A new MALDI-TOF approach for the quick sequence type identification of Legionella pneumophila.

Background: Recently, MALDI-TOF has emerged as a quick tool for bacterial typing. The aim was to evaluate if MALDI-TOF based typing of Legionella pneumophila can achieve the same discriminatory power as that of the Sequence Based Typing (SBT) method.

Methods: The Sequence Type (ST) was obtained from the 90 strains included in the training set and an in-house MALDI-TOF library based on the Main Spectra Profile (MSP) was generated for the identification of such ST.

Quick identification and epidemiological characterization of Francisella tularensis by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Introduction: Currently, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is being evaluated for its efficacy as a fast bacterial typing tool due to its great speed compared to other molecular methods. In this study, we evaluated MALDI-TOF as a tool for quick identification and typing of Francisella tularensis.

Materials And Methods: This study encompassed 86 strains from two different geographical origins (Spain and the Czech Republic), which were previously characterised by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and Multiple-Locus Variable Number Tandem Repeat Analysis (MLVA).

[Seroprevalence of viral hepatitis in a representative general population of an urban public health area in Castilla y León (Spain)].

Introduction: Viral hepatitis is a major social, health and economic problem worldwide, requiring strict epidemiological control.

Methods: This study presents the viral hepatitis seroprevalence in a representative sample from an urban health care area in Valladolid (Spain).

Results: Antibody prevalence was as follows: anti-HAV 52%; anti-HBc, 8.

Utility of an immunocapture-agglutination test and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test against cytosolic proteins from Brucella melitensis B115 in the diagnosis and follow-up of human acute brucellosis.

The utility of an immunocapture-agglutination (Brucellacapt, Vircell SL, Granada, Spain) test and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay IgG, IgA, and IgM (ELISA-IgG, ELISA-IgA, ELISA-IgM) against cytosolic proteins from Brucella melitensis B115 (R) was compared with ELISA-IgG, ELISA-IgA, and ELISA-IgM against smooth lipopolysaccharide (S-LPS) from B. melitensis 16M (S), serum agglutination test (SAT), and Coombs test in the diagnosis and follow-up for 10 months of 51 patients with acute brucellosis. The sensitivities of ELISA tests against cytosolic proteins varied from 49.

Seroepidemiologic study of Leishmania infantum infection in Castilla-Leon, Spain.

Leishmaniasis has increased in importance in recent years because infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has emerged as a risk factor for this disease. However, the actual prevalence of leishmaniasis in the general population of Spain is unknown. We present a study of the seroprevalence of infection with Leishmania infantum in the general population of Castilla-Leon, Spain.