Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance in and Species Isolates from Chickens in Live Bird Markets and Boot Swabs from Layer Farms in Timor-Leste.

The rapid emergence of antimicrobial resistance is a global concern, and high levels of resistance have been detected in chicken populations worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in and spp. isolated from healthy chickens in Timor-Leste.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of government animal health workers on antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in Timor-Leste.

Introduction: Antibiotic resistance is a global health threat, and there is growing concern on the inappropriate use of antibiotics in the livestock sector especially in low and middle income countries. The purpose of the study was to understand the knowledge, attitudes and practices on antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance of government animal health workers in Timor-Leste.

Method: A cross-sectional survey using a census approach was conducted between August 2021 and January 2022 focusing on government animal health workers involved in field work and access to antibiotics.

Analysis of Adrenocorticotropic Hormone and Cortisol Levels in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome COVID-19 Patients.

Objective: SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause multiple organ failure. However, scarce information can be found on the impact on the endocrine system. This study was conducted to determine plasma Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and plasma cortisol levels in a cohort of COVID-19 patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

Competitive Exclusion Bacterial Culture Derived from the Gut Microbiome of Nile Tilapia () as a Resource to Efficiently Recover Probiotic Strains: Taxonomic, Genomic, and Functional Proof of Concept.

This study aims to mine a previously developed continuous-flow competitive exclusion culture (CFCEC) originating from the Tilapia gut microbiome as a rational and efficient autochthonous probiotic strain recovery source. Three isolated strains were tested on their adaptability to host gastrointestinal conditions, their antibacterial activities against aquaculture bacterial pathogens, and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns. Their genomes were fully sequenced, assembled, annotated, and relevant functions inferred, such as those related to pinpointed probiotic activities and phylogenomic comparative analyses to the closer reported strains/species relatives.

Comparison of Laboratory Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infections Based on Leukocyte and Bacterial Parameters Using Standardized Microscopic and Flow Cytometry Methods.

Background: Rapid and reliable tests are essential for the diagnostic laboratory confirmation of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Until now, UTI has been confirmed by the microbiology culture of urine, requiring at least 48-hour turnaround time (TAT), with a standardized microscopic method being widely favored. Automated urine flow cytometry, however, has recently been used to improve the rapid TAT by analyzing the urine sediment.

Synergy of the Polymyxin-Chloramphenicol Combination against New Delhi Metallo-β-Lactamase-Producing Is Predominately Driven by Chloramphenicol.

Carbapenem-resistant has been classified as an Urgent Threat by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The combination of two "old" antibiotics, polymyxin and chloramphenicol, displays synergistic killing against New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-producing . However, the mechanism(s) underpinning their synergistic killing are not well studied.

Emergence and impact of oprD mutations in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains in cystic fibrosis.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance in cystic fibrosis (CF) Pseudomonas aeruginosa airway infection is complex and often attributed to chromosomal mutations. How these mutations emerge in specific strains or whether particular gene mutations are clinically informative is unclear. This study focused on oprD, which encodes an outer membrane porin associated with carbapenem resistance when it is downregulated or inactivated.

Upper Respiratory Microbiota in Relation to Ear and Nose Health Among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children.

Background: We explored the nasal microbiota in Indigenous Australian children in relation to ear and nasal health.

Methods: In total, 103 Indigenous Australian children aged 2-7 years (mean 4.7 years) were recruited from 2 Queensland communities.

Fatal Respiratory Diphtheria Caused by ß-Lactam-Resistant Corynebacterium diphtheriae.

Background: Diphtheria is a potentially fatal respiratory disease caused by toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Although resistance to erythromycin has been recognized, β-lactam resistance in toxigenic diphtheria has not been described. Here, we report a case of fatal respiratory diphtheria caused by toxigenic C.

Transcriptomic responses of a New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate to the combination of polymyxin B and chloramphenicol.

The combination of polymyxins and chloramphenicol possesses synergistic killing activity against New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae. This systems study examined the transcriptomic responses to the polymyxin/chloramphenicol combination in clinical NDM-producing K. pneumoniae isolate S01.

Integrating multiple genomic technologies to investigate an outbreak of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacter hormaechei.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) represent an urgent threat to human health. Here we report the application of several complementary whole-genome sequencing (WGS) technologies to characterise a hospital outbreak of bla carbapenemase-producing E. hormaechei.

Bacterial identification using a SCIEX 5800 TOF/TOF MALDI research instrument and an external database.

In our current study we were identifying 26 bacterial isolates using a SCIEX 5800 TOF/TOF MALDI instrument and an external database. The results were compared with the results of a Vitek® MS system and in case of discrepancies at the species level 16s rRNA sequencing was performed for further verification.

Skin colonization at peripheral intravenous catheter insertion sites increases the risk of catheter colonization and infection.

Background: Peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) break the skin barrier, and preinsertion antiseptic disinfection and sterile dressings are used to reduce risk of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI). In this study, the impact of PIVC skin site colonization on tip colonization and the development of CRBSI was investigated.

Methods: A total of 137 patients' PIVC skin site swabs and paired PIVC tips were collected at catheter removal, cultured, and bacterial species and clonality were identified.

Evaluation of the SpeeDx Carba (beta) multiplex real-time PCR assay for detection of NDM, KPC, OXA-48-like, IMP-4-like and VIM carbapenemase genes.

Background: Carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs) have emerged as antibiotic-resistant bacteria of global concern. Here we assessed the performance of the Carba (beta) assay, a multiplex real-time PCR assay developed by SpeeDx for the detection of key carbapenemase-encoding genes: KPC, NDM, OXA-48-like, IMP-4-like, and VIM.

Methods: DNA extracts of 180 isolates were tested with the Carba (beta) assay, using previously validated in-house TaqMan probe assays for the relevant carbapenemase genes as the reference standard.

Draft Genome Sequence of Aeromonas dhakensis, Isolated from a Patient with Fatal Necrotizing Fasciitis.

and are ubiquitous in marine and aquatic environments. Both species, which cause significant skin and soft tissue infection, are often associated with water activities and floods. Here, we describe the draft genome sequence of , isolated from a fatal case of necrotizing fasciitis.

Identification of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in selected hospitals of the Gulf Cooperation Council States: dominance of high-risk clones in the region.

Purpose: The molecular epidemiology and resistance mechanisms of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) were determined in hospitals in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Methodology: Isolates were screened for common carbapenem-resistance genes by PCR. Relatedness between isolates was assessed using previously described genotyping methods: an informative-single nucleotide polymorphism MassARRAY iPLEX assay (iPLEX20SNP) and the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR assay, with selected isolates being subjected to multilocus sequence typing (MLST).

The use of SWATH to analyse the dynamic changes of bacterial proteome of carbapanemase-producing Escherichia coli under antibiotic pressure.

Antibiotic resistance associated with the clinically significant carbapenemases KPC, NDM and OXA-48 in Enterobacteriaceae is emerging as worldwide. In Australia, IMP-producing Enterobacteriaceae are the most prevalent carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE). Genomic characteristics of such CPE are well described, but the corresponding proteome is poorly characterised.

Protein-inspired antibiotics active against vancomycin- and daptomycin-resistant bacteria.

The public health threat posed by a looming 'post-antibiotic' era necessitates new approaches to antibiotic discovery. Drug development has typically avoided exploitation of membrane-binding properties, in contrast to nature's control of biological pathways via modulation of membrane-associated proteins and membrane lipid composition. Here, we describe the rejuvenation of the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin via selective targeting of bacterial membranes.

Copper Ions and Coordination Complexes as Novel Carbapenem Adjuvants.

Carbapenem-resistant are urgent threats to global human health. These organisms produce β-lactamases with carbapenemase activity, such as the metallo-β-lactamase NDM-1, which is notable due to its association with mobile genetic elements and the lack of a clinically useful inhibitor. Here we examined the ability of copper to inhibit the activity of NDM-1 and explored the potential of a copper coordination complex as a mechanism to efficiently deliver copper as an adjuvant in clinical therapeutics.

Structure-activity relationship study and optimisation of 2-aminopyrrole-1-benzyl-4,5-diphenyl-1H-pyrrole-3-carbonitrile as a broad spectrum metallo-β-lactamase inhibitor.

A SAR study on derivatives of 2-amino-1-benzyl-4,5-diphenyl-1H-pyrrole-3-carbonitrile 5a revealed that the 3-carbonitrile group, vicinal 4,5-diphenyl and N-benzyl side chains of the pyrrole are important for the inhibitory potencies of these compounds against members representing the three main subclasses of metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs), i.e. IMP-1 (representing the B1 subgroup), CphA (B2) and AIM-1 (B3).

Culture-independent detection of chlorhexidine resistance genes qacA/B and smr in bacterial DNA recovered from body sites treated with chlorhexidine-containing dressings.

Purpose: Dressings containing chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) are increasingly used in clinical environments for prevention of infection at central venous catheter insertion sites. Increased tolerance to this biocide in staphylococci is primarily associated with the presence of qacA/B and smr genes.

Methodology: We used a culture-independent method to assess the prevalence of these genes in 78 DNA specimens recovered from the skin of 43 patients at catheter insertion sites in the arm that were covered with CHG dressings.

Draft Genome Sequence of Strain AU37, Isolated from a Peripheral Intravenous Catheter.

is an opportunistic pathogen that causes infections in humans and is often associated with vascular catheter-related bacteremia. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of strain AU37, isolated from a peripheral intravenous catheter tip.

Enhancement of antibiotic-activity through complexation with metal ions - Combined ITC, NMR, enzymatic and biological studies.

Alternative solutions need to be developed to overcome the growing problem of multi-drug resistant bacteria. This study explored the possibility of creating complexes of antibiotics with metal ions, thereby increasing their activity. Analytical techniques such as isothermal titration calorimetry and nuclear magnetic resonance were used to examine the structure and interactions between Cu(II), Ag(I) or Zn(II) and β-lactam antibiotics.

Detection of carbapenemase activity in Enterobacteriaceae using LC-MS/MS in comparison with the neo-rapid CARB kit using direct visual assessment and colorimetry.

It has been described that the sensitivity of the Carba NP test may be low in the case of OXA-48-like carbapenamases and mass spectrometry based methods as well as a colorimetry based method have been described as alternatives. We evaluated 84 Enterobacteriaceae isolates including 31 OXA-48-like producing isolates and 13 isolates that produced either an imipenemase (IMP; n=8), New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM; n=3), or Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC; n=2), as well as 40 carbapenemase negative Enterobacteriaceae isolates. We used the Neo-Rapid CARB kit, assessing the results with the unaided eye and compared it with a colorimetric approach.

Mechanisms Involved in Acquisition of blaNDM Genes by IncA/C2 and IncFIIY Plasmids.

blaNDM genes confer carbapenem resistance and have been identified on transferable plasmids belonging to different incompatibility (Inc) groups. Here we present the complete sequences of four plasmids carrying a blaNDM gene, pKP1-NDM-1, pEC2-NDM-3, pECL3-NDM-1, and pEC4-NDM-6, from four clinical samples originating from four different patients. Different plasmids carry segments that align to different parts of the blaNDM region found on Acinetobacter plasmids.