Occurrence of ampicillin-resistant Enterococcus faecium carrying esp gene in pet animals: An upcoming threat for pet lovers.

Objectives: This study was carried out to investigate oral colonisation by Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium in pet dogs and cats, with special reference to antibiotic resistance.

Methods: Oral swabs were collected from 63 pet dogs and 57 pet cats with no known history of hospitalisation. All samples were enriched in Kenner Fecal (KF) broth before being cultured on KF agar to isolate enterococci.

Serological evidence of flaviviruses infection among acute febrile illness patients in Afghanistan.

Introduction: Current published reports on the causative agents of acute febrile illness (AFI) in Afghanistan are scarce, and the burden of disease due to flaviviruses is unknown.

Methodology: A hospital-based surveillance study for AFI was established in 2008 through 2010 to determine the seroepidemiology of West Nile virus (WNV), tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and dengue viruses (DENV) using commercial ELISA kits. Due to major logistical challenges, only acute sera were collected.

Heterogeneity of species isolated from serial stool specimens of Egyptian children using pulsed field gel electrophoresis.

Background: The genus spp. is a common cause of human acute bacterial enteritis and travellers' diarrhoea worldwide.

Objective: To determine whether multiple serial isolations of spp.

Building military influenza surveillance capacity in West Africa.

Militaries are especially susceptible to operationally important outbreaks of acute respiratory infections such as pandemic and seasonal influenza. In addition, militaries play important roles for State Parties working to meet International Health Regulations 2005, particularly in developing countries. In 2009, the U.

Genetic characterization of antimicrobial resistance of Shigella flexneri 1c isolates from patients in Egypt and Pakistan.

Background: Shigella flexneri serotype 1c emerged as a critical isolate from children in Egypt and Pakistan. The pattern of antimicrobial susceptibility (AMS) and resistance genes of this serotype have yet to be characterized.

Findings: Sixty nine S.

A simple technique for long-term preservation of leptospires.

The viability of six serovars of Leptospira spp. was studied after long storage at -70°C. The bacteria were either preserved in Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris (EMJH) liquid growth medium or in sheep blood added as a cryoprotectant.

Characterization of Neisseria meningitidis isolates from Egypt using multilocus sequence typing.

To characterize Neisseria meningitidis isolates collected from cerebrospinal fluid of meningitis cases in Egypt (1998-2003) as part of surveillance studies, 67 isolates were serogrouped, tested for antibiotic sensitivity and analyzed using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Results show that isolates expressing serogroup B (50.7%) and serogroup A (34.

Antimicrobial resistance in pathogens causing nosocomial bloodstream infections in university hospitals in Egypt.

Background: Nosocomial bloodstream infections (BSIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are worldwide health care problems causing substantial patient morbidity and mortality. This study was conducted to identify bacterial pathogens isolated from nosocomial BSIs and determine their AMR patterns.

Methods: An active surveillance program for BSIs was conducted in intensive care units in 3 large university hospitals in Egypt between September 1, 2006, and June 30, 2007.

Cross-species surveillance of Leptospira in domestic and peri-domestic animals in Mahalla City, Gharbeya Governorate, Egypt.

A survey of 179 animals (black rats, dogs, sheep, buffaloes, cattle, donkeys, weasels, and cats) for Leptospira infection was conducted in Mahalla City (Lower Egypt). Blood, urine, and kidney were collected and tested by culture, microscopic agglutination test (MAT), and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Among rats, 26% were positive by PCR, including 7% that were also positive by culture for L.

Enteric fever in Mediterranean north Africa.

Typhoid fever is endemic in the Mediterranean North African countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt) with an estimated incidence of 10-100 cases per 100,000 persons. Outbreaks caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi are common and mainly due to the consumption of untreated or sewage-contaminated water. Salmonella enterica Paratyphi B is more commonly involved in nosocomial cases of enteric fever in North Africa than expected and leads to high mortality rates among infants with congenital anomalies.

Concurrent infections in acute febrile illness patients in Egypt.

We report the occurrence of concurrent infections with multiple acute febrile illness (AFI) pathogens during an ongoing prospective laboratory-based surveillance in four infectious disease hospitals in urban and rural areas of Egypt from June 2005 to August 2006. Patients were screened for Leptospira, Rickettsia typhi, Brucella, or Salmonella enterica serogroup Typhi by various methods including serology, culture, and PCR. One hundred eighty-seven of 1,510 patients (12.

Brucellosis as a cause of acute febrile illness in Egypt.

To develop better estimates of brucellosis incidence, we conducted population-based surveillance for acute febrile illness (AFI) in Fayoum governorate (population 2347249), Egypt during two summer periods (2002 and 2003). All hospitals and a representative sample of community healthcare providers were included. AFI patients without obvious etiology were tested for brucellosis by culture and serology.

Retrospective serosurvey of leptospirosis among patients with acute febrile illness and hepatitis in Egypt.

The epidemiologic status of leptospirosis in Egypt has not been well defined because of difficulties in disease diagnosis. A retrospective study was conducted to detect leptospiral antibodies among undiagnosed acute febrile illness (AFI) and hepatitis cases. Approximately 16% of both AFI (141/886) and acute hepatitis (63/392) cases showed seroreactivity to Leptospira IgM by ELISA and microscopic agglutination test (MAT).

Rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the diagnosis of human brucellosis in surveillance and clinical settings in Egypt.

Objective: To optimize and standardize an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for rapid diagnosis of human brucellosis in clinical cases identified during a surveillance study for acute febrile illness (AFI).

Methods: Serum samples from patients presenting with AFI at 13 fever hospitals across Egypt between 1999 and 2003 were kept frozen at NAMRU-3 and used in this study. The assay was evaluated in 5 subject groups: brucellosis cases confirmed by blood culture (group I, n=202) 87% positive by standard tube agglutination test (TA), brucellosis cases exclusively confirmed by TA (group II, n=218), blood cultures from AFI cases positive for bacterial species other than Brucella (group III, n=103), AFI cases with unexplained etiologies (group IV, n=654), and healthy volunteers (group V, n=50).

Population-based surveillance of typhoid fever in Egypt.

Credible measures of disease incidence are necessary to guide typhoid fever control efforts. In Egypt, incidence estimates have been derived from hospital-based syndromic surveillance, which may not represent the population with typhoid fever. To determine the population-based incidence of typhoid fever in Fayoum Governorate (pop.

Antimicrobial susceptibility and serotype distribution of Streptococcus pneumoniae causing meningitis in Egypt, 1998-2003.

Objectives: To determine the antimicrobial susceptibility and serotype distribution of 205 isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae, collected from the CSF of meningitis patients identified between 1998-2003, during sentinel meningitis surveillance in Egypt.

Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility was evaluated against six antibiotics using disc diffusion and Etest methods. Serotyping was performed by latex agglutination and the Quellung test.

Estimating the incidence of typhoid fever and other febrile illnesses in developing countries.

To measure the incidence of typhoid fever and other febrile illnesses in Bilbeis District, Egypt, we conducted a household survey to determine patterns of health seeking among persons with fever. Then we established surveillance for 4 months among a representative sample of health providers who saw febrile patients. Health providers collected epidemiologic information and blood (for culture and serologic testing) from eligible patients.

Phenotypic diversity of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) isolated from cases of travelers' diarrhea in Kenya.

Background: The aim of this study was to characterize phenotypically enterotoxins, colonization factors (CFs) and the antibiotic susceptibility of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains isolated from cases of acute diarrhea that occurred in Europeans traveling to resorts in Mombasa, Kenya; this information is critical for the development of vaccines and empirical treatment.

Methods: Over a 1-year period from 1996 to 1997, five E. coli-like colonies were obtained from each of 463 cases with acute diarrhea.

Trends of multiple-drug resistance among Salmonella serotype Typhi isolates during a 14-year period in Egypt.

A total of 853 isolates of Salmonella serotype Typhi recovered from patients with typhoid fever who were admitted to a major infectious disease hospital in Cairo, Egypt, from 1987 through 2000 underwent antibiotic susceptibility testing to determine multiple-drug resistance. The observed resurgence of chloramphenicol susceptibility (P=.002) may suggest reuse of this drug for the treatment of typhoid fever in Egypt.

Evaluation of dipstick serologic tests for diagnosis of brucellosis and typhoid Fever in egypt.

Two dipstick assays for the detection of Brucella- and typhoid-specific immunoglobulin M, recently developed by the Royal Tropical Institute of The Netherlands, were evaluated by use of 85 plasma samples from Egyptian patients. Both dipsticks were simple and accurate rapid diagnostic assays, and they can be useful adjuncts for the diagnosis of typhoid fever and brucellosis.