Heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate susceptibility phenotype in bloodstream methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from an international cohort of patients with infective endocarditis: prevalence, genotype, and clinical significance.

Background: The significance of heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) is unknown. Using a multinational collection of isolates from methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infective endocarditis (IE), we characterized patients with IE with and without hVISA, and we genotyped the infecting strains.

Genotypic diversity of coagulase-negative staphylococci causing endocarditis: a global perspective.

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are important causes of infective endocarditis (IE), but their microbiological profiles are poorly described. We performed DNA target sequencing and susceptibility testing for 91 patients with definite CNS IE who were identified from the International Collaboration on Endocarditis-Microbiology, a large, multicenter, multinational consortium. A hierarchy of gene sequences demonstrated great genetic diversity within CNS from patients with definite endocarditis that represented diverse geographic regions.

Confirmation of invasive meningococcal disease by single point estimation of IgM antibody to outer membrane protein of Neisseria meningitidis.

Objectives: The sensitivity of laboratory confirmation of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) by culture or PCR is affected by prior antibiotic treatment and decreasing use of early lumbar puncture. Serological diagnosis of IMD is not widely used because of reliance on paired serum samples. The application of single point estimations of IgM antibodies in the diagnosis of IMD was explored.

Unusual cluster of mild invasive serogroup C meningococcal infection in a university college.

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology and public health response to an apparent cluster of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C infection in university students in a residential college. A conventional epidemiological approach was taken, supported by routine and novel diagnostic techniques. Over the two days of 21-22 August 1997, three cases of suspected meningococcal infection were notified from a residential college complex at a university campus in the Sydney metropolitan area.

GACPAT HIV 1 + 2: a simple, inexpensive assay to screen for, and discriminate between, anti-HIV 1 and anti-HIV 2.

A simple and cheap assay suitable for screening for anti-HIV 1 and anti-HIV 2 and discriminating between them was evaluated. In it specimens are incubated in U-bottomed microplate wells coated with anti-human IgG for 30 min at room temperature. After washing, 100 microliters of a 1 in 50 dilution of HIV 1-coated gelatin particles (Serodia-HIV 1/2, Fujirebio) are added.