An unusual case of meningococcal meningitis complicated with subdural empyema in a 3 month old infant: a case report.

Subdural empyema is an unusual complication of meningococcal meningitis, and in acute cases can be rapidly fatal. We present a case of an 8 week old infant who presented with atypical Neisseria meningitis with bifrontal subdural empyema formation. Through the utilisation of modern polymerise chain reaction tests on cerebrospinal fluid samples, we were able to confirm the diagnosis and institute appropriate treatment.

Limitations of the efficacy of surface disinfection in the healthcare setting.

We examined the efficacy of 2 commercially available wipes to effectively remove, kill, and prevent the transfer of both methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus from contaminated surfaces. Although wipes play a role in decreasing the number of pathogenic bacteria from contaminated surfaces, they can potentially transfer bacteria to other surfaces if they are reused.

Molecular characterization of clinical and environmental isolates of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis from a teaching hospital in Wales.

The present study describes the first molecular characterization of environmental and clinical isolates of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in Wales. Over a 3-month period (May-July 2000), 134 isolates of VRE (89 Enterococcus faecium and 45 Enterococcus faecalis) were isolated from the patient environment of the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff, Wales, UK. In addition, over the same time-period, 24 clinical isolates of VRE (20 isolates of E.