Prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales in edible ice in Thailand.

Background: The presence of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria in edible ice in tropical countries is largely unknown.

Methods: We evaluate the presence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales in 100 edible ice samples from drink carts in 20 markets in four provinces (five markets/province) in Thailand. Ten samples of commercially sold edible ice in sealed packages were tested as controls.

Effectiveness of Umonium against Burkholderia pseudomallei, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Aims: We investigated the antibacterial efficacy of Umonium and Virkon against Burkholderia pseudomallei, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) up to 14 days following treatment.

Methods And Results: Umonium was diluted to 0.5%, 1.

Survival of and Pathogenic in Cola, Beer, Energy Drinks, and Sports Drinks.

and pathogenic in contaminated drinking water can cause melioidosis and leptospirosis, respectively. Here, we evaluated their survival in beverages. We mixed six isolates (three isolates per organism) in four beverages (Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Singha beer, and Gatorade) and distilled water as the control at two final concentrations (1 × 10 colony-forming units [CFU]/mL and 1 × 10 CFU/mL).

Evaluation of consensus method for the culture of in soil samples from Laos.

We have previously shown that PCR following enrichment culture is the most sensitive method to detect in environmental samples. Here we report an evaluation of the published consensus method for the culture of from Lao soil in comparison with our conventional culture method and with PCR with or without prior broth enrichment. One hundred soil samples were collected from a field known to contain and processed by: (i) the conventional method, (ii-iii) the consensus method using media prepared in either Laos or Thailand, and (iv) the consensus method performed in Thailand, as well as by (v) PCR following direct extraction of DNA from soil and (vi) PCR following broth pre-enrichment.

Antibodies in Melioidosis: The Role of the Indirect Hemagglutination Assay in Evaluating Patients and Exposed Populations.

Melioidosis is a major neglected tropical disease with high mortality, caused by the Gram-negative bacterium (). Microbiological culture remains the gold standard for diagnosis, but a simpler and more readily available test such as an antibody assay is highly desirable. In this study, we conducted a serological survey of blood donors ( = 1,060) and adult melioidosis patients ( = 200) in northeast Thailand to measure the antibody response to using the indirect hemagglutination assay (IHA).

Utility of a Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFI) to Detect Burkholderia pseudomallei in Soil Samples.

Background: Culture is the gold standard for the detection of environmental B. pseudomallei. In general, soil specimens are cultured in enrichment broth for 2 days, and then the culture broth is streaked on an agar plate and incubated further for 7 days.

Antimicrobial Disk Susceptibility Testing of Leptospira spp. Using Leptospira Vanaporn Wuthiekanun (LVW) Agar.

Leptospira Vanaporn Wuthiekanun (LVW) agar was used to develop a disk diffusion assay for Leptospira spp. Ten pathogenic Leptospira isolates were tested, all of which were susceptible to 17 antimicrobial agents (amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, amoxicillin, azithromycin, cefoxitin, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, doripenem, doxycycline, gentamicin, linezolid, nitrofurantoin, penicillin, piperacillin/tazobactam, and tetracycline). All 10 isolates had no zone of growth inhibition for four antimicrobials (fosfomycin, nalidixic acid, rifampicin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole).

Maintenance of leptospira species in leptospira Vanaporn Wuthiekanun agar.

The maintenance of Leptospira species in liquid or semisolid medium is time-consuming and at risk of contamination due to the needs of routine subculture and dark field microscopy. Using Leptospira Vanaporn Wuthiekanun (LVW) agar, we maintained 100 pathogenic Leptospira isolates for 12 months without the need for subculture and confirmed the viability of all isolates by the naked eye.

Rapid isolation and susceptibility testing of Leptospira spp. using a new solid medium, LVW agar.

Pathogenic Leptospira spp., the causative agents of leptospirosis, are slow-growing Gram-negative spirochetes. Isolation of Leptospira from clinical samples and testing of antimicrobial susceptibility are difficult and time-consuming.

Randomized soil survey of the distribution of Burkholderia pseudomallei in rice fields in Laos.

Melioidosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Southeast Asia, where the causative organism (Burkholderia pseudomallei) is present in the soil. In the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos), B. pseudomallei is a significant cause of sepsis around the capital, Vientiane, and has been isolated in soil near the city, adjacent to the Mekong River.

Burkholderia pseudomallei antibodies in children, Cambodia.

Antibodies to Burkholderia pseudomallei were detected in 16% of children in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This organism was isolated from 30% of rice paddies in the surrounding vicinity. Despite the lack of reported indigenous cases, melioidosis is likely to occur in Cambodia.