Household Pet Ownership and the Microbial Diversity of the Human Gut Microbiota.

The human gut microbiome has a great deal of interpersonal variation due to both endogenous and exogenous factors, like household pet exposure. To examine the relationship between having a pet in the home and the composition and diversity of the adult gut microbiome, we conducted a case-control study nested in a larger, statewide study, the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin. Stool samples were collected from 332 participants from unique households and analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq.

A Prospective, Randomized Comparison of Duodenoscope Reprocessing Surveillance Methods.

Duodenoscope use in healthcare facilities has been associated with transmission of multidrug resistant pathogens between patients. To assist healthcare facilities in monitoring the quality of their duodenoscope reprocessing procedures and limit patient risk of infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deployed voluntary interim duodenoscope sampling and culturing surveillance protocols in 2015. Though the interim methods were widely adopted, alternative surveillance protocols were developed and implemented at individual institutions.

Wisconsin microbiome study, a cross-sectional investigation of dietary fibre, microbiome composition and antibiotic-resistant organisms: rationale and methods.

Introduction: Prevention of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infections, such as those caused by methicillin-resistant , vancomycin-resistant enterococci, fluoroquinolone-resistant Gram-negative bacteria and is crucial. Evidence suggests that dietary fibre increases gut microbial diversity, which may help prevent colonisation and subsequent infection by MDROs. The aim of the Winning the War on Antibiotic Resistance (WARRIOR) project is to examine associations of dietary fibre consumption with the composition of the gut microbiota and gut colonisation by MDROs.

Effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 on carriage of Staphylococcus aureus: results of the impact of probiotics for reducing infections in veterans (IMPROVE) study.

Background: Infection by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Colonization by S.

On the hands of patients with Clostridium difficile: A study of spore prevalence and the effect of hand hygiene on C difficile removal.

The prevalence of Clostridium difficile spores was assessed in 48 observations of infected inpatients. Participants were randomized to hand hygiene with either alcohol-based handrub or soap and water. C difficile was recovered in 14.

A randomized controlled trial of probiotics for Clostridium difficile infection in adults (PICO).

Background: Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of hospital-acquired infections, responsible for >450000 infections annually in the USA. Probiotics provide a promising, well-tolerated adjunct therapy to standard C. difficile infection (CDI) treatment regimens, but there is a paucity of data regarding their effectiveness for the treatment of an initial CDI.

Chemical Genomics, Structure Elucidation, and in Vivo Studies of the Marine-Derived Anticlostridial Ecteinamycin.

A polyether antibiotic, ecteinamycin (1), was isolated from a marine Actinomadura sp., cultivated from the ascidian Ecteinascidia turbinata. C enrichment, high resolution NMR spectroscopy, and molecular modeling enabled elucidation of the structure of 1, which was validated on the basis of comparisons with its recently reported crystal structure.

Serratia marcescens Bacteremia: Nosocomial Cluster Following Narcotic Diversion.

OBJECTIVE To describe the investigation and control of a cluster of Serratia marcescens bacteremia in a 505-bed tertiary-care center. METHODS Cluster cases were defined as all patients with S. marcescens bacteremia between March 2 and April 7, 2014, who were found to have identical or related blood isolates determined by molecular typing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Risk of Clostridium difficile Infection in Hematology-Oncology Patients Colonized With Toxigenic C. difficile.

The prevalence of colonization with toxigenic Clostridium difficile among patients with hematological malignancies and/or bone marrow transplant at admission to a 566-bed academic medical care center was 9.3%, and 13.3% of colonized patients developed symptomatic disease during hospitalization.

Effect of United States buckwheat honey on antibiotic-resistant hospital acquired pathogens.

Introduction: Due to an upsurge in antibiotic-resistant infections and lack of therapeutic options, new approaches are needed for treatment. Honey may be one such potential therapeutic option. We investigated the susceptibility of hospital acquired pathogens to four honeys from Wisconsin, United States, and then determined if the antibacterial effect of each honey against these pathogens is primarily due to the high sugar content.

Macrolide and Clindamycin Resistance in Group a Streptococci Isolated From Children With Pharyngitis.

Group A streptococcus (GAS) is responsible for 15%-30% of cases of acute pharyngitis in children. Macrolides such as azithromycin have become popular for treating GAS pharyngitis. We report macrolide resistance rates in a primary care setting in our geographic area over the past 5 years and discuss the implications of resistance in making treatment decisions.

Impact of Probiotics for Reducing Infections in Veterans (IMPROVE): Study protocol for a double-blind, randomized controlled trial to reduce carriage of Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is an organism of great public health importance, causing 20,000 deaths annually. Decolonization of patients with S.

Feasibility and patient satisfaction with smoking cessation interventions for prevention of healthcare-associated infections in inpatients.

Background: Smoking increases hospitalization and healthcare-associated infection. Our primary aim of this pilot, randomized-controlled trial was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a tobacco cessation intervention compared with usual care in inpatients. S.

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus co-colonization rates with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile in critically ill veterans.

A prospective study was conducted to identify risk factors for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, including co-colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile infection in patients admitted to the intensive care unit in 2 Veterans Affairs facilities. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile infection co-colonization were significant risk factors for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus colonization. Further studies are needed to identify measures for preventing co-colonization of these major organisms in veterans.

Risk factors for Candida colonization and Co-colonization with multi-drug resistant organisms at admission.

Introduction: Candida species are major causes of healthcare-associated infections with colonization preceding infection. Understanding risk factors for colonization by Candida species is important in prevention. However, data on risk factors for colonization by Candida species alone or with other healthcare-associated pathogens is limited.

Nontyphoidal : An Occupational Hazard for Clinical Laboratory Workers.

Laboratory-acquired infections due to nontyphoidal are rare. Yet, recent outbreaks in microbiology teaching laboratories show that these species are still an appreciable occupational hazard for laboratory employees. This article presents two cases of nontyphoidal that occurred at the authors' institution-an infected patient and a clinical laboratory worker who acquired the infection by handling this patient's specimens.

Probiotics for Clostridium difficile infection in adults (PICO): Study protocol for a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Background: Clostridium difficile is a pathogen of rapidly increasing public health importance. An estimated quarter of a million Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) occur in the United States annually, at a resultant cost of 14,000 deaths and 1 billion dollars. Clostridium difficile related deaths have risen 400% over the last decade, and current standard antibiotic treatments are only 75 to 85% successful.

The relationship between patient functional status and environmental contamination by Clostridium difficile: a pilot study.

Introduction: Limited data exist on patient factors related to environmental contamination with Clostridium difficile.

Methods: We evaluated the association between the functional status of patients with C. difficile infection (CDI) and environmental contamination with C.

Feasibility of oral prenatal probiotics against maternal group B Streptococcus vaginal and rectal colonization.

Objective: To examine the effect of an oral prenatal probiotic on group B Streptococcus (GBS) colonization and to demonstrate the feasibility of a larger randomized controlled trial.

Design: This pilot study was an open-label, two-group quasi-experiment.

Setting: An urban central city nurse-midwifery and wellness center serving a diverse population.

Clostridium difficile in a children's hospital: assessment of environmental contamination.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most frequent infectious cause of health care-associated diarrhea. Three cases of CDI, in children age 2, 3, and 14 years, occurred in the hematology/oncology ward of our children's hospital over 48 hours. We aimed to assess environmental contamination with C difficile in the shared areas of this unit, and to determine whether person-to-person transmission occurred.

Comparison of pulsed-gel electrophoresis and a commercial repetitive-element PCR method for assessment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clustering in different health care facilities.

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is a common method used to type methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in nosocomial investigations and epidemiological studies but is time-consuming and methodologically challenging. We compared typing results obtained using a commercial repetitive-element PCR (rep-PCR) system with PFGE in a sample of 86 unique MRSA isolates recovered from subjects in an academic referral hospital and two nursing homes in the same geographic region. Both methods reliably assigned isolates to the same Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pulsotype.

Investigation of the spread of Brucella canis via the U.S. interstate dog trade.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to illustrate and help address a growing need for regulatory or molecular tools to track and control the spread of canine brucellosis. Our study objectives were to first characterize Brucella canis outbreaks in Wisconsin kennels in the context of the dog trade in the USA, and then to identify a molecular technique that may be useful for strain differentiation of B. canis isolates.