The Ontario Animal Health Network: enhancing disease surveillance and information sharing through integrative data sharing and management.

The Ontario Animal Health Network (OAHN) is an innovative disease surveillance program created to enhance preparedness, early detection, and response to animal disease in Ontario. Laboratory data and, where available, abattoir condemnation data and clinical observations submitted by practicing veterinarians form the core of regular discussions of the species-sector networks. Each network is comprised of government veterinarians or specialists, epidemiologists, pathologists, university species specialists, industry stakeholders, and practicing veterinarians, as appropriate.

Clinical and Microbiologic Assessment of Cases of Pediatric Community-associated Clostridium difficile Infection Reveals Opportunities for Improved Testing Decisions.

Background: Most children with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) experience community onset of CDI symptoms.

Methods: We retrospectively compared hospital-onset healthcare facility-associated CDI cases to community-associated (CA) CDI cases diagnosed by Cepheid Xpert tcdB polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at an academic children's hospital over a 1-year period. Saved stools from CDI cases additionally underwent anaerobic stool culture and multiplex gastrointestinal pathogen PCR testing.

Macrolide-Resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae, United States.

Macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MRMP) is highly prevalent in Asia and is now being reported from Europe. Few data on MRMP are available in the United States. Using genotypic and phenotypic methods, we detected high-level MRMP in 13.

Multi-center evaluation of the adenovirus R-gene US assay for the detection of adenovirus in respiratory samples.

Background: Adenoviruses (AdV) cause a variety of upper and lower respiratory tract infections, with the potential for severe outcomes, especially in persons with immune suppression or other underlying diseases. The ADENOVIRUS US R-gene (AdV R-gene, Argene/bioMérieux) is a FDA cleared real-time PCR assay that utilizes primers and fluorescent probes that target a conserved region of the hexon gene and an internal control DNA.

Objectives: This prospective multi-center study evaluated the clinical performance of AdV R-gene for AdV detection in respiratory specimens from symptomatic patients of all ages.

Detection of Streptococcus pyogenes by use of Illumigene group A Streptococcus assay.

The performance of the Illumigene group A Streptococcus assay was evaluated by comparing it to culture using 437 consecutive throat swabs. The Illumigene assay was also directly compared to PCR with 161 samples. This Illumigene assay is rapid and easy to perform.

Detection of human parechovirus (HPeV)-3 in spinal fluid specimens from pediatric patients in the Chicago area.

Background: The human parechoviruses (HPeV) have recently been recognized as important viral pathogens causing various illnesses including sepsis and meningitis in children. However, data from the United States is limited.

Objectives: To better understand the epidemiology of HPeV in the United States and its role in pediatric disease through detection and typing of the virus in cerebrospinal fluid specimens.

Analysis and characterization of antiviral drug-resistant cytomegalovirus isolates from solid organ transplant recipients.

The development of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease and subsequent emergence of drug-resistant strains was examined in a large group of solid organ transplant recipients; drug-resistant CMV was detected in a total of 30 transplant recipients (20 lung, 5 kidney, 4 heart, and 1 liver). Drug resistance was confirmed both phenotypically and genotypically. The sequences of drug-resistant CMV strains from the same patient differed from drug-susceptible baseline sequences only at single sites previously confirmed to confer drug resistance.