Changing trends in antimicrobial resistance of major bacterial pathogens, 1985-2005: a study from a medical center in northern Taiwan.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a major health problem worldwide. We evaluated the antimicrobial resistance trends of 16 major bacterial pathogens at a tertiary medical center in northern Taiwan.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of annual summary documents for antimicrobial susceptibility of clinically isolated gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria from 1985 to 2005.

Molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Taipei.

Background: The control of tuberculosis in densely populated cities is complicated by close human-to-human contacts and potential transmission of pathogens from multiple sources. We conducted a molecular epidemiologic analysis of 356 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates from patients presenting pulmonary tuberculosis in metropolitan Taipei. Classical antibiogram studies and genetic characterization, using mycobacterial interspersed repetitive-unit-variable-number tandem-repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing and spoligotyping, were applied after culture.