A Case Series and Review of Endocarditis from India.

Introduction: Bacillus cereus is a gram positive bacilli found commonly in the soil and environment. It is a bacteria rarely associated with endocarditis.

Case History: Intravenous drug abuse, presence of valvular defects, pacemakers, immunodeficiency are some of the known risk factors for endocarditis.

Antibiotic Screening of Urine Culture for Internal Quality Audit at Amrita Hospital, Kochi.

Introduction: Urine antimicrobial activity is a seldom analysed laboratory test which greatly impacts the quantification of urine specimens. Presence of antimicrobial activity in the urine reduces the bacterial load in these specimens. Hence, the chances of erroneously reporting insignificant bacteriuria can be reduced on analysis of the antimicrobial activity in urine.

Antimicrobial susceptibility profile, treatment outcome and serotype distribution of clinical isolates of subspecies : a 2-year study from Kerala, South India.

Background/purpose: Typhoid and paratyphoid fever continue to be important causes of illness and death in parts of Asia, being associated with poor sanitation and consumption of unsafe food and water. Antimicrobial resistance has emerged to traditional first-line drugs, namely, the fluoroquinolones, as well as to third-generation cephalosporins, posing challenges to treatment. Azithromycin has proven to be an effective alternative for treatment of uncomplicated typhoid fever.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) site infections: a clinical and microbiological study from university teaching hospital, India.

Background: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is used to provide enteral access in patients who are unable to swallow. Infection of the stoma is an important complication and there is little data from India on this problem, which can be used to inform infection prevention and prophylactic strategies.

Aim: The objective was to assess the prevalence and the role of contributory factors in PEG site infections.

Salmonella Typhimurium pneumonia in a patient with multiple myeloma.

Pneumonia due to non-typhoidal Salmonella is a rarely reported entity. A fatal case of Salmonella pneumonia is reported here where Salmonella Typhimurium was isolated from the endotracheal aspirate and blood culture.

Nocardia farcinica brain abscess: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and literature review.

Background: Infections caused by Nocardia farcinica are potentially lethal because of the organism's tendency to disseminate and resist antibiotics. Central nervous system involvement has been documented in 30% of infections caused N. farcinica.

Molecular Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Causing Fatal Purulent Pericarditis.

Though pericardial disease is common in patients with renal disease, purulent pericarditis is very rare. We report a fatal case of purulent pericarditis and sepsis due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a 78-year-old male with systemic hypertension and renal disease along with the molecular characterization of its resistant mechanism.

Autochthonous blastomycosis of the adrenal: first case report from Asia.

Systemic endemic mycoses, such as blastomycosis, are rare in Asia and have been reported as health risks among travelers who visit or reside in an endemic area. Adrenal involvement is rarely seen in blastomycosis and has never been reported from Asia. We report the first case of blastomycosis with bilateral involvement of the adrenals in a diabetic patient residing in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India.

Revised Ciprofloxacin Breakpoints for Salmonella: Is it Time to Write an Obituary?

Objectives: To determine the minimum inhibitory concentration of ciprofloxacin among 50 blood stream isolates of Salmonella enterica.

Material And Methods: A total of 50 consecutive isolates of Salmonella enterica were tested for susceptibility to antimicrobials using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method. Minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined using Hi-Comb strips.

Detection of oxacillin-susceptible mecA-positive Staphylococcus aureus isolates by use of chromogenic medium MRSA ID.

Reports of oxacillin-susceptible mecA-positive Staphylococcus aureus strains are on the rise. Because of their susceptibility to oxacillin and cefoxitin, it is very difficult to detect them by using routine phenotypic methods. We describe two such isolates that were detected by chromogenic medium and confirmed by characterization of the mecA gene element.

Leuconostoc garlicum: an unusual pathogen in the era of vancomycin therapy.

Leuconostoc garlicum, belonging to the family of Leuconostocaceae, is a catalase-negative, Gram-positive ovoid cocci, intrinsically resistant to vancomycin. Clinical infection by Leuconostoc garlicum is rare. We report a case of respiratory tract infection subsequent to vancomycin therapy.

Intraocular gnathostomiasis: report of a case and review of literature.

Intraocular gnathostomiasis is a rare parasitic infection caused by the third-stage larvae of spiruroid nematode Gnanthostoma spp. seen mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. It is a food-borne zoonosis caused by ingestion of raw or undercooked freshwater fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, all of which are known to harbor advanced third-stage larvae of Gnanthostoma spp.

Brevibacterium casei as a cause of brain abscess in an immunocompetent patient.

Coryneform bacteria belonging to the genus Brevibacterium have emerged as opportunistic pathogens. Of the nine known species of Brevibacterium isolated from human clinical samples, Brevibacterium casei is the most frequently reported species from clinical specimens. We report the first case of B.

Salmonella typhimurium in the hip: look before a SLE patient leaps.

Salmonellosis is a common infection in systemic lupus erythematosus patients. The present study reports on two such cases of Salmonella typhimurium septic arthritis among the 102 patients seen during a four-year period.

Anti-infective properties of Lactobacillus fermentum against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Surgical wounds and implant-associated Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections are often difficult to treat because of limited susceptibility of several of these strains to conventional antibiotics. As a result, there is a constant need for new alternative drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial properties of Lactobacillus fermentum, a probiotic bacterium, which we have isolated from colonic biopsies.

Weissella confusa: a rare cause of vancomycin-resistant Gram-positive bacteraemia.

We describe a case of bacteraemia caused by Weissella confusa in a 48-year-old male who was operated on for adenocarcinoma of the gastro-oesophageal junction and maintained on total parenteral nutrition. Blood cultures were positive for a vancomycin-resistant streptococcus-like organism which was identified as W. confusa by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Lactobacillus fermentum isolated from human colonic mucosal biopsy inhibits the growth and adhesion of enteric and foodborne pathogens.

A number of Lactobacillus species are used as probiotic strains in order to benefit health. We have isolated L. fermentum from human colonic mucosal biopsy samples that possess antimicrobial activities against entroinvasive and foodborne pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella paratyphi A, Shigella sonnei, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Vibrio sp.

Aerobic bacterial isolates from choledochal bile at a tertiary hospital.

We studied the aerobic bacterial isolates from bile and their susceptibilty pattern in patients with biliary tract disease. Samples of bile collected during endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) and surgery, were inoculated on standard media. Bacterial identification and susceptibility were done by standard techniques.