The clinical significance of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae rectal colonization in critically ill patients: from colonization to bloodstream infection.

Purpose: To highlight the clinical significance of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) rectal colonization by examining the risk factors for CRKP rectal colonization and subsequent bloodstream infection (BSI) in critically ill patients.

Methodology: Prospective study of CRKP rectal colonization in an intensive care unit (ICU) during a 39-month period. CRKP strains isolated from both the blood cultures and corresponding rectal specimens (n=96) of patients were screened by PCR for the presence of antibiotic resistance-associated genes.

Genetic diversity of mycobacterium tuberculosis in northern Greece.

The aim of the present study was to describe the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tuberculosis) strains circulating in the region of Northern Greece. A total of thirty-seven M.

16S rRNA deep sequencing for the characterization of healthy human pharyngeal microbiome.

Background: The recent advent of high-throughput sequencing methods enabled the study of the composition of the upper respiratory tract (URT) microbial ecosystem and its relationship with health and disease in immense detail. The aim of the present study was the characterization of the human pharyngeal microbiome of healthy individuals in Greece.

Materials And Methods: We obtained ten pharyngeal specimens from healthy volunteers, Greek resident, with Greek nationality, who were eligible to the selection criteria.

Comparative evaluation of minocycline susceptibility testing methods in carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

In this study, the performance of two commonly used routine antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods, the automated VITEK(®)2 system and Etest (bioMérieux, Marcy-l'Étoile, France), was compared with the standard broth microdilution (BMD) method on 87 multidrug- and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) 2015 breakpoints (susceptible, ≤4 mg/L; intermediate, 8 mg/L; and resistant, ≥16 mg/L) were used. Minocycline showed excellent activity, with 94.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness in preventing hospitalizations with laboratory-confirmed influenza in Greece during the 2014-2015 season: A test-negative study.

The 2014-2015 influenza season was marked by circulation of antigenically drifted A/H3N2 strains, raising the possibility of low seasonal influenza Vaccine Effectiveness (VE). We assessed VE against hospitalization with laboratory-confirmed influenza for the 2014-2015 season, using routine surveillance data. Non-sentinel swab samples from Greek hospital inpatients were tested for influenza by RT-PCR in three laboratories, covering the entire country.

Comparing Abbott m2000 RealTime HIV test and Roche COBAS Ampliprep/COBAS Taqman HIV test, v2.0 in treated HIV-1 B and non-B subjects with low viraemia.

Viral load testing is a valuable tool in HIV clinical care and research. Discrepancies among diverse viral load assays, especially with regard to non-B HIV-1 subtypes have been reported. Our study aimed to explore the impact of HIV subtype (B versus non-B) on the agreement between CAP/CTM, v2.

The controversial impact of B cells subsets on immune response to pneumococcal vaccine in HIV-1 patients.

Background: Chronic HIV infection leads to severe perturbations of the B cell populations and hypo-responsiveness to vaccines. The associations between circulating B cell subpopulations and the antibody response to pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in antiretroviral-naïve and treated patients were studied.

Methods: Sixty-six HIV-infected adults were grouped according to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and CD4+ cell count; 31 were ART-naïve and 35 were ART-treated, and they were matched for age, CD4 cell count, and duration of HIV infection.

NK and NKT Cell Depletion Alters the Outcome of Experimental Pneumococcal Pneumonia: Relationship with Regulation of Interferon-γ Production.

Background. Natural killer (NK) and natural killer T (NKT) cells contribute to the innate host defense but their role in bacterial sepsis remains controversial. Methods.

Clostridium difficile infection: New insights into therapeutic options.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in healthcare settings and represents a major social and economic burden. The major virulence determinants are large clostridial toxins, toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB), encoded within the pathogenicity locus. Traditional therapies, such as metronidazole and vancomycin, frequently lead to a vicious circle of recurrences due to their action against normal human microbiome.

Double- and multi-carbapenemase-producers: the excessively armored bacilli of the current decade.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Gram-negative nosocomial pathogens commonly carry one carbapenemase gene conferring resistance to carbapenems and other beta-lactam antibiotics. However, increasing reports show that double-carbapenemase-producing (DCP) and even multi-carbapenemase-producing (MCP) bacteria are emerging in some parts of the world, diminishing further, in some cases, the already limited treatment options. In the present review, the up-to-date reports of DCP and MCP isolates are summarized and concerns regarding their emergence are discussed.

Challenges in antigenic characterization of circulating influenza A(H3N2) viruses during the 2011-2012 influenza season: an ongoing problem?

Genetic and antigenic characterization of 37 representative influenza A(H3N2) virus strains isolated in Greece during the 2011-2012 winter season was performed to evaluate matching of the viruses with the seasonal influenza vaccine strain A/Perth/16/2009. Hemagglutinin gene sequence analysis revealed that all Greek strains clustered within the Victoria/208 genetic clade. Furthermore, substitutions in the antigenic and glycosylation sites suggested potential antigenic drift.

West Nile virus seroprevalence and behavioral risks in HIV-1 infected individuals, Northern Greece, 2011.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the West Nile Virus (WNV) seroprevalence and behavioral risk factors for WNV infection in HIV-1 infected individuals in Northern Greece in 2011.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 91 HIV-1 consecutive patients followed up in the HIV clinic of the AHEPA University Hospital in the period from November to December 2011. Serum samples were tested for the presence of WNV IgG antibodies.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness against laboratory confirmed influenza in Greece during the 2013-2014 season: a test-negative study.

Background: In 2013-2014 Greece experienced a resurgence of severe influenza cases, coincidental with a shift to H1N1pdm09 predominance. We sought to estimate Vaccine Effectiveness (VE) for this season using available surveillance data from hospitals (including both inpatients and outpatients).

Methods: Swab samples were sent by hospital physicians to one of three laboratories, covering the entire country, to be tested for influenza using RT-PCR.

Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Ureaplasma urealyticum in asymptomatic women in Northern Greece.

Aim: This study attends to determine the prevalence and the antimicrobial susceptibility of Ureaplasma urealyticum in asymptomatic women in Northern Greece.

Materials-methods: A total of 347 cervical smears were divided into 5 groups according to age. Samples were cultured, Ureaplasma urealyticum isolation was confirmed by the detection of the urease gene and the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates to 9 commercially available antibiotics was determined.

Molecular epidemiology of noroviruses in Northern Greece, 2005-2006.

Noroviruses (NoVs) are important human pathogens associated with acute viral gastroenteritis worldwide, displaying significant genetic heterogeneity. Genotype GII.4 is responsible for the majority of outbreaks reported to date.

Severity of the two post-pandemic influenza seasons 2010-11 and 2011-12 in Northern Greece.

Since the pandemic in 2009, the two following post pandemic influenza seasons have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates in Northern Greece. The scope of this short report is to provide relevant epidemiological information, an evaluation of the efficacy of the seasonal vaccine and antiviral drugs. Molecular analysis revealed the close match of A(H1N1) 2009 pandemic and post-pandemic 2010-11 viruses with the vaccine virus.

Short communication: molecular epidemiology of HIV type 1 infection in northern Greece (2009-2010): evidence of a transmission cluster of HIV type 1 subtype A1 drug-resistant strains among men who have sex with men.

A prospective molecular epidemiology study of HIV-1 infection was conducted in newly diagnosed and antiretroviral-naive patients in Northern Greece between 2009 and 2010 using a predefined enrolling strategy. Phylogenetic trees of the pol sequences obtained in this study with reference sequences indicated that subtypes B and A1 were the most common subtypes present and accounted for 44.9% and 42.

Cellular HIV type 1 DNA levels are equivalent among drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains in newly diagnosed and antiretroviral naive patients.

The emergence of resistance against current antiretroviral drugs to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is an increasingly important concern to the continuous success of antiretroviral therapy to HIV-1-infected patients. In the past decade, a number of studies reported that the prevalence of transmitted drug resistance among newly diagnosed patients has reached an overall 9% prevalence worldwide. Also, a number of studies using longitudinal HIV-1 patient study cohorts demonstrated that the cellular HIV-1 DNA level in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) has a prognostic value for the progression of HIV-1 disease independently of plasma HIV-1 RNA load and CD4 count.

Laboratory surveillance of influenza virus in children under 10 years old, in northern Greece, during 2004-2010.

Objectives: Influenza viruses constitute one of the most common pathogens that cause acute respiratory disease in children. The aim of this study is to present the contribution of influenza viruses to influenza-like illness (ILI) in children (aged<10 years old) in Northern Greece during six influenza seasons (2004-2010).

Materials And Methods: 1,242 pharyngeal swabs or/and washes from children younger than 10 years old, presented as ILI infections during the last six influenza seasons (2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010) were examined for influenza A and B by Real-time one step RT-PCR.

Older HIV-infected patients--an underestimated population in northern Greece: epidemiology, risk of disease progression and death.

Objectives: HIV prevalence among older people is on the increase. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological and clinical features at diagnosis and survival of older patients.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of the data of 558 newly diagnosed antiretroviral-naïve patients between January 1998 and December 2008.

High rates of transmitted drug resistance among newly-diagnosed antiretroviral naïve HIV patients in Northern Greece, data from 2009-2011.

We conducted a retrospective study on the prevalence and correlates of transmitted drug resistance among newly-diagnosed antiretroviral naive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients in Northern Greece, during the period 2009-11. Transmitted drug resistance was documented in 21.8% of patients enrolled, affecting approximately 40% of subtype A HIV-1-infected individuals.

Time trends and correlates of late presentation for HIV care in Northern Greece during the decade 2000 to 2010.

Background: The aim of our study was to assess the extent of late presentation for HIV care in Northern Greece during the period 2000 to 2010 and to explore correlations aiming to provide guidance for future interventions.

Methods: HIV-positive patients with no prior history of HIV care at presentation and with a CD4 T cell count within three months from the first confirmatory Western blot result were eligible for this study. Late presentation and advanced HIV disease were defined in concordance with the recommendations of the European Late Presenter Consensus working group.