Pneumococcal meningitis in Greece: A retrospective serotype surveillance study in the post-PCV13 era (2010-2020).

Background: As Greece is a country which has introduced the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) both in the infant and in the adult immunization programs, the aim of the study was to investigate age-specific and serotype-specific trends of pneumococcal meningitis over an 11-year period (2010-2020).

Materials And Methods: Data are reported from pneumococcal meningitis cases [notified to the National Public Health Organization (NPHO)], with clinical samples and bacterial isolates sent for pneumococcal identification and serotyping at the National Meningitis Reference Laboratory (NMRL). Pneumococcal identification was performed directly on clinical samples or bacterial isolates by multiplex PCR (mPCR) assay, while serotyping was carried out by application of the Capsular Sequence Typing (CST) method with the combination of single tube PCR assays.

Emergence of OXA-162 Carbapenemase- and DHA-1 AmpC Cephalosporinase-Producing Sequence Type 11 Klebsiella pneumoniae Causing Community-Onset Infection in Greece.

OXA-48-like carbapenemases have only recently emerged in Europe. OXA-162 is a rare OXA-48 variant usually coexpressed with extended-spectrum β-lactamases. Here, we report the identification of the first OXA-162 carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, which coexpressed an AmpC cephalosporinase (DHA-1), retrieved from a patient in Greece.

Neuroinvasive phlebovirus infection in Greece: a case report.

Objective: Sandfly fever phleboviruses are endemic in Mediterranean countries. We report a febrile phlebovirus case in a Greek patient who presented signs of neuroinvasive infection.

Methods: In summer 2010, a 20-year-old male was admitted to hospital with fever and lethargy; he was a resident of central Macedonia, northern Greece, where a large outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) infections occurred at that time.

Outbreak caused by an ertapenem-resistant, CTX-M-15-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 101 clone carrying an OmpK36 porin variant.

Although numerous studies have documented outbreaks of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) possessing various carbapenemases, reports on outbreaks due to CRKP possessing extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and/or AmpCs with porin lesions have been limited. Here, we describe an outbreak caused by an ertapenem-resistant, CTX-M-15-producing clonal K. pneumoniae strain expressing an OmpK36 porin variant.

Imported Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae clones in a Greek hospital: impact of infection control measures for restraining their dissemination.

The recent emergence of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae strains represents a major threat for hospitalized patients. We document the dissemination and control of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae clones in a Greek hospital. During a 3-year study period (January 2009 to December 2011), carbapenemase-producing K.

Dissemination of clinical isolates of Klebsiella oxytoca harboring CMY-31, VIM-1, and a New OXY-2-type variant in the community.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the epidemiological link of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella oxytoca isolates causing community-onset infections among patients attending our outpatient department and to investigate the underlying resistance mechanisms. The isolates were tested by agar dilution MICs, phenotypic carbapenemase testing, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). PCR assays and nucleotide sequencing were employed for the identification of bla gene types and the mapping of the integron-containing metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) gene.

Recurrent healthcare-associated community-onset infections due to Klebsiella pneumoniae producing VIM-1 metallo-beta-lactamase.

Objectives: To investigate the extrahospital dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates and the mechanisms of acquired resistance.

Methods: Patients who were referred to the outpatient department of Serres General Hospital with community-onset infections due to carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates during August 2007-October 2008 were included in the study.

Large dissemination of VIM-2-metallo-{beta}-lactamase-producing pseudomonas aeruginosa strains causing health care-associated community-onset infections.

During a 3-year period (May 2005 to April 2008), a series of 45 outpatients presented with community-onset urinary tract infections due to carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates. Forty of them had a history of previous hospitalization or exposure to healthcare facilities, while the remaining five had not been previously admitted to our healthcare facilities or elsewhere within the preceding 12 months. In 18 outpatients, the carbapenem-resistant organisms caused recurrent community-onset urinary tract infections, while in three outpatients the organisms were also implicated in bacteremic episodes.

First occurrence of KPC-2-possessing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a Greek hospital and recommendation for detection with boronic acid disc tests.

Objectives: To investigate the first KPC carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate from a Greek hospital, including phenotypic methods to aid recognition of this resistance type.

Methods: A carbapenem-resistant clinical isolate of K. pneumoniae was recovered from a hospitalized Greek patient.

Escherichia hermannii as the sole isolate from a patient with purulent conjunctivitis.

Escherichia hermannii was isolated in pure culture from a patient with acute purulent conjunctivitis after a minor ocular injury. This is the first report of E. hermannii isolated as the sole pathogen from an infected site without prior antibiotic exposure, confirming the pathogenic potential of the microorganism.

Emergence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae carrying VIM-4 metallo-beta-lactamase and SHV-2a extended-spectrum beta-lactamase in a conjugative plasmid.

Enterobacter cloacae strains are still infrequently resistant to carbapenems. A carbapenem-resistant clinical isolate of E. cloacae producing a plasmid-mediated metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL), VIM-4, was recovered from a Greek hospitalized patient.

Transmission in the community of clonal Proteus mirabilis carrying VIM-1 metallo-beta-lactamase.

Objectives: Several infections among patients attending our outpatient clinic were caused by imipenem-resistant Proteus mirabilis that were phenotypically metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL)-positive. The aim of the study was to investigate this extrahospital dissemination and the mechanisms of resistance to carbapenems.

Methods: During a 1 year period (December 2005-December 2006), the characteristics of the outpatients with infections caused by isolates of P.

A rare case of Brucella melitensis infection in an obstetrician during the delivery of a transplacentally infected infant.

We report a case of Brucella melitensis infection in an obstetrician who was infected during the delivery of an infant suffering from congenital brucellosis. The obstetrician was treated with doxycycline and rifampin and fully recovered. This is the first reported case of Brucella infection transmitted through infectious secretions at the delivery of a transplacentally infected newborn and emphasizes that, especially in endemic areas educational and technical measures are needed in order the obstetricians to avoid ingestion of secretions during clearance of the newborn's respiratory tract from saliva and amniotic fluid.

Phenotypic assessment of Neisseria meningitidis isolates obtained from patients with invasive meningococcal disease in Greece, 1993-2003: implications for serogroup B vaccines based on PorA serosubtype antigens.

Serogroup B is the major isolate from patients with invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in Greece. This study used the whole cell enzyme-linked immuosorbent assay (ELISA) with monoclonal antibodies to screen Neisseria meningitidis isolates obtained from patients with IMD between 1993 and 2003 to determine if serosubtypes included in the hexavalent Por A OMP vaccines being tested in northern Europe were prevalent in Greece. During this period there were significant changes in the proportions of serogroups B and C isolated from patients.

Carriage of Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria lactamica in northern Greece.

In response to an increase in the number of cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in northern regions of Greece, a survey was carried out to determine if there was an increase in carriage of Neisseria meningitidis, particularly in areas where there have been increases in immigrant populations from neighbouring countries. The second objective was to determine if there was an increase in the serogroup C:2a:P1.5,2 a phenotype associated with recent outbreaks or changes in antibiotic sensitivities.