Thermonuclease test accuracy is preserved in methicillin-resistant isolates.

The gene encodes a thermonuclease which is present in but not in coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) and is the target of the rapid phenotypic thermonuclease test. The effect of gene variation in methicillin-resistant (MRSA) on the performance of PCR testing has been noted, although there are no reports about the effect of MRSA on the activity of the thermonuclease enzyme. Our goals were to examine the sensitivity and specificity of the thermonuclease test used to distinguish from CoNS cultured from blood.

High community faecal carriage rates of CTX-M ESBL-producing Escherichia coli in a specific population group in Birmingham, UK.

Objectives: To determine the proportion of E. coli carrying specific CTX-M extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genotypes in a community population of East and North Birmingham.

Methods: General practice and outpatient stool samples from 732 individuals submitted for examination for faecal pathogens in 2010 were screened for ESBL-producing E.

Bilateral endophthalmitis as a primary manifestation of Streptococcus dysgalactiae endocarditis and the role of 16S rDNA polymerase chain reaction in identification.

Bilateral endogenous endophthalmitis is a rare complication of endocarditis. We present the case of a 72-year-old female who presented with heart failure and bilateral endogenous endophthalmitis. Endocarditis was confirmed on transesophageal echocardiography.