Predictive Factors of Cloxacillin Susceptibility in Primary Bacterial Spinal Infection.

Study Design: Prognostic study.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to identify predictive factors for cloxacillin susceptibility in spinal infections.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2021.

Prevalence and Outcomes of Infections in Critically-ill Paediatric Oncology Patients: A Retrospective Observation Study.

Purpose: The survival of paediatric oncology patients has improved substantially in the past decades due to advances in the field of oncology. Modern cancer treatments often come with life-threatening complications, of which infection is one of the most common causes in this patient population. This study aims to investigate the prevalence and outcomes of common infections in haemato-oncology patients during their stay in paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and to identify any factors associated with these infections.

Real-World Effectiveness Study of Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir or Molnupiravir in Hospitalized Unvaccinated Patients with Chronic Respiratory Diseases and Moderate COVID-19 at Presentation.

Introduction: Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (NMV-r) and molnupiravir (MOL) were developed as out-patient anti-viral for mild COVID-19. There was limited data on their role in treating COVID-19 for hospitalized patients, especially among adult patients who are unvaccinated and had chronic respiratory diseases.

Methods: A territory-wide retrospective study was conducted in Hong Kong to compare the efficacy of NMV-r and MOL against COVID-19 in unvaccinated adult patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchiectasis and interstitial lung diseases presenting with moderate COVID-19 from 16th February 2022 to 15th March 2023.

Real-World Study on Effectiveness of Molnupiravir and Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir in Unvaccinated Patients with Chronic Respiratory Diseases with Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection Managed in Out-Patient Setting.

While molnupiravir (MOV) and nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (NMV-r) were developed for treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 infection, there has been a lack of data on the efficacy among unvaccinated adult patients with chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchiectasis. A territory-wide retrospective cohort study was conducted in Hong Kong to investigate the efficacy of MOV and NMV-r against severe outcomes of COVID-19 in unvaccinated adult patients with chronic respiratory diseases. A total of 3267 patients were included.

Efficacy of mRNA and Inactivated Whole Virus Vaccines Against COVID-19 in Patients with Chronic Respiratory Diseases.

Background: While different COVID-19 vaccines have been developed, there has been lack of data on the efficacy comparison between mRNA and inactivated whole virus vaccine among patients with chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and bronchiectasis.

Methods: This was a retrospective case control study on the efficacy of BNT162b2 (mRNA vaccine) and CoronaVac (inactivated whole virus vaccine) against COVID-19 in patients with chronic respiratory diseases. A total of 327 patients were included, with 109 patients infected with COVID-19 matched with 218 patients without COVID-19.

Comparative analysis of outer membrane vesicles from uropathogenic Escherichia coli reveal the role of aromatic amino acids synthesis proteins in motility.

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are causative agent that causes urinary tract infections (UTIs) and the recent emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) of UPEC increases the burden on the community. Recent studies of bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMV) identified various factors including proteins, nucleic acids, and small molecules which provided inter-cellular communication within the bacterial population. However, the components of UPEC-specific OMVs and their functional role remain unclear.

Medical interns' views on the strategies for reducing antibiotic misuse in the hospitals-what guidelines do they follow?

Objectives: Although the topic of antibiotic misuse is taught in medical schools, interns (fresh medical graduates) still encounter barriers to appropriate antibiotic prescription when they practice in hospitals under supervision. The impact of teaching in medical school, antibiotics stewardship program (ASP), and prescription guidelines was uncertain. This study explored the medical interns' views on antibiotic use and resistance, and their perceived enablers to appropriate antibiotic prescription.

Subinhibitory Concentrations of Antibiotics Exacerbate Staphylococcal Infection by Inducing Bacterial Virulence.

Antibiotics are widely used for the treatment of bacterial infections. However, injudicious use of antibiotics based on an empirical method may lead to the emergence of resistant strains. Despite appropriate administration of antibiotics, their concentrations may remain subinhibitory in the body, due to individual variations in tissue distribution and metabolism rates.

Antivirulence Agent as an Adjuvant of β-Lactam Antibiotics in Treating Staphylococcal Infections.

can cause a plethora of life-threatening infections. Antibiotics have been extensively used to treat infections. However, when antibiotics are used at sub-inhibitory concentrations, especially for β-lactam antibiotics, they may enhance staphylococcal pathogenicity and exacerbate the infection.

A lineage usually associated with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) serotypes is the most common cause of serotype 35B invasive disease in South Africa, following routine use of PCV.

Pneumococcal serotype 35B is an important non-conjugate vaccine (non-PCV) serotype. Its continued emergence, post-PCV7 in the USA, was associated with expansion of a pre-existing 35B clone (clonal complex [CC] 558) along with post-PCV13 emergence of a non-35B clone previously associated with PCV serotypes (CC156). This study describes lineages circulating among 35B isolates in South Africa before and after PCV introduction.

The use of multi-pronged screening strategy to understand the epidemiology of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in Hong Kong: transition from epidemic to endemic setting.

A multi-pronged carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) screening strategy was implemented in Hong Kong West healthcare network. Of 199,192 fecal specimens from 77,194 patients screening from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2019, the incidence of CPE per 1000 patient admission significantly increased from 0.01 (2012) to 1.

Improving Public Toilet Environment and Hygiene Practices in an Asian City: Voices From Hong Kong Residents.

Toilet hygiene is an important preventive measure for infectious diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and COVID-19. This study explored public's opinions on improving toilet environment and hygiene practices in Hong Kong. A mixed-method approach was applied.

Significant reduction in hospital admissions for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Hong Kong during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Background: Chronic respiratory diseases are risk factors for severe disease in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Respiratory tract infection is one of the commonest causes of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). There has not been evidence suggesting the link between COVID-19 and AECOPD, especially in places with dramatic responses in infection control with universal masking and aggressive social distancing.

Antibiotic prescriptions by medical interns in Hong Kong: influence of the hospital settings and prescription culture.

Background: Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing practices predispose to resistance emergence. Despite the inclusion of the topic in medical school curricula worldwide, it is uncertain whether newly graduated medical interns have confidence in proper antibiotic prescription.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the antibiotic prescribing behaviours of the medical interns in Hong Kong and their barriers to appropriate antibiotic prescription.

Visualizing variation within Global Pneumococcal Sequence Clusters (GPSCs) and country population snapshots to contextualize pneumococcal isolates.

Knowledge of pneumococcal lineages, their geographic distribution and antibiotic resistance patterns, can give insights into global pneumococcal disease. We provide interactive bioinformatic outputs to explore such topics, aiming to increase dissemination of genomic insights to the wider community, without the need for specialist training. We prepared 12 country-specific phylogenetic snapshots, and international phylogenetic snapshots of 73 common Global Pneumococcal Sequence Clusters (GPSCs) previously defined using PopPUNK, and present them in Microreact.

Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake among Chinese in Hong Kong: barriers, enablers and vaccination rates.

Background: Low influenza vaccination rates were observed in Asian countries including China. This study investigated the updated seasonal influenza vaccination rates among Chinese in Hong Kong, and the barriers and enablers to vaccination.

Methods: Eight focus groups were conducted among the Chinese general public, followed by a telephone survey between March and April 2018 with 2,452 respondents (response rate 41.

A mixed-methods study on toilet hygiene practices among Chinese in Hong Kong.

Background: Public toilets are a common transmission vector of infectious diseases due to environmental contamination. Research on Chinese people's hygiene practices in public lavatories are lacking. This study examined Chinese people's hygiene practices in public lavatories in Hong Kong.

Pneumococcal lineages associated with serotype replacement and antibiotic resistance in childhood invasive pneumococcal disease in the post-PCV13 era: an international whole-genome sequencing study.

Background: Invasive pneumococcal disease remains an important health priority owing to increasing disease incidence caused by pneumococci expressing non-vaccine serotypes. We previously defined 621 Global Pneumococcal Sequence Clusters (GPSCs) by analysing 20 027 pneumococcal isolates collected worldwide and from previously published genomic data. In this study, we aimed to investigate the pneumococcal lineages behind the predominant serotypes, the mechanism of serotype replacement in disease, as well as the major pneumococcal lineages contributing to invasive pneumococcal disease in the post-vaccine era and their antibiotic resistant traits.

International genomic definition of pneumococcal lineages, to contextualise disease, antibiotic resistance and vaccine impact.

Background: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have reduced the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease, caused by vaccine serotypes, but non-vaccine-serotypes remain a concern. We used whole genome sequencing to study pneumococcal serotype, antibiotic resistance and invasiveness, in the context of genetic background.

Methods: Our dataset of 13,454 genomes, combined with four published genomic datasets, represented Africa (40%), Asia (25%), Europe (19%), North America (12%), and South America (5%).

Suppression of virulence by a small-molecule compound.

Emerging antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens has necessitated the development of alternative approaches to combat drug-resistance-associated infection. The abolition of virulence by targeting multiple-virulence gene products represents a promising strategy for exploration. A multiplex promoter reporter platform using - dual-reporter plasmids with selected promoters from -virulence-associated genes was used to identify compounds that modulate the expression of virulence factors.

Global Distribution of Invasive Serotype 35D Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolates following Introduction of 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine.

A newly recognized pneumococcal serotype, 35D, which differs from the 35B polysaccharide in structure and serology by not binding to factor serum 35a, was recently reported. The genetic basis for this distinctive serology is due to the presence of an inactivating mutation in , which encodes an O-acetyltransferase responsible for O-acetylation of a galactofuranose. Here, we assessed the genomic data of a worldwide pneumococcal collection to identify serotype 35D isolates and understand their geographical distribution, genetic background, and invasiveness potential.

Identification of Plasmid-Encoded sRNAs in a -Harboring Multidrug-Resistance Plasmid pNDM-HK in .

Small RNAs (sRNAs) play significant roles in regulating gene expression post-transcriptionally in response to environmental changes in bacteria. In this work, we identified and characterized six novel sRNAs from an emerging multidrug-resistance (MDR) plasmid pNDM-HK, a New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 1 gene ()-carrying IncL/M plasmid that has caused worldwide threat in recent years. These sRNAs are located at different regions of pNDM-HK, such as replication, stability, and variable regions.

Construction of a Multiplex Promoter Reporter Platform to Monitor Staphylococcus aureus Virulence Gene Expression and the Identification of Usnic Acid as a Potent Suppressor of psm Gene Expression.

As antibiotic resistance becomes phenomenal, alternative therapeutic strategies for bacterial infections such as anti-virulence treatments have been advocated. We have constructed a total of 20 gfp-luxABCDE dual-reporter plasmids with selected promoters from S. aureus virulence-associated genes.

Poor agreement between diagnostic tests for latent tuberculosis infection among HIV-infected persons in Hong Kong.

Background And Objective: The tuberculin skin test (TST), T-Spot.TB (T-Spot) and QuantiFERON-TB Gold-In Tube (QFT) were compared in diagnosing latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons.

Methods: Human immunodeficiency virus-infected persons without previous history of tuberculosis or LTBI were simultaneously tested by TST, T-Spot and QFT annually and followed up for tuberculosis.