Methicillin-resistant and vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus colonizing patients and intensive care unit environment: virulence profile and genetic variability.

This study aims to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus colonizing patients and ICU environment of a teaching hospital, the virulence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the isolates, and to evaluate the genetic relationship among them. A total of 536 swabs (134 of patients and 402 of ICU environment) were collected and analyzed to detect S. aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus in tonsils of patients with recurrent tonsillitis: prevalence, susceptibility profile, and genotypic characterization.

Introduction: Bacterial tonsillitis is an upper respiratory tract infection that occurs primarily in children and adolescents. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most frequent pathogens in the etiology of tonsillitis and its relevance is due to its antimicrobial resistance and persistence in the internal tissues of the tonsils. Tonsillectomy is indicated in cases of recurrent tonsillitis after several failures of antibiotic therapy.

Acinetobacter baumannii strains isolated from patients in intensive care units in Goiânia, Brazil: Molecular and drug susceptibility profiles.

Resistance to antimicrobial agents is increasing worldwide and imposes significant life-threatening risks to several different populations, especially those in intensive care units (ICUs). Bacteria can quickly develop or acquire resistance to antimicrobial drugs, and combined with their intrinsic potential to cause disease in humans, these bacteria can become deadly. Among Gram-negative bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii is notorious as a frequent opportunistic pathogen associated with critically ill patients, and understanding the genetic basis of A.

Direct effect of 10-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccination on pneumococcal carriage in children Brazil.

Background: 10-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine/PCV10 was introduced in the Brazilian National Immunization Program along the year of 2010. We assessed the direct effectiveness of PCV10 vaccination in preventing nasopharyngeal/NP pneumococcal carriage in infants.

Methods: A cross-sectional population-based household survey was conducted in Goiania Brazil, from December/2010-February/2011 targeting children aged 7-11 m and 15-18 m.

Molecular epidemiology of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus carriage in neonates admitted to an intensive care unit in Brazil.

Background: Nasal colonization with coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) has been described as a risk factor for subsequent systemic infection. In this study, we evaluated the genetic profile of CoNS isolates colonizing the nares of children admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Methods: We assessed CoNS carriage at admittance and discharge among newborns admitted to a NICU from July 2007 through May 2008 in one of the major municipalities of Brazil.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage in neonates and children attending a pediatric outpatient clinics in Brazil.

Background: In Latin America, few studies have been carried out on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage in the pediatric population. We conducted a survey of nasal S. aureus carriage in neonates and in children attending the pediatric outpatient clinics in a large Brazilian city with high antimicrobial consumption.

Molecular epidemiological investigation to determine the source of a fatal case of serotype 22F pneumococcal meningitis.

A child's death due to pneumococcal meningitis after contracting the disease in an after-school programme prompted an investigation to assess nasopharyngeal (NP) carriage among her contacts. The serotype of the meningitis case isolate was determined, together with the serotypes of the NP specimens of contacts, comprising the case patient's brother, the case patient's after-school programme contacts and the brother's day-care centre (DCC) contacts. NP swabs from 155 children and 69 adults were obtained.

sodC-based real-time PCR for detection of Neisseria meningitidis.

Real-time PCR (rt-PCR) is a widely used molecular method for detection of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm). Several rt-PCR assays for Nm target the capsule transport gene, ctrA. However, over 16% of meningococcal carriage isolates lack ctrA, rendering this target gene ineffective at identification of this sub-population of meningococcal isolates.

Non-typeable Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage isolates genetically similar to invasive and carriage isolates expressing capsular type 14 in Brazilian infants.

Objectives: We have recently found a high prevalence of non-typeable pneumococcal isolates (NTPn) circulating in day-care centers in Central Brazil, besides serotype 14 isolates. We therefore examined the genetic relationship among NTPn and serotype 14 from carriage and invasive pneumococcal isolates obtained from children attending emergency rooms enrolled in a population-based surveillance.

Methods: The isolates were characterized by Quellung reaction serotyping, PCR for the presence of pneumolysin and the loci for a capsule gene (cpsA) and the type 14 gene (cps14H) in all NTPn, and by multilocus sequence typing and pulsed field gel electrophoresis.

Survey of nonsusceptible nasopharyngeal Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in children attending day-care centers in Brazil.

A survey of nasopharyngeal carriage of penicillin nonsusceptible pneumococcal (PNSp) isolates was conducted among 1192 children attending 62 day care centers in Brazil, where pneumococcal vaccination has not been routinely introduced. Nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage was detected in 686 (57.6%) infants, and 178 (25.

Molecular epidemiology and risk factors for nasal carriage of staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus in infants attending day care centers in Brazil.

Investigations regarding Staphylococcus aureus carriage among Brazilian children are scarce. We evaluated the determinants of S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S.

Carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in children in Brazil.

The extent of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage in Brazilian infants is largely unknown. We evaluated the presence of MRSA nasopharyngeal (NP) carriage in 686 children younger than 5 years with respiratory tract infection (609) and meningitis (77). S.