A multicenter study comparing the bacterial reduction on flexible endoscopes without a working channel between UV-C light disinfection versus standard endoscope Washer Disinfection: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: To prevent cross-contamination between patients, adequate reprocessing is necessary when using flexible endoscopes (FEs) without a working channel. The current reprocessing process using an Endoscope Washer Disinfector (EWD) is time-consuming. Ultraviolet light group C (UV-C) exposition is an alternative and fast disinfection method and has previously been shown to adequately reduce Colony Forming Units (CFUs) on FEs without a working channel.

Post COVID-19 Pandemic Increased Detection of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae in Adults Admitted to the Intensive Care.

: () infections can progress to severe respiratory complications, necessitating intensive care treatment. Recent post COVID-19 pandemic surges underscore the need for timely diagnosis, given potential diagnostic method limitations. A retrospective case series analysis was conducted on PCR-positive patients admitted to two Dutch secondary hospitals' ICUs between January 2023 and February 2024.

Development and validation of a fully automated laboratory-developed test for detection of HSV-1/2 and VZV in clinical samples run on the Panther Fusion® system.

The purpose of this study was to develop a laboratory developed test (LDT) for HSV1/2 and VZV to run on fully automated Hologic Panther Fusion® System. The Panther Fusion System is a fully automated walkaway system, providing end-to-end workflow from sample input to DNA/RNA extraction, amplification, automated analysis, and reporting to a laboratory information system (LIS). The LDT was developed and validated on 230 clinical and 20 reference samples (n = 250) and compared to a commercially available kit.

Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Positive CC398 MRSA in Urban Clinical Settings, the Netherlands.

We report detection of Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive clonal complex 398 human-origin methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus L2 in the Netherlands. This hypervirulent lineage originated in the Asia-Pacific Region and could become community-acquired in Europe after recurrent travel-related introductions. Genomic surveillance enables early detection to guide control measures and help limit spread of pathogens in urban settings.

Similar Sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 Detection in Oropharyngeal/Nasopharyngeal and Saliva Samples on the Hologic Panther Platform.

Background: Oropharyngeal (OP) and nasopharyngeal (NP) sampling has historically been considered the reference specimen type used for respiratory virus detection. Saliva could be a less invasive alternative for SARS-CoV-2 detection, but limited evidence is available.

Methods: The technical and clinical performance of saliva was compared to OP/NP on the Hologic Panther platform with two Aptima assays, the End-Point Transcription-Mediated Amplification assay (EP-TMA) and Real-Time Transcription-Mediated Amplification assay (RT-TMA).

Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant epidemiology, genetic diversity, and clinical characteristics in an urban region.

Objectives: While Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant (LA-MRSA), defined as CC398, is a well-known pathogen among those working with livestock, there are indications that LA-MRSA prevalence among the general population is increasing. However, the clinical impact in urban areas remains unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the genetic epidemiology and clinical characteristics of LA-MRSA in an urban area with a limited livestock population.

The Effect of Varying Interval Definitions on the Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Reinfections: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Cohort Study.

Background: We assessed the SARS-CoV-2 reinfection rate in a large patient cohort, and evaluated the effect of varying time intervals between two positive tests on assumed reinfection rates using viral load data.

Methods: All positive SARS-CoV-2 samples collected between 1 March 2020 and 1 August 2021 from a laboratory in the region Kennemerland, the Netherlands, were included. The reinfection rate was analyzed using different time intervals between two positive tests varying between 2 and 16 weeks.

SARS-CoV-2 viral-load distribution reveals that viral loads increase with age: a retrospective cross-sectional cohort study.

Background: Describing the SARS-CoV-2 viral-load distribution in different patient groups and age categories.

Methods: All results from first nasopharyngeal (NP) and oropharyngeal (OP) swabs from unique patients tested via SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) collected between 1 January and 1 December 2020 predominantly in the Public Health Services regions Kennemerland and Hollands Noorden, province of North Holland, the Netherlands, were included in this study. SARS-CoV-2 PCR crossing-point (Cp)-values were used to estimate viral loads.

A Rare Case of Vertebral Osteomyelitis.

Vertebral osteomyelitis caused by is rarely described. We report a 45-year-old immunocompetent male with back pain caused by osteomyelitis. This case is remarkable due to the absence of endocarditis.

Performance- and cost-benefit analysis of an influenza point-of-care test compared to laboratory-based multiplex RT-PCR in the emergency department.

Introduction: Influenza poses a heavy burden on emergency departments (ED) and hospital wards. Fast and reliable bedside tests are invaluable in obtaining indications for (cohort) droplet isolation precautions and improving patient flow. We performed a cost-benefit analysis comparing influenza point-of-care testing (POCT) to laboratory-based multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification.

Assessment of cytomegalovirus-specific cell-mediated immunity for the prediction of cytomegalovirus disease in high-risk solid-organ transplant recipients: a multicenter cohort study.

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease remains an important problem in solid-organ transplant recipients, with the greatest risk among donor CMV-seropositive, recipient-seronegative (D(+)/R(-)) patients. CMV-specific cell-mediated immunity may be able to predict which patients will develop CMV disease.

Methods: We prospectively included D(+)/R(-) patients who received antiviral prophylaxis.

High prevalence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae carriage in Dutch community patients with gastrointestinal complaints.

The aim of this study was to determine the rate of carriage of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) in the community in the Netherlands and to gain understanding of the epidemiology of these resistant strains. Faecal samples from 720 consecutive patients presenting to their general practitioner, obtained in May 2010, and between December 2010 and January 2011, were analysed for presence of ESBL-E. Species identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed according to the Dutch national guidelines.

Mortality associated with carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in liver transplant recipients.

Resistant bacterial infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation (LT). This was a retrospective cohort study evaluating the outcomes associated with carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infections after LT. In a 2005-2006 cohort of 175 consecutive LT recipients, 91 infection episodes were observed in 61 patients (35%).

European dissemination of a single OXA-48-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae clone.

A Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate with decreased susceptibility to carbapenems was isolated in April 2011 in a hospital in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and later found to be the source of an important outbreak in a Rotterdam hospital. The strain, belonging to sequence type (ST) 395, carried the bla(OXA-48) gene located onto a c 62-kb conjugative plasmid, together with the extended-spectrum β-lactamase gene bla(CTX-M-15) . It was closely related or identical to other OXA-48-positive Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates belonging to the same ST type and identified in France and Morocco.

Detection of an Ambler class D OXA-48-type β-lactamase in a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain in The Netherlands.

Traditionally, bacteria in The Netherlands have low levels of resistance to antibiotics. This report describes what is believed to be the first carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae producing an OXA-48 type β-lactamase in The Netherlands. The isolate co-produced a CTX-M-15 type β-lactamase and was recovered from a patient who was transferred from a hospital in India to an intensive care unit in The Netherlands.

[Fatal pneumonia caused by carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae].

A 63-year-old Dutch man became colonized with a carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae during a period of hospitalization in India. His recovery in the Netherlands was complicated by pneumonia due to this difficult-to-control multiresistant bacteria to which he eventually succumbed. Carbapenem resistance in Enterobacteriaceae, such as K.

Outcomes from pandemic influenza A H1N1 infection in recipients of solid-organ transplants: a multicentre cohort study.

Background: There are few data on the epidemiology and outcomes of influenza infection in recipients of solid-organ transplants. We aimed to establish the outcomes of pandemic influenza A H1N1 and factors leading to severe disease in a cohort of patients who had received transplants.

Methods: We did a multicentre cohort study of adults and children who had received organ transplants with microbiological confirmation of influenza A infection from April to December, 2009.

Combined CD8+ and CD4+ adenovirus hexon-specific T cells associated with viral clearance after stem cell transplantation as treatment for adenovirus infection.

Background: Human adenovirus can cause morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Reconstitution of adenovirus-specific CD4(+) T cells has been reported to be associated with sustained protection from adenovirus disease, but epitope specificity of these responses has not been characterized. Since mainly CD4(+) T cells and no CD8(+) T cells specific for adenovirus have been detected after allogeneic stem cell transplantation, the relative contribution of adenovirus-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in protection from adenovirus disease remains to be elucidated.

Detection and toxin typing of Clostridium perfringens in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples by PCR.

Since current microbiology methods are not suitable to detect Clostridium perfringens in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples, we developed a PCR assay to detect toxin-encoding genes and the 16S rRNA gene of C. perfringens. We successfully detected and genotyped C.

Myiasis of the upper eyelid.

Myiasis rarely occurs in the eyelids. We report a 3-year-old girl with a myiasis of the upper eyelid after a trip to Central America. A 1.

Dissemination of Bacillus cereus in a paediatric intensive care unit traced to insufficient disinfection of reusable ventilator air-flow sensors.

Over a two-week period in November 2006, vancomycin-resistant Bacillus cereus was isolated from respiratory samples from six ventilated paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients. To investigate the possibility of a common source and extent of the dissemination, all procedures related to mechanical ventilation were monitored and surveillance cultures performed. B.

Molecular typing of a suspected cluster of Nocardia farcinica infections by use of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and amplified fragment length polymorphism analyses.

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), pulsed-field gelelectrophoresis (PFGE), and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses were used to investigate a possible outbreak of Nocardia farcinica. RAPD and PFGE analyses yielded irreproducible and unsatisfactory results, respectively. AFLP analysis seem to be a promising and welcome addition for molecular analysis of Nocardia isolates.

Comparable incidence and severity of cytomegalovirus infections following T cell-depleted allogeneic stem cell transplantation preceded by reduced intensity or myeloablative conditioning.

Reports on infectious complications following reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) before allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) are equivocal. This prospective follow-up study compared the impact of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections following RIC with fludarabine, ATG and busulphan or conventional myeloablative conditioning (MAC). Forty-eight RIC and 59 MAC patients were enrolled.