Which healthcare workers work with acute respiratory illness? Evidence from Canadian acute-care hospitals during 4 influenza seasons: 2010-2011 to 2013-2014.

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of acquiring and transmitting respiratory viruses while working in healthcare settings.

Objectives: To investigate the incidence of and factors associated with HCWs working during an acute respiratory illness (ARI).

Methods: HCWs from 9 Canadian hospitals were prospectively enrolled in active surveillance for ARI during the 2010-2011 to 2013-2014 influenza seasons.

Comparative meta-RNA-seq of the vaginal microbiota and differential expression by Lactobacillus iners in health and dysbiosis.

Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV), the most common vaginal condition of reproductive-aged women, is associated with a highly diverse and heterogeneous microbiota. Here we present a proof-of-principle analysis to uncover the function of the microbiota using meta-RNA-seq to uncover genes and pathways that potentially differentiate healthy vaginal microbial communities from those in the dysbiotic state of bacterial vaginosis (BV).

Results: The predominant organism, Lactobacillus iners, was present in both conditions and showed a differing expression profile in BV compared to healthy.

High throughput sequencing methods and analysis for microbiome research.

High-throughput sequencing technology is rapidly improving in quality, speed and cost. It is therefore becoming more widely used to study whole communities of prokaryotes in many niches. This review discusses these techniques, including nucleic acid extraction from different environments, sample preparation and high-throughput sequencing platforms.