Whole Genome Sequencing of Candida glabrata for Detection of Markers of Antifungal Drug Resistance.

Candida glabrata can rapidly acquire mutations that result in drug resistance, especially to azoles and echinocandins. Identification of genetic mutations is essential, as resistance detected in vitro can often be correlated with clinical failure. We examined the feasibility of using whole genome sequencing (WGS) for genome-wide analysis of antifungal drug resistance in C.

Representativeness of Honeypot Trial Participants to Australasian PD Patients.

Background: The HONEYPOT trial failed to establish the superiority of exit-site application of Medihoney compared with nasal mupirocin prophylaxis for the prevention of peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. This study aimed to assess the representativeness of the patients in the HONEYPOT trial to the Australian and New Zealand PD population.

Methods: This study compared baseline characteristics of the 371 PD patients in the HONEYPOT trial with those of 6,085 PD patients recorded on the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry.

Outbreak of henipavirus infection, Philippines, 2014.

During 2014, henipavirus infection caused severe illness among humans and horses in southern Philippines; fatality rates among humans were high. Horse-to-human and human-to-human transmission occurred. The most likely source of horse infection was fruit bats.

Impact of treatment strategy on outcomes in patients with candidemia and other forms of invasive candidiasis: a patient-level quantitative review of randomized trials.

Background: Invasive candidiasis (IC) is an important healthcare-related infection, with increasing incidence and a crude mortality exceeding 50%. Numerous treatment options are available yet comparative studies have not identified optimal therapy.

Methods: We conducted an individual patient-level quantitative review of randomized trials for treatment of IC and to assess the impact of host-, organism-, and treatment-related factors on mortality and clinical cure.

Role of overcrowding in meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus transmission: Bayesian network analysis for a single public hospital.

The transmission of multiple antibiotic-resistant organisms (MROs) in hospitals is affected by many inter-related factors. These include the background prevalence of the organism (burden), hand hygiene, the efficiency of patient screening, the isolation or cohorting of carriers, the quality of hospital cleaning, and bed occupancy. In addition, the prevalence of one MRO may influence the transmission of another by occupying isolation beds, and thus reducing isolation resources for the latter.

The honeypot study protocol: a randomized controlled trial of exit-site application of medihoney antibacterial wound gel for the prevention of catheter-associated infections in peritoneal dialysis patients.

Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to determine whether daily exit-site application of standardized antibacterial honey (Medihoney Antibacterial Wound Gel; Comvita, Te Puke, New Zealand) results in a reduced risk of catheter-associated infections in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients compared with standard topical mupirocin prophylaxis of nasal staphylococcal carriers.

Design: Multicenter, prospective, open label, randomized controlled trial.

Setting: PD units throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Reverse line blot hybridization assay for identification of medically important fungi from culture and clinical specimens.

We evaluated a combined panfungal PCR-reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization assay based on internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) and ITS2 region polymorphisms to identify 159 Candida, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Aspergillus isolates (22 species). Its utility to identify fungal pathogens directly from 27 clinical specimens was also determined. ITS sequence analysis was performed to resolve discrepant identifications or where no RLB result was obtained.

Radiizonates arcuatus, a distinctive new miospore species from the Lower Carboniferous of Western Gondwana.

A new species of trilete zonate miospores, Radiizonates arcuatus, is established for Lower Carboniferous Western Gondwanan forms hitherto ascribed misguidedly to Radiizonates genuinus (Jushko) Loboziak and Alpern (1978), a Russian Lower Carboniferous species. The latter binomen is, moreover, not a valid combination and is more correctly designated as Vallatisporites genuinus (Jushko) Byvsheva, 1980. R.

Tick-borne diseases in Australia.

Tick bites are a common problem in Australia and an important cause of morbidity in medical and veterinary practice. Complications include local inflammation and infection, paralysis and transmission of various pathogens. Over the past three decades, several new tick-borne diseases have been recognised both in Australia and overseas.