Escherichia coli ST2797 Is Abundant in Wastewater and Might Be a Novel Emerging Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase E. coli.

The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is an emerging threat to global health. The analysis of antibiotic-resistant enterobacteria in wastewater can indicate the prevalence and spread of certain clonal groups of multiresistant bacteria. In a previous study of Escherichia coli that were isolated from a pump station in Norway over 15 months, we found a recurring E.

Repeated Isolation of Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Positive Sequence Types 648 and 131 from Community Wastewater Indicates that Sewage Systems Are Important Sources of Emerging Clones of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is an emerging problem globally. Resistant bacteria are found in human and animal microbiota, as well as in the environment. Wastewater receives bacteria from all these sources and thus can provide a measurement of abundance and diversity of antibiotic-resistant bacteria circulating in communities.

Diversity and antibiotic resistance among Escherichia coli populations in hospital and community wastewater compared to wastewater at the receiving urban treatment plant.

Bacterial diversity and antimicrobial resistance patterns among the indicator organism Escherichia coli were monitored in wastewater samples collected over one year from a hospital (HW), a community (CW) and the receiving urban (UW) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). We compared levels of antibiotic resistance in the different types of wastewater, and identified whether resistant strains were endemic in the wastewater system. If so, implementation of local treatment at certain resistance hotspots (e.

Relationship between endotoxin core, staphylococcal and varicella antibody levels and outcome following aortic valve replacement surgery: a prospective observational study.

Background: Morbidity and mortality following cardiac valve surgery is high. Immunity is an important contributor to outcome. This study examines the relationship of staphylococcal and endotoxin antibody levels to outcome following cardiac surgery.

New Insights into the Enterococcus faecium and Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus Host Interaction Mechanisms.

Enterococcus faecium and Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus (S. gallolyticus) were classically clustered into the Lancefield Group D streptococci and despite their taxonomic reclassification still share a similar genetic content and environment.

Persistence of Lactobacilli in Postmenopausal Women - A Double-Blind, Randomized, Pilot Study.

Aim: To investigate the ability of lactobacilli to persist in the genital area (vagina and labia) of women after the topical application of an ointment containing Lactobacillus gasseri LN40, L. fermentum LN99 and L. rhamnosus LN113.

Antibiotic resistance in environmental Escherichia coli - a simple screening method for simultaneous typing and resistance determination.

We describe a simple and standardised screening system (AREB) for surveillance of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment. The system consists of 96 well microplates containing eight sets of breakpoint amounts of 10 different antibiotics. The incubated microplates are read by a desktop scanner and the plate images are analysed by special software that automatically presents the resistance data.

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance among Escherichia coli in wastewater in Stockholm during 1 year: does it reflect the resistance trends in the society?

The resistance patterns of Escherichia coli in untreated (raw) urban wastewater (UW) was monitored by repeated sampling during 1 year. Comparison with data from wastewater samples collected from hospital wastewater (HW) in the same urban area was made. A total of 1326 E.

Increase of faecal tryptic activity relates to changes in the intestinal microbiome: analysis of Crohn's disease with a multidisciplinary platform.

Objective: To investigate-by molecular, classical and functional methods-the microbiota in biopsies and faeces from patients with active Crohn's disease (CD) and controls.

Design: The microbiota in biopsies was investigated utilizing a novel molecular method and classical cultivation technology. Faecal samples were investigated by classical technology and four functional methods, reflecting alterations in short chain fatty acids pattern, conversion of cholesterol and bilirubin and inactivation of trypsin.

The Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin perturbs the barrier function in Caco-2 epithelial cell monolayers by altering junctional integrity.

Increased microvascular permeability is a hallmark of sepsis and septic shock. Intestinal mucosal dysfunction may allow translocation of bacteria and their products, thereby promoting sepsis and inflammation. Although Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin significantly contributes to sepsis and perturbs the endothelial barrier function, little is known about possible effects of S.

Antibiotic resistance patterns of intestinal Escherichia coli isolates from Nicaraguan children.

In developing countries, diarrhoeal diseases are one of the major causes of death in children under 5 years of age. It is known that diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) is an important aetiological agent of infantile diarrhoea in Nicaragua. However, there are no recent studies on antimicrobial resistance among intestinal E.

Asymptomatic norovirus infections in Nicaraguan children and its association with viral properties and histo-blood group antigens.

Background: It has been previously reported that histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) and particularly secretor status provides protection against symptomatic norovirus infection, but it remains unclear to what extent this includes asymptomatic infections in children.

Methods: To explore whether HBGAs or certain viral genotypes are associated with asymptomatic norovirus infections in a pediatric population in Nicaragua, we investigated 163 children ≤5 years of age, without a recent history of diarrhea (≤10 days).

Results: Asymptomatic norovirus infections were observed in 11.

Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli markers and phenotypes among fecal E. coli isolates collected from Nicaraguan infants.

We analyzed the prevalence of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) markers and common phenotypes in 2,164 E. coli isolates from 282 DEC-positive samples. Enteropathogenic E.

Levels of antibody against 11 Staphylococcus aureus antigens in a healthy population.

Serum samples from 151 healthy individuals aged from 15 to 89 years were investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for IgG levels against 11 different purified antigens from Staphylococcus aureus. Surface antigens, such as teichoic acid, clumping factors A and B, and bone sialoprotein binding protein, and extracellular proteins, such as alpha-toxin, lipase, enterotoxin A, toxic shock syndrome toxin, scalded-skin syndrome toxin, fibrinogen binding protein, and extracellular adherence protein, were used. The IgG values were analyzed in relation to the state of nasal carriage at the time of sampling.

Channel-forming abilities of spontaneously occurring alpha-toxin fragments from Staphylococcus aureus.

Pore formation by four spontaneously occurring alpha-toxin fragments from Staphylococcus aureus were investigated on liposome and erythrocyte membranes. All the isolated fragments bound to the different types of membranes and formed transmembrane channels in egg-phosphatidyl glycerol vesicles. Fragments of amino acids (aa) 9-293 (32 kD) and aa 13-293 (31 kD) formed heptamers, similar to the intact toxin, while the aa 72-293 (26 kD) fragment formed heptamers, octamers, and nonamers, as judged by gel electrophoresis of the liposomes.

Biological relevance of natural alpha-toxin fragments from Staphylococcus aureus.

Serine proteases represent an essential part of cellular homeostasis by generating biologically active peptides. In bacteria, proteolysis serves two different roles: a major housekeeping function and the destruction of foreign or target cell proteins, thereby promoting bacterial invasion. In the process, other virulence factors such as exotoxins become affected.

Diversity of intestinal Escherichia coli populations in Nicaraguan children with and without diarrhoea.

Escherichia coli remains an important aetiological agent of infantile diarrhoea in Nicaragua. However, little is known about whether there is a high prevalence of endemic strains or whether infection is due to the epidemic spread of virulent clones. This study was undertaken to determine the diversity and distribution of clonal groups in a population of intestinal E.

Prevalence and transmission of antimicrobial resistance among Aeromonas populations from a duckweed aquaculture based hospital sewage water recycling system in Bangladesh.

In order to investigate the influence of a duckweed aquaculture based hospital sewage water recycling plant on the prevalence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance, we made use of an existing collection of 1,315 Aeromonas isolates that were previously typed by the biochemical fingerprinting PhP-AE system. In these treatment plant, hospital raw sewage water is first collected in a settlement pond (referred to as sewage water in this study) and is then transferred to a lagoon, where the duckweed (Lemnaceae) is grown (referred to as lagoon). The duckweed is harvested and used as feed for the fish in a separate pond (referred to as fish pond).

Prevalence of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli in children from León, Nicaragua.

Diarrhoeal disease is a public health problem worldwide, mostly affecting children in developing countries. In Nicaragua, diarrhoea is the second greatest cause of infant mortality. During the period March 2005 to September 2006, a total of 526 faecal samples from children aged 0-60 months (381 with and 145 without diarrhoea) from León, Nicaragua, were studied.

Clonal heterogeneity of clinical isolates of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium with unique vanS.

Objective: To examine the clonal diversity of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE).

Methods: A total of 900 clinical isolates of enterococci were obtained, and VRE isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility tests, biochemical fingerprinting with the PhPlate system (PhP), ribotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing.

Results: Forty-nine of all enterococcal isolates were resistant to high levels of vancomycin (MIC >or= 128) and identified as Enterococcus faecium.

Epidemiological link between wastewater and human vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolates.

We investigated the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) isolated from wastewater (n = 593) and clinical (n = 450) samples, and the genetic linkage between the isolates was compared. Out of the total samples, 38 Enterococcus faecium (3.6%) from sewage (n = 19) and clinical (n = 19) isolates were found to be highly resistant to vancomycin.

The role of c-di-GMP signaling in an Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria strain.

Aeromonas is a ubiquitous gram-negative bacterium that persists in the environment. It is shown that all isolates of persistent Aeromonas clones show strong biofilm formation ability. C-di-GMP regulates biofilm formation in many bacteria.

Persistence, transmission, and virulence characteristics of Aeromonas strains in a duckweed aquaculture-based hospital sewage water recycling plant in Bangladesh.

The persistence and transmission of Aeromonas in a duckweed aquaculture-based hospital sewage water treatment plant in Bangladesh was studied. A total of 670 samples from different sites of the hospital sewage water treatment plant, from feces of hospitalized children suffering from diarrhea, from environmental control ponds, and from feces of healthy humans were collected over a period of three years. In total, 1,315 presumptive Aeromonas isolates were biochemically typed by the PhenePlate rapid screening system (PhP-AE).

The Escherichia coli BarA-UvrY two-component system is a virulence determinant in the urinary tract.

Background: The Salmonella enterica BarA-SirA, the Erwinia carotovora ExpS-ExpA, the Vibrio cholerae BarA-VarA and the Pseudomonas spp GacS-GacA all belong to the same orthologous family of two-component systems as the Escherichia coli BarA-UvrY. In the first four species it has been demonstrated that disruption of this two-component system leads to a clear reduction in virulence of the bacteria. Our aim was to determine if the Escherichia coli BarA-UvrY two-component system is connected with virulence using a monkey cystitis model.