An outbreak of severe respiratory tract infection due to human metapneumovirus in a long-term care facility for the elderly in Oregon.

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) was demonstrated to be responsible for an outbreak of acute respiratory tract infection with high morbidity and mortality among residents of a long-term care facility for the elderly during the late spring-summer in Oregon. Respiratory virus infections are a common cause of death in the elderly and the burden of human metapneumovirus may be underestimated. This case report stresses the importance of hMPV in causing outbreaks in long-term care facilities for the elderly.

Comparison of a laboratory-developed RT-PCR and the CDC RT-PCR protocol with rapid immunodiagnostic testing during the 2009 H1N1 influenza A pandemic.

We evaluated the performance of a laboratory-developed multiplex real-time reverse transcription-PCR assay (LDT rRT-PCR), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2009 H1N1 rRT-PCR protocol using the LightCycler 480 II, the multiplex xTAG Respiratory Virus Panel (xTAG RVP), and rapid immunodiagnostic testing (RIDT) using the BinaxNOW Influenza A & B to detect 2009 H1N1 with 426 nasopharyngeal swab specimens during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. The specificity of the methods tested was ≥98%, and the individual test sensitivities were RIDT at 42.3% [95% confidence interval (CI), 31.

Blinded comparison of repetitive-sequence PCR and multilocus sequence typing for genotyping methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from a children's hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.

We performed a blinded study to compare repetitive-sequence PCR and multilocus sequence typing for genotyping hospital- and community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The MRSA strains that were sequence type 8 (ST8), staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type IV, and Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive clustered separately from those that were ST5 and SCCmec type II.

Detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus directly from nasal swab specimens by a real-time PCR assay.

Screening for colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a key aspect of infection control to limit the nosocomial spread of this organism. Current methods for the detection of MRSA in clinical microbiology laboratories, including molecularly based techniques, require a culture step and the isolation of pure colonies that result in a minimum of 20 to 24 h until a result is known. We describe a qualitative in vitro diagnostic test for the rapid detection of MRSA directly from nasal swab specimens (IDI-MRSA; Infectio Diagnostic, Inc.

Sublethal injury and resuscitation of Candida albicans after amphotericin B treatment.

Amphotericin B treatment was previously shown to inhibit Candida albicans reproduction and reduce the fluorescence of vitality-specific dyes without causing a corresponding increase in the fluorescence of the mortality-specific dyes bis-(1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid)trimethine oxonol and SYBR Green I. In the present study, we have confirmed these results and have shown that the numbers of CFU are reduced by 99.9% by treatment with 0.

Comparative evaluation of a new fluorescent carboxyfluorescein diacetate-modified microdilution method for antifungal susceptibility testing of Candida albicans isolates.

This report presents a fluorescent carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFDA)-modified microdilution method used for the susceptibility testing of Candida albicans to amphotericin B, fluconazole, ketoconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, and flucytosine. Four different broth microdilution susceptibility testing methods were simultaneously evaluated at 24 and 48 h. The MICs determined using the CFDA-modified method (MIC(cfda)) were compared to those obtained by the standard broth microdilution method (MIC(visual)) and a procedure employing the indicator Alamar blue (MIC(alamar)).