Publications by authors named "Florence Doualla-Bell"

Carbapenem-resistance in Enterobacter spp due to acquisition of mobile carbapenemases is of concern. An Enterobacter spp grew on ChromID CARBA medium and was positive for the mCIM carbapenemase detection assay. Susceptibility testing showed resistance to aztreonam and reduced susceptibility to imipenem.

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Background: is a non-fermenting, gram-negative bacteria that has previously been implicated in multiple nosocomial outbreaks through the use of contaminated medical devices and substances. This article reports on an outbreak of infections and colonizations, involving 11 patients from five acute care hospitals in Montréal, Canada.

Methods: One sample was not available for testing, but the remaining 10 isolates (91%) were sent for phylogenetic testing.

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This study investigated the mechanism of carbapenem resistance in an complex positive by the modified carbapenem inactivation method (mCIM) but negative by the Rosco Neo-Rapid Carb Kit, β CARBA, and conventional PCR for common carbapenemase genes (KPC, NDM, OXA-48, IMP, VIM, GES, and IMI/NMC). Using whole genome sequencing (WGS) data we confirmed the identification of (ST1639) and the presence of located on a 148kb IncFII(Yp) plasmid. This is the first occurrence of a clinical isolate harboring the FRI-8 carbapenemase and the second occurrence of FRI in Canada.

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In the context of a recent rise in prevalence of NDM-encoding carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) in the province of QC, Canada, the genetic environment of was investigated. Three NDM-producing clinical isolates of Enterobacter hormaechei recovered from hospitalized patients involved in a putative outbreak were further characterized by whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Two isolates were confirmed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and WGS to be closely related.

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The objective of this study was to validate the use of spring water gargle (SWG) as an alternative to oral and nasopharyngeal swab (ONPS) for SARS-CoV-2 detection with a laboratory-developed test. Healthcare workers and adults from the general population, presenting to one of two COVID-19 screening clinics in Montréal and Québec City, were prospectively recruited to provide a gargle sample in addition to the standard ONPS. The paired specimens were analyzed using thermal lysis followed by a laboratory-developed nucleic acid amplification test (LD-NAAT) to detect SARS-CoV-2, and comparative performance analysis was performed.

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Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is the method of choice for bacterial subtyping and it is rapidly replacing the more traditional methods such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Here we used the high-resolution core genome single nucleotide variant (cgSNV) typing method to characterize clinical and food from serovar Heidelberg isolates in the context of source attribution. Additionally, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) analysis was included to further support this method.

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Background: HIV-1 transmitted/founder viruses (TF) are selected during the acute phase of infection from a multitude of virions present during transmission. They possess the capacity to establish infection and viral dissemination in a new host. Deciphering the discrete genetic determinant of infectivity in their envelope may provide clues for vaccine design.

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The identification of transmission clusters (TCs) of HIV-1 using phylogenetic analyses can provide insights into viral transmission network and help improve prevention strategies. We compared the use of partial HIV-1 envelope fragment of 1,070 bp with its loop 3 (108 bp) to determine its utility in inferring HIV-1 transmission clustering. Serum samples of recently ( = 106) and chronically ( = 156) HIV-1-infected patients with status confirmed were sequenced.

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subsp. serovar Dublin is a zoonotic pathogen that often leads to invasive bloodstream infections in humans that are multidrug resistant. Described here are the results of Canadian national surveillance of Dublin from 2003 to 2015 in humans and bovines, principally collected through the Canadian Integrated Program for Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS).

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The rapid confirmatory Bio-Rad Geenius HIV 1/2 assay was evaluated as an alternative to the HIV-1 Western blot (WB) confirmatory assay. A total of 370 retrospective samples collected from 356 patients were tested. Sensitivity of the Geenius assay to detect HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections was 100% and 97%, respectively, and that of the WB assay was 86% and 39%, respectively.

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We analyzed 254 species isolates collected in Québec, Canada, during 2013 and 2014. Overall, 23.6% of isolates showed reduced susceptibility to azithromycin (RSA) encoded by (11.

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Background: Although reverse sequence algorithms (RSA) for syphilis screening are performing well, they still have to rely on treponemal confirmatory tests at least for sera reactive by enzyme immunoassay/chemiluminescence immunoassay (EIA/CIA) and unreactive by rapid plasma reagin (RPR). Quebec's laboratory network previously showed that 3.3% of EIA/CIA reactive and weakly-reactive RPR samples (RPR titer of 1 to 4) would have been misclassified as syphilis cases if a treponemal confirmatory test had not been performed.

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Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg (S. Heidelberg) is one of the top serovars causing human salmonellosis. This serovar ranks second and third among serovars that cause human infections in Québec and Canada, respectively, and has been associated with severe infections.

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Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg (S. Heidelberg) is one of the top serovars causing human salmonellosis. The core genome single nucleotide variant pipeline (cgSNV) is one of several whole genome based sequence typing methods used for the laboratory investigation of foodborne pathogens.

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Identifying recent HIV-1 infections is crucial for monitoring HIV-1 incidence and optimizing public health prevention efforts. To identify recent HIV-1 infections, we evaluated and compared the performance of 4 sequence-based diversity measures including percent diversity, percent complexity, Shannon entropy and number of haplotypes targeting 13 genetic segments within the env gene of HIV-1. A total of 597 diagnostic samples obtained in 2013 and 2015 from recently and chronically HIV-1 infected individuals were selected.

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Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the major causes of pneumonia, meningitis and other pneumococcal infections in young children and elders. Determination of circulating S. pneumoniae serotypes is an essential service by public health laboratories for the monitoring of putative serotype replacement following the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) and of the efficacy of the immunization program.

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The Syst-OMICS consortium is sequencing 4,500 genomes and building an analysis pipeline for the study of genome evolution, antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. Metadata, including phenotypic as well as genomic data, for isolates of the collection are provided through the Foodborne Syst-OMICS database (SalFoS), at https://salfos.ibis.

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Background: Accurate and practical biologic tools to estimate HIV incidence is crucial to better monitor the epidemic and evaluate the effectiveness of HIV prevention and treatment programs.

Methods: We evaluated two avidity assays to measure recent HIV infection: the Sedia HIV-1 LAg-Avidity EIA (Sedia Biosciences, Portland) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-modified Bio-Rad-Avidity assay (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Mississauga, ON). Longitudinal specimens (n = 473) obtained from 123 treatment-naive seroconverted individuals enrolled in the Primary HIV-1 Infection (PHI) cohort of Quebec were used to determine the average time an individual is considered to be recently infected (mean duration of recent infection; MDRI), for the two avidity assays alone and in combination using a nonparametric survival method analysis.

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Background: The net benefits of routine breast cancer screening with mammography have been questioned, and there is evidence to indicate that supporting women to make an informed decision about breast cancer screening with mammography is preferable. The aims of this study were to assess the intention of family physicians to provide women with this support and the determinants of this intention, and to identify factors that might influence family physicians adopting this behavior.

Methods: Family physicians from the province of Quebec, Canada, attending a 45-min lecture on informed decision making and cancer screening were asked to complete a questionnaire after the lecture regarding their intention to adopt the behavior.

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The emergence and spread of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) represent a major public health concern because these bacteria are usually extensively resistant to most antibiotics. In order to evaluate their dissemination in Quebec, a surveillance program was introduced in 2010. We report the molecular and epidemiological profiles of CPE isolates collected.

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Background: HIV drug resistance represents a major threat for effective treatment. We assessed the trends in the frequency of drug resistance mutations and the monitored viral load (VL) in treatment-naïve (TN) and treatment-experienced (TE) individuals infected with HIV-1 in Québec, Canada, between 2001 and 2011.

Methods And Findings: Resistance data were obtained from 4,105 and 5,086 genotypic tests performed on TN and TE patients, respectively.

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There is growing interest in informed decision-making about breast cancer screening with mammography and growing advocacy for the provision of balanced information about potential benefits and harms. The authors report on a survey evaluating nurses' intention to support women targeted by the Quebec Breast Cancer Screening Program in making informed decisions about breast cancer screening with mammography. Of the 840 questionnaires completed, 618 were included in the data analysis.

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Objectives: Relatively little is known about the development of resistance to protease inhibitors (PIs) in non-B subtypes. In subtype B viruses, L89 is commonly found at position 89 in the HIV protease (PR) gene, whereas M89 is commonly observed as a polymorphism in other subtypes. We compared the frequencies of substitutions at position 89 in PR in tissue culture selections and in clinical databases of PI-naive and PI-experienced populations.

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Objective: Our objective was to establish genotypic resistance profiles among the 4% of Batswana patients who experienced virologic failure while being followed within Botswana's National Antiretroviral Treatment Program between 2002 and 2007.

Methods: At the beginning of the national program in 2002, almost all patients received stavudine (d4T), together with didanosine (ddI), as part of their first nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI)-based regimen (Group 1). In contrast, the standard of care for all patients subsequently enrolled (2002-2007) included zidovudine/lamivudine (ZDV/3TC) (Group 2).

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