Impact of delayed processing of positive blood cultures on organism detection: a prospective multi-centre study.

Background: Blood cultures remain the gold standard investigation for the diagnosis of bloodstream infections. In many locations, quality-assured processing of positive blood cultures is not possible. One solution is to incubate blood cultures locally, and then transport bottles that flag positive to a central reference laboratory for organism identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

Using Land Runoff to Survey the Distribution and Genetic Diversity of in Vientiane, Laos.

Melioidosis is a disease of significant public health importance that is being increasingly recognized globally. The majority of cases arise through direct percutaneous exposure to its etiological agent, In the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos), the presence and environmental distribution of are not well characterized, though recent epidemiological surveys of the bacterium have indicated that is widespread throughout the environment in the center and south of the country and that rivers can act as carriers and potential sentinels for the bacterium. The spatial and genetic distribution of within Vientiane Capital, from where the majority of cases diagnosed to date have originated, remains an important knowledge gap.

Management of Central Nervous System Infections, Vientiane, Laos, 2003-2011.

During 2003-2011, we recruited 1,065 patients of all ages admitted to Mahosot Hospital (Vientiane, Laos) with suspected central nervous system (CNS) infection. Etiologies were laboratory confirmed for 42.3% of patients, who mostly had infections with emerging pathogens: viruses in 16.

Survival and Growth of Orientia tsutsugamushi in Conventional Hemocultures.

Orientia tsutsugamushi, which requires specialized facilities for culture, is a substantial cause of disease in Asia. We demonstrate that O. tsutsugamushi numbers increased for up to 5 days in conventional hemocultures.

Orientia, rickettsia, and leptospira pathogens as causes of CNS infections in Laos: a prospective study.

Background: Scrub typhus (caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi), murine typhus (caused by Rickettsia typhi), and leptospirosis are common causes of febrile illness in Asia; meningitis and meningoencephalitis are severe complications. However, scarce data exist for the burden of these pathogens in patients with CNS disease in endemic countries. Laos is representative of vast economically poor rural areas in Asia with little medical information to guide public health policy.