after treatment is unknown. Between May 2010 and August 2010, 39 prisoners at the 'Casa Circondariale' of Modena, Italy, were exposed to a patient with active pulmonary MDR TB. All contacts were tested with the tuberculin skin test and QTB-IT.