Bartonella quintana Endocarditis Complicated by Cerebral Stroke: A Case Report.

is rarely associated with neurological manifestations. This report describes a rare case of endocarditis complicated by a cerebral stroke caused by . We also briefly reviewed the neurological clinical spectrum of disease described in the literature.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae fungemias: how heterogenous is their management?

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a yeast used mainly as a probiotic for prevention or treatment of diarrhoea. However, the prevalence of S. cerevisiae fungemia has risen over the past years, notably among patients with predisposing factors.

Comparison of culture-dependent and -independent bacterial detection results on nasal swabs in dogs with nasal discharge.

Objectives: The role of bacterial communities in the pathophysiology of canine nasal disease is still unclear. How and when to treat dogs with suspected secondary bacterial rhinitis and on which test to rely before making a decision to treat with antimicrobials has not been established. The objective is to compare the results of bacterial identification using agar-plate cultures and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing in dogs with nasal discharge suspected to be of bacterial origin.

Clinical and molecular epidemiological features of critically ill patients with invasive group A Streptococcus infections: a Belgian multicenter case-series.

Background: Recent alerts have highlighted an increase in group A streptococcal (GAS) infections since 2022 in Europe and the United States. Streptococcus pyogenes can cause limited skin or mucosal disease, but can also present as severe invasive disease necessitating critical care. We performed a multicenter retrospective study of patients with GAS infections recently admitted to Belgian intensive care units (ICUs) since January 2022.

[Does a rapid antibiotic susceptibility test optimize antibiotic therapy of patients with bacteremia ?].

Background: We evaluated the contribution of a rapid antibiotic susceptibility test performed directly from a positive blood culture (PBC), the dRAST™, in the management of patients with bacteremia.

Methods: We retrospectively compared the time from sampling to availability of antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) results («time-to-result», TTR) between dRAST™ and classic AST (Vitek®2), in 150 patients with bacteremia. The antibiotic treatment of these 150 patients was classified into three categories (optimal, suboptimal, ineffective) according to the time of availability of AST results.

[Renal manifestations of syphilis].

Syphilis is an acquired or congenital systemic pathology, currently on the rise in Europe. The clinical manifestations of syphilis are not very specific and variable over time. In this case report, we describe two renal presentations of syphilis in patients followed in a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) program for the prevention of HIV infection.

Occurrence of spp. in Selected Recreational Water Bodies in Belgium during 2021 Bathing Season.

In recent years, a global increase in the number of reports of human vibriosis involving non-O1/O139 (NOVC) and other spp. has been observed. In this context, the Belgian National Reference Center for conducted an assessment of the presence of spp.

Multicenter interlaboratory study of routine systems for the susceptibility testing of temocillin using a challenge panel of multidrug-resistant strains.

Accurate susceptibility result of temocillin (TMO) is important for treating infections caused by multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales. This multicenter study aimed to investigate the performance of routine temocillin testing assays against Enterobacterales challenging strains. Forty-seven selected clinical isolates were blindly analyzed by 12 Belgian laboratories using VITEK® 2 (n = 5) and BD Phoenix™ (n = 3) automated systems, ETEST® gradient strip (n = 3), and disk (3 brands) diffusion method (DD; n = 6) for temocillin susceptibility using standardized methodology.

Clinical Outcomes of Third-Generation Cephalosporin Definitive Therapy for Bloodstream Infections Due to Enterobacterales with Potential AmpC Induction: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

The recommended therapy for severe infections caused by AmpC-inducible Enterobacterales (AmpC-E) typically involves cefepime or carbapenems. In an era of emerging resistance to these antimicrobials, we aim to assess the impact of third-generation cephalosporins (3GCs) vs. alternative antibiotics on clinical outcomes in bloodstream infections (BSIs) due to AmpC-E.

Multicenter Performance Evaluation of the Revogene GBS DS Real-Time PCR Assay for Group B Streptococcus Detection During Labor.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the performance and ease of use of the Revogene GBS DS PCR assay for the intrapartum detection of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) colonization, as compared with intrapartum culture and antenatal culture-based screening.

Methods: Between April and August 2019, 398 women who gave birth in one of the three maternities participating in this study agreed to the collection of a vaginal swab when they arrived in the labor ward. The samples were immediately sent to the adjacent laboratory where they were discharged into the buffer provided with the Revogene GBS DS assay.

and brain abscess in an immunocompetent patient: case report.

Introduction: Brain abscess is the most common focal infectious neurological injury. Until the nineteenth century this condition was fatal, however the development of neuroimaging for early diagnosis, neurosurgery and antibiotic therapy in the twentieth century has led to new therapeutic strategies decreasing mortality from 50 % in the 1970s to less than 10 % nowadays. In this context we report a case of brain abscess with a dental origin.

Reconstruction of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in a primary school using epidemiological and genomic data.

Mathematical modelling studies have shown that repetitive screening can be used to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission in primary schools while keeping schools open. However, not much is known about how transmission progresses within schools and whether there is a risk of importation to households. During the academic year 2020-2021, a prospective surveillance study using repetitive screening was conducted in a primary school and associated households in Liège (Belgium).

Endovesical instillation of Cidofovir in the treatment of BK polyomavirus hemorrhagic cystitis after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Background: Hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) with BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) is a common complication after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) that may lead to severe discomfort for the patient and significant morbidity (urinary obstruction, increased transfusion requirements and prolonged hospitalization). So far, there is no clear consensus on how to manage this complication.

Patients And Methods: Here, we report a single-center case series of 9 patients (4 children and 5 adults) treated with cidofovir endovesical (EV) instillation(s) for BKPyV-HC after alloHCT.

Evaluation of Screening Program and Phylogenetic Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Infections among Hospital Healthcare Workers in Liège, Belgium.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are known to be at higher risk of developing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections although whether these risks are equal across all occupational roles is uncertain. Identifying these risk factors and understand SARS-CoV-2 transmission pathways in healthcare settings are of high importance to achieve optimal protection measures. We aimed to investigate the implementation of a voluntary screening program for SARS-CoV-2 infections among hospital HCWs and to elucidate potential transmission pathways though phylogenetic analysis before the vaccination era.

Evaluation of the Revogene® GBS DS assay performance for the intrapartum screening of group B streptococcus in comparison with intrapartum culture.

Prevention of perinatal Group B Streptococcus (GBS) transmission is crucial in our effort to prevent Early-onset GBS disease. Here, we established the performance of the Revogene GBS DS assay for the detection of group B streptococcus on intrapartum vaginal samples in a laboratory environment using a prospective noninterventional study design. Intrapartum vaginal swabs were enriched using a selective culture method which served as study reference method.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 After COVID-19 Screening and Mitigation Measures for Primary School Children Attending School in Liège, Belgium.

Importance: Recent data suggest a relatively low incidence of COVID-19 among children. The possible role that children attending primary school may play in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 remains poorly understood.

Objective: To gain a better understanding of the possible role of children in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Exploiting genomic surveillance to map the spatio-temporal dispersal of SARS-CoV-2 spike mutations in Belgium across 2020.

At the end of 2020, several new variants of SARS-CoV-2-designated variants of concern-were detected and quickly suspected to be associated with a higher transmissibility and possible escape of vaccine-induced immunity. In Belgium, this discovery has motivated the initiation of a more ambitious genomic surveillance program, which is drastically increasing the number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes to analyse for monitoring the circulation of viral lineages and variants of concern. In order to efficiently analyse the massive collection of genomic data that are the result of such increased sequencing efforts, streamlined analytical strategies are crucial.

Evaluation of Two Rapid Antigenic Tests for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Nasopharyngeal Swabs.

(1) Background: In the current context of the COVID-19 crisis, there is a need for fast, easy-to-use, and sensitive diagnostic tools in addition to molecular methods. We have therefore decided to evaluate the performance of newly available antigen detection kits in "real-life" laboratory conditions. (2) Methods: The sensitivity and specificity of two rapid diagnostic tests (RDT)-the COVID-19 Ag Respi-Strip from Coris Bioconcept, Belgium (CoRDT), and the coronavirus antigen rapid test cassette from Healgen Scientific, LLC, USA (HeRDT)-were evaluated on 193 nasopharyngeal samples using RT-PCR as the gold standard.

Clinical decision support tool for diagnosis of COVID-19 in hospitals.

Background: The coronavirus infectious disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in significant morbidities, severe acute respiratory failures and subsequently emergency departments' (EDs) overcrowding in a context of insufficient laboratory testing capacities. The development of decision support tools for real-time clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 is of prime importance to assist patients' triage and allocate resources for patients at risk.

Methods And Principal Findings: From March 2 to June 15, 2020, clinical patterns of COVID-19 suspected patients at admission to the EDs of Liège University Hospital, consisting in the recording of eleven symptoms (i.

A Phylodynamic Workflow to Rapidly Gain Insights into the Dispersal History and Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 Lineages.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented number of genomic sequences of SARS-CoV-2 have been generated and shared with the scientific community. The unparalleled volume of available genetic data presents a unique opportunity to gain real-time insights into the virus transmission during the pandemic, but also a daunting computational hurdle if analyzed with gold-standard phylogeographic approaches. To tackle this practical limitation, we here describe and apply a rapid analytical pipeline to analyze the spatiotemporal dispersal history and dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 lineages.

[The COVID-19 breaker : PCR to the rescue !].

Chronicle of a crisis management at the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of CHU Liège The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in December 2019 in China and its expansion across the world and Europe have requested the participation of clinical laboratories as major players in the diagnosis of COVID-19, to perform PCR tests mainly on nasopharyngeal swabs. In Belgium, the first confirmed COVID-19 patient was diagnosed in early February, the first of many, especially travelers returning from winter sports. In order to meet the ever-increasing demands for testing, the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of the CHU of Liege had to adapt to this situation: firstly, by developing manual PCR tests and then automated solutions, permitting to increase the number of analyzes by ensuring a short turnaround time of results.