Twenty-two years of candidaemia surveillance: results from a Norwegian national study.

Several studies have reported an increased incidence of candidaemia and a redistribution of species, with a decrease in the number of Candida albicans isolates. In Norway, a prospective, national surveillance study of candidaemia has been ongoing since 1991. Data from the period 1991-2003 have been published previously.

Anthrax among heroin users in Europe possibly caused by same Bacillus anthracis strain since 2000.

Injection anthrax was described first in 2000 in a heroin-injecting drug user in Norway. New anthrax cases among heroin consumers were detected in the United Kingdom (52 cases) and Germany (3 cases) in 2009-10. In June 2012, a fatal case occurred in Regensburg, Bavaria.

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis of Bordetella pertussis isolates circulating in Europe from 1998 to 2009.

Between 1998 and 2009, Bordetella pertussis clinical isolates were collected during three periods, i.e., 1998 to 2001 (n = 102), 2004 to 2005 (n = 154), and 2007 to 2009 (n = 140), from nine countries with distinct vaccination programs, i.

Recovery of Bordetella pertussis from PCR-positive nasopharyngeal samples is dependent on bacterial load.

Viable Bordetella pertussis isolates are essential for surveillance purposes. We performed culture of 223 PCR-positive nasopharyngeal samples. B.

Multilocus sequence typing of serial Candida albicans isolates from children with cancer, children with cystic fibrosis and healthy controls.

Candida albicans is a fungal pathogen, but also a commensal in many individuals. Since detailed molecular studies of children carrying C. albicans are lacking, we longitudinally investigated fecal and tonsillopharyngeal samples from 10 children undergoing treatment for cancer, six children treated for cystic fibrosis (CF), and seven healthy children during the time period of 1999-2008.

Colonization by Candida in children with cancer, children with cystic fibrosis, and healthy controls.

A longitudinal, prospective study was conducted intermittently in Norway, from 1999 to 2008, to investigate the Candida colonization rates and species distributions in the tonsillopharyngeal and faecal flora in: (i) children with cancer; (ii) children with cystic fibrosis (CF); and (iii) healthy children. The effect of antibiotic treatment on Candida colonization was also studied, and we looked for changes in antifungal susceptibility over time within each child and between the different groups of children. In total, 566 tonsillopharyngeal swabs and 545 faecal samples were collected from 45 children with cancer, 37 children with CF, and 71 healthy, age-matched controls.

RFLP clusters of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from the Indian Ocean Region: local and South Asian characteristics.

This is the first study describing the genetic polymorphism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in the Indian Ocean Region. Using IS6110 RFLP analysis, 475 M. tuberculosis isolates from Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Mozambique and La Reunion were compared.

Antibody response to long-term and high-dose mould-exposed sawmill workers.

Exposure to moulds is thought to cause adverse health effects ranging from vague subjective symptoms to allergy and respiratory diseases. Until now, most studies have been emphasizing low levels of exposure. In Norwegian sawmills during the 1980s, extensively high spore counts up to 10(7) spores/m3 air were reported.

Multicentre determination of quality control strains and quality control ranges for antifungal susceptibility testing of yeasts and filamentous fungi using the methods of the Antifungal Susceptibility Testing Subcommittee of the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AFST-EUCAST).

A multicentre study involving seven laboratories was performed using techniques recommended by the Antifungal Susceptibility Testing Subcommittee of the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AFST-EUCAST) to evaluate and propose quality control ranges and strains for susceptibility testing of fermentative yeasts and filamentous fungi. Participating laboratories tested the susceptibilities of a panel of 12 encoded isolates to amphotericin B, flucytosine, fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole and posaconazole. In total, 15 lots of assay medium were tested, with one lot being common to all laboratories, and 18 144 MIC values were determined.

Diagnostics of fungal infections in the Nordic countries: we still need to improve!

A Nordic External Quality Assessment programme in medical mycology was established in 2005. In order to monitor not 'best practice' but the level of routine diagnostics, specimens were designed to resemble clinical samples and laboratories were asked to handle the samples like routine samples. Five simulated clinical samples were distributed to 59 participating Nordic laboratories of clinical microbiology.

Candidemia in Norway (1991 to 2003): results from a nationwide study.

A long-term, nationwide prospective candidemia study has been ongoing in Norway since 1991. All medical microbiological laboratories in the country have participated. During the period 1991 to 2003 a total of 1,393 episodes of candidemia occurred in 1,348 patients.

18S rDNA polymerase chain reaction and sequencing in onychomycosis diagnostics.

Diagnostic approaches to onychomycosis have traditionally been based on a combination of culture and microscopy. In the present study clinical specimens from 346 patients with suspected onychomycosis were analysed by 18S polymerase chain reaction (detection) followed by sequencing and subsequent database search (identification) in parallel with routine culture on agar (detection and identification). In 49 samples Trichophyton rubrum was identified by culture and sequencing.

Evaluation of the nitrate-based colorimetric method for testing the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to streptomycin and ethambutol in liquid cultures.

Objectives: To evaluate the inexpensive colorimetric nitrate reductase-based antibiotic susceptibility (CONRAS) assay for testing the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to streptomycin and ethambutol in liquid cultures, and to compare the CONRAS test with the manual mycobacteria growth indicator tube (MGIT) test, using the radiometric BACTEC 460TB method as reference.

Methods: A total of 89 M. tuberculosis isolates were tested for susceptibility to streptomycin and ethambutol using the CONRAS and manual MGIT methods and the results were compared with BACTEC 460TB.

Does the mycotoxin citrinin function as a sun protectant in conidia from Penicillium verrucosum.

Our results demonstrate high concentrations of the UV absorbing mycotoxin citrinin in the outer layer of spores from three citrinin-producing strains of Penicillium verrucosum, which is released in an aqueous environment. An important function of the toxin could be to act as a sun protectant in order to create favorable conditions during the initial germination process. When spores from these strains of P.

[Impact of drug resistance of the causative agent on the outcomes of treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis in the Arkhangelsk Region].

The present study was undertaken to assess the results of treatment in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in the Arkhangelsk Region in 1999 and to analyze the results of treatment in relation to the infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis with different profiles of sensitivity to antituberculous drugs. The outcomes of treatment were assessed in relation to the infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis with different profiles of sensitivity to antituberculous drugs in 76 patients to whom the BACTEC test was applied. Beneficial effects of therapy were recorded in 150 (63.

Invasive fungal infections at The Norwegian Radium Hospital 1998-2003.

The study evaluates the clinical and microbiological data from patients with documented invasive fungal infections at a comprehensive cancer centre in Norway. Relevant microbiology and pathology databases were screened and medical records were reviewed. 17 yeast infections, including 1 case of cryptococcal meningitis, and no mould infections were found.

Efficacy and safety of linezolid in multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB)--a report of ten cases.

Objectives: Multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is an increasing problem in many parts of the world and in Norway the increase has been substantial since 1998. New therapies for MDR-TB have not been introduced since the fluoroquinolones in the 1970s. The cure rate of this disease has been reported to be lower than for non-drug resistant TB, and the use of new experimental drugs in combination therapy is warranted.

Clostridium tertium: 3 case reports.

Clostridium tertium is infrequently isolated from blood in patients with underlying diseases. Laboratory diagnosis is often delayed because Clostridium tertium is aerotolerant and resistant to metronidazole. Clinically it is a problem because it is commonly resistant to metronidazole, clindamycin and cephalosporins.

Resistance of multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the Archangel oblast, Russia, to second-line anti-tuberculosis drugs.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis has become common all over the world, necessitating the inclusion of second-line drugs in treatment regimens. In the present study, the susceptibility of a selection of multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated in the Archangel oblast, Russia, to second-line anti-tuberculosis drugs was analysed. Susceptibility testing of 77 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains was performed by the Bactec method using the following recommended drug concentrations: capreomycin 1.

Tuberculosis in contacts need not indicate disease transmission.

Background: Traditional contact investigation is an important tool for controlling tuberculosis. It may also help to indicate drug susceptibility patterns when Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures are not available. Such investigations often underestimate the degree of transmission found by genotyping, but overestimation may also occur.

Impact of drug resistance on fitness of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains of the W-Beijing genotype.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains of the W-Beijing genotype became a common cause of tuberculosis during the past years and they are often associated with drug resistance. The biological factors facilitating the selection and wide dissemination of these strains are not known. To determine how acquisition of drug resistance affected growth of strains of the W-Beijing genotype, the growth of 55 M.

Impact of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis on treatment outcome of culture-positive cases of tuberculosis in the Archangel oblast, Russia, in 1999.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcome of treatment of culture-positive cases of tuberculosis registered in Archangel, Russia, in 1999, and to analyse the influence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug resistance on treatment outcome. The outcome of tuberculosis treatment was evaluated for 235 new and 61 previously treated culture-positive cases diagnosed in 1999. Of the 235 new cases, there were 150 (63.