Mycobacterium grossiae sp. nov., a rapidly growing, scotochromogenic species isolated from human clinical respiratory and blood culture specimens.

A previously undescribed, rapidly growing, scotochromogenic species of the genus Mycobacterium (represented by strains PB739 and GK) was isolated from two clinical sources - the sputum of a 76-year-old patient with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, history of tuberculosis exposure and Mycobacterium avium complex isolated years prior; and the blood of a 15-year-old male with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia status post bone marrow transplant. The isolates grew as dark orange colonies at 25-37 °C after 5 days, sharing features in common with other closely related species. Analysis of the complete 16S rRNA gene sequence (1492 bp) of strain PB739 demonstrated that the isolate shared 98.

An Observational Study of Severe Pertussis in 100 Infants ≤120 Days of Age.

Background: Pertussis in young infants is a unique, severe, afebrile, cough illness that is frequently fatal.

Methods: All pertussis cases ≤120 days of age admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit in California between October 1, 2013, and April 25, 2015, were evaluated.

Results: Of 100 pertussis patients ≤120 days of age admitted to pediatric intensive care unit, there were 5 deaths.

Discovery of Structurally Diverse Small-Molecule Compounds with Broad Antiviral Activity against Enteroviruses.

Antiviral drugs do not currently exist for the treatment of enterovirus infections, which are often severe and potentially life-threatening. We conducted high-throughput molecular screening and identified a structurally diverse set of compounds that inhibit the replication of coxsackievirus B3, a commonly encountered enterovirus. These compounds did not interfere with the function of the viral internal ribosome entry site or with the activity of the viral proteases, but they did drastically reduce the synthesis of viral RNA and viral proteins in infected cells.

Complete Genome Sequence of Coxsackievirus B1 Isolated during Case Outbreaks in 2007 in the United States.

In 2007, clusters of severe coxsackievirus B1 (CVB1) infection occurred across the United States, and CVB1 became the most commonly reported enterovirus. The complete genome sequence of CVB1 isolated from an infant (CVB1-Chi07) was examined and found to be divergent from the Conn5 reference strain, with 80% and 96% similarities at the nucleotide and amino acid levels, respectively.

Fluoxetine is a potent inhibitor of coxsackievirus replication.

No antiviral drugs currently exist for the treatment of enterovirus infections, which are often severe and potentially life threatening. Molecular screening of small molecule libraries identified fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, as a potent inhibitor of coxsackievirus replication. Fluoxetine did not interfere with either viral entry or translation of the viral genome.