Publications by authors named "Jorge Calvo-Montes"

Herein, we combined different bioinformatics tools and databases (BV-BRC, ResFinder, RAST, and KmerResistance) to perform a prediction of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the genomic sequences of 107 Corynebacterium striatum isolates for which trustable antimicrobial susceptibility (AST) phenotypes could be retrieved. Then, the reliabilities of the AMR predictions were evaluated by different metrics: area under the ROC curve (AUC); Major Error Rates (MERs) and Very Major Error Rates (VMERs); Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC); F1-Score; and Accuracy. Out of 15 genes that were reliably detected in the C.

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  • The study tracks the emergence of resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam in a type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (GES-type carbapenemases) during an unusual outbreak of Serratia marcescens in Spain during COVID-19.* ! -
  • Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis using whole genome sequencing to understand the relationships between bacterial samples from patients and their environment, discovering a genetic connection and plasmid transfer related to resistance.* ! -
  • Key findings include the appearance of a mutation that facilitated the development of resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam, highlighting the urgent need for improved diagnostic tools and better antimicrobial usage strategies to combat such outbreaks.* !
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Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant challenge in modern medicine, affecting public health. Klebsiella pneumoniae infections compound this issue due to their broad range of infections and the emergence of multiple antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Efficient detection of its capsular serotypes is crucial for immediate patient treatment, epidemiological tracking and outbreak containment.

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  • Community-acquired (CA) and healthcare-associated (HCA) infections caused by carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE), particularly Klebsiella pneumoniae (CP-Kp) and Escherichia coli (CP-Ec), are not well understood, prompting a study of their clinical and molecular characteristics.
  • A cohort study involving 59 Spanish hospitals analyzed 386 patients, finding that 76.3% had infections caused by CPE, with most cases being HCA or nosocomial, and urinary tract infections as the most common infection type.
  • The study revealed a significant mortality rate of 28% for those with infections, with nosocomial infections having higher mortality rates; understanding these patterns
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Gene sequencing in back of reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is the current approach for discriminating infections produced by different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants in the clinic. However, sequencing is often a time-consuming step, which hinders the deployment of a very fast response during a pandemic. Here, we propose to run a CRISPR-Cas12a reaction after completing the RT-qPCR and in the very same pot to detect with high specificity genetic marks characterizing variants of concern.

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Objectives: To describe and analyse erythromycin resistance trends in blood isolates of (EARS-Net Spain, 2004-2020) and the association of these trends with the consumption of macrolide, lincosamide, and streptogramin B (MLS) antibiotics. To assess molecular changes that could be involved in erythromycin resistance trends by whole genome analysis of representative isolates.

Materials And Methods: We collected antibiotic susceptibility data for all first-blood isolates in patients from 47 Spanish hospitals according to EARS-Net criteria.

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  • Infections from carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and other resistant strains present a significant global health issue, with this study focusing on their distribution in Spain from 2014 to 2018.
  • A national retrospective study analyzed 2,704 cases of carbapenemase-producing microorganisms, identifying 84.7% as carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) and 15.3% as carbapenemase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CPPA), using molecular methods for accuracy.
  • The findings indicate that OXA-48-like and VIM carbapenemases were the most common in Spain, with regional variations in prevalence and a noticeable increase in OXA-
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Carbapenem-resistant pathogens have been recognized as a health concern as they are both difficult to treat and detect in clinical microbiology laboratories. Researchers are making great efforts to develop highly specific, sensitive, accurate, and rapid diagnostic techniques, required to prevent the spread of these microorganisms and improve the prognosis of patients. In this context, CRISPR-Cas systems are proposed as promising tools for the development of diagnostic methods due to their high specificity; the Cas13a endonuclease can discriminate single nucleotide changes and displays collateral cleavage activity against single-stranded RNA molecules when activated.

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  • Fosfomycin trometamol is being explored as a potential step-down therapy for patients with bacteraemic urinary tract infections caused by multidrug-resistant E. coli (MDR-Ec), though data is limited.
  • In the FOREST trial, patients who transitioned from IV treatments to either oral fosfomycin or other oral medications showed similar clinical and microbiological cure rates, with fosfomycin achieving 78.7% success compared to 80.9% for other drugs.
  • However, fosfomycin had a significantly higher relapse rate (15% vs. 4.3%), indicating that while it is a viable option, its effectiveness needs further evaluation due to this concern.
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Background: Arcobacter butzleri is a gram-negative rod, with microaerobic growth at an optimal temperature of 37°C. It was reported to be the fourth most common Campylobacter-like organism isolated from patients with diarrhoea.

Objective: Characterise a potential outbreak of A.

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Back in January 2022, an EASL-Lancet Commission on the impact of liver disorders in the European region commissioned by the WHO demonstrated that this condition is, actually, the second leading cause of loss of labor years in Europe after ischemic heart disease (1). This is a very relevant piece of information since this is something that is going to impact the new generations of Europeans unless a significant change is made in public health policies. Despite the advances made over the last few years in hepatitis C virus clearance-understood as a significant reduction of morbidity and mortality associated with Hepatitis B and C viruses-there are still challenges ahead to improve liver health due to the high use of alcohol, and the inseparable triad obesity / diabetes mellitus / metabolic associated fatty liver disease.

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the greatest threat to global health at the present time, and considerable public and private effort is being devoted to fighting this recently emerged disease. Despite the undoubted advances in the development of vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, uncertainty remains about their future efficacy and the duration of the immunity induced. It is therefore prudent to continue designing and testing vaccines against this pathogen.

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Contact tracing data of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant cases during December 2021 in Cantabria, Spain, showed increased transmission (secondary attack rate 39%) compared with Delta cases (secondary attack rate 26%), uninfluenced by vaccination status. Incubation and serial interval periods were also reduced. Half of Omicron transmissions happened before symptom onset in the index case-patient.

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Importance: The consumption of broad-spectrum drugs has increased as a consequence of the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli. Finding alternatives for these infections is critical, for which some neglected drugs may be an option.

Objective: To determine whether fosfomycin is noninferior to ceftriaxone or meropenem in the targeted treatment of bacteremic urinary tract infections (bUTIs) due to MDR E coli.

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Nursing home residents (NHR) have been targeted as a vaccination priority due to their higher risk of worse outcome after COVID-19 infection. The mRNA-based vaccine BTN2b2 was first approved in Europe for NHRs. The assessment of the specific vaccine immune response (both humoral and cellular) at long term in NHRs has not been addressed yet.

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Breastfeeding mothers were excluded from the clinical trials conducted for vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Since the start of the vaccination, some doubts have arisen regarding its compatibility with breastfeeding. The aim of this study was to analyse the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in breast milk and serum (IgG and IgA) of vaccinated breastfeeding women.

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The objective of this study was to analyse the mechanisms of resistance to carbapenems and other extended-spectrum-β-lactams and to determine the genetic relatedness of multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales (MDR-E) causing colonization or infection in solid-organ transplantation (SOT) recipients. Prospective cohort study in kidney (n = 142), liver (n = 98) or kidney/pancreas (n = 7) transplant recipients between 2014 and 2018 in seven Spanish hospitals. We included 531 MDR-E isolates from rectal swabs obtained before transplantation and weekly for 4-6 weeks after the procedure and 10 MDR-E from clinical samples related to an infection.

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Objectives: The genus Enterobacter is a common cause of nosocomial infections. Historically, the most frequent Enterobacter species were those of Enterobacter cloacae complex and Enterobacter aerogenes. In 2019, E.

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Cross-reactive vaccines recognize common molecular patterns in pathogens and are able to confer broad spectrum protection against different infections. Antigens common to pathogenic bacteria that induce broad immune responses, such as the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) of the genera , or , whose sequences present more than 95% homology at the N-terminal GAPDH peptide, are putative candidates for universal vaccines. Here, we explore vaccine formulations based on dendritic cells (DC) loaded with two molecular forms of GAPDH (LM-GAPDH), such as mRNA carriers or recombinant proteins, and compare them with the same molecular forms of three other antigens used in experimental vaccines, listeriolysin O of , Ag85A of , and pneumolysin of .

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Universal vaccines can be prepared with antigens common to different pathogens. In this regard, the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is a common virulence factor among pathogenic bacteria of the genera Listeria, Mycobacterium and Streptococcus. Their N-terminal 22 amino acid peptides, GAPDH-L1 (), GAPDH-M1 () and GAPDH-S1 (), share 95-98.

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The glycolytic enzyme and bacterial virulence factor of , the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH, Lmo2459), ADP-ribosylated the small GTPase, Rab5a, and blocked phagosome maturation. This inhibitory activity localized within the NAD binding domain of GAPDH at the N-terminal 1-22 peptides, also conferred listeriosis protection when used in dendritic cell-based vaccines. In this study, we explore GAPDH of , and spp.

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In liver transplant (LT) recipients, pneumonia (PJP) is most frequently reported before 1992 when immunosuppressive regimens were more intense. It is uncertain whether universal PJP prophylaxis is still applicable in the contemporary LT setting. We aimed to examine the incidence of PJP in LT recipients followed at our institution where routine prophylaxis has never been practiced and to define the prophylaxis strategies currently employed among LT units in Spain.

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Background: Enterobacter is among the main etiologies of hospital-acquired infections. This study aims to identify the risk factors of acquisition and attributable mortality of Enterobacter bacteremia.

Methods: Observational, case-control study for risk factors and prospective cohort for outcomes of consecutive cases with Enterobacter bacteremia.

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Two regions of northern Spain, Gipuzkoa, and Cantabria present high annual incidence of listeriosis (1.86 and 1.71 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively).

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