[Prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection among health care workers from the emergency department of Meaux hospital using an interferon gamma release assay].

Objective: To determine the prevalence of the latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among health care workers (HCW) of the emergency ward of Meaux hospital, by comparing it with two witnesses units: the orthopaedic surgery ward (referral service to low risk) and the respiratory ward (referral service to high risk).

Methods: From July to December 2008, on a voluntary basis, anonymised blood samples of any HCW of the three departments were carried out by the occupational health service. Determination of interferon gamma was released by the test "QuantiFERON-TB Gold" (QFT).

Epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae in France in 2007: data from the pneumococcus surveillance network.

Antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae in France is closely monitored by the pneumococcus surveillance network, founded in 1995, which collects data from regional observatories (Observatoire Régionaux du Pneumocoque [ORP]). In 2007, 23 ORPs analyzed the antibiotic susceptibility of 5,302 isolates of S. pneumoniae recovered in France from cerebrospinal fluid, blood, middle ear fluid, and pleural fluid, as well as from adult respiratory samples.

Serotype distribution and antibiotic resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains isolated from adults in France: evolution between 2001 and 2003.

Antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) are described around the world. The present national surveillance study report analyzes more than 6000 Sp strains, isolated from adults across France in 2001 and 2003, from blood cultures (3086 in 2001 and 3164 in 2003), cerebrospinal fluid (respectively, 238 and 240), or middle ear fluid (respectively, 110 and 100). The proportion of isolates with reduced susceptibility to penicillin fell significantly between 2001 and 2003 from 46.

Esophageal tuberculosis in a patient on maintenance dialysis: advantages of interferon-gamma release assay.

Patients with chronic renal failure have a higher risk of developing tuberculosis compared to the general population, and especially extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. This pathology is often difficult to diagnose and requires a combination of multidisciplinary examinations. The confirmation of the diagnosis is important in order to quickly match the treatment with the pathology.

Severe group a streptococcus infection after thyroidectomy: report of three cases and review.

Background: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is an uncommon cause of infection after clean surgery in non-pregnant adults.

Methods: Report of three cases and review of the literature. results: For the first time in France, severe GAS infections were observed in three patients who underwent thyroidectomy at three hospitals.

Streptococcus sinensis: an emerging agent of infective endocarditis.

The identification by conventional methods of viridans streptococcal species, which are rarely encountered clinically, requires confirmation by genomic methods. We characterized a strain of Streptococcus sinensis responsible for infective endocarditis by sequencing both the 16S rRNA and the manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase genes.

Antimicrobial resistance data on 16,756 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in 1999: A Pan-Regional Multicenter Surveillance Study in France.

The rising prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae is a phenomenon observed to different degrees around the world. The present national surveillance study report analyzes a total of 16,756 strains of S. pneumoniae collected across France in 1999.

An outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus surgical-site infections initiated by a healthcare worker with chronic sinusitis.

An investigation was performed following two methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus surgical-site infections in a 946-bed French general hospital. The investigation revealed that the outbreak involved 7 patients in 2 surgical wards and that infections were probably contracted in the operating theater from a healthcare worker suffering from chronic sinusitis.

Reproducibility of protected specimen brush and bronchoalveolar lavage conserved at 4 degrees C for 48 hours.

Objective: Protected specimen brush (PSB) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) are proposed in combination to optimize antimicrobial treatment. Nevertheless, they are only validated for immediate laboratory processing. This study was therefore conducted to determine whether 48 h conservation at a mere 4 degrees C enables good culture reproducibility for both PSB and BAL.