Bacterial contamination of nonsterile gloves versus hands after hand hygiene.

Background: Nonsterile gloves (NSG) are often overused, while the emphasis should lie in hand hygiene (HH). Furthermore, improper HH leads to contamination of NSG in glove boxes. The aim of this study was to compare microbial loads on hands from health-care workers (HCW) after HH to NSG and to study the influence of position and filling level of glove boxes on contamination rates.

Impact of prophylactic CpG Oligodeoxynucleotide application on implant-associated Staphylococcus aureus bone infection.

TLR-9 ligand CpG oligodeoxynucleotide type B (CpG ODN) induces a proinflammatory environment. We evaluated the effects of a preoperative CpG ODN application in an implant-associated Staphylococcus aureus bone infection model by monitoring bacterial loads and cytokine and chemokine levels. A total of 95 rats were used in four different groups: CpG ODN group (group 1; n=25), non-CpG-ODN group (group 2; n=25); saline pretreatment (group 3; n=25), and one uninfected group (group 4; n=20).

Distinct polymicrobial populations in a chronic foot ulcer with implications for diagnostics and anti-infective therapy.

Background: Polymicrobial infections caused by combinations of different bacteria are being detected with an increasing frequency. The evidence of such complex infections is being revealed through the use of novel molecular and culture-independent methods. Considerable progress has been made in the last decade regarding the diagnostic application of such molecular techniques.

A β-lactone-based antivirulence drug ameliorates Staphylococcus aureus skin infections in mice.

Skin infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus are a major clinical concern, especially if they are caused by multi-resistant strains. In these cases, a spread into deeper soft tissues or the bloodstream results in life-threatening conditions that are difficult to treat by conventional antibiotics. Previous in vitro experiments with a small β-lactone-based molecule demonstrated that antibiotic-sensitive and -resistant S.

Clinical application of volatile organic compound analysis for detecting infectious diseases.

This review article introduces the significance of testing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in clinical samples and summarizes important features of some of the technologies. Compared to other human diseases such as cancer, studies on VOC analysis in cases of infectious diseases are limited. Here, we have described results of studies which have used some of the appropriate technologies to evaluate VOC biomarkers and biomarker profiles associated with infections.

Protective immunity to Listeria monocytogenes infection mediated by recombinant Listeria innocua harboring the VGC locus.

In this study we propose a novel bacterial vaccine strategy where non-pathogenic bacteria are complemented with traits desirable for the induction of protective immunity. To illustrate the proof of principle of this novel vaccination strategy, we use the model organism of intracellular immunity Listeria. We introduced a, low copy number BAC-plasmid harbouring the virulence gene cluster (vgc) of L.

Role of TLR- / NLR-signaling and the associated cytokines involved in recruitment of neutrophils in murine models of Staphylococcus aureus infection.

Recent studies in murine models of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection have investigated the association of Toll-like receptor (TLR)2, TLR4, myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and Nod-like receptor (NOD)2 with the production of cytokines / chemokines and their involvement in the recruitment of neutrophils, which mediate innate immune responses at infection sites. The availability of gene-knockout mice provided opportunities to analyze the redundant roles for specific recognition receptors in our understanding of the innate immune responses which contribute to staphylococcal disease pathogenesis.

Blockade of gC1qR/p33, a receptor for C1q, inhibits adherence of Staphylococcus aureus to the microvascular endothelium.

Endovascular infections with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) are associated with high mortality. gC1qR/p33 (gC1qR), a receptor for the complement component C1q expressed on endothelial cells, interacts with protein A of S.

Antibody targeting the ferritin-like protein controls Listeria infection.

The acquisition of iron during the infection process is essential for the growth of pathogenic microorganisms (S. C. Andrews, Adv.

Prolene-Monocryl-composite meshes do not increase microvascular Staphylococcus aureus adherence and do not sensitize for leukocytic inflammation.

Background And Aims: Mesh implantation for hernia repair bears the risk of bacterial mesh infection. In this study, we analyzed whether this complication is supported by an increased interaction of bacteria and leukocytes with the microvascular endothelium at the implantation site.

Materials And Methods: Ultrapro meshes were implanted into the dorsal skinfold chamber of Syrian golden hamsters.

Repeated peripheral administrations of CpG oligodeoxynucleotides lead to sustained CNS immune activation.

Bacterial DNA containing CpG motifs activates cells of the innate immune system. In this study, we examined the effects of multiple peripheral bacterial DNA-mediated CNS innate immune stimulation. To study this issue, we repeatedly peripherally administered synthetic CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) and assayed effects on CNS-associated TNF-alpha (TNFalpha) and C1q mRNA levels.

Increased sensitivity of a direct fluorescent antibody test for Legionella pneumophila in bronchoalveolar lavage samples by immunomagnetic separation based on BioMags.

In the present study, immunomagnetic separation of Legionella pneumophila from mock bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid samples, which were artificially spiked with L. pneumophila, and culture positive patient BAL fluid samples, was achieved using BioMags (superparamagnetic particles) loaded with purified rabbit immunoglobulin G specific for L. pneumophila.

Role of the CD8+ dendritic cell subset in transmission of prions.

Controversial results have been observed in mouse models regarding the role of lymphoid tissues in prion pathogenesis. To investigate the role of dendritic cells (DC), we used a transgenic mouse model. In this model (CD11c-N17Rac1), a significant reduction of CD8+ CD11c(hi) DC has been described, and the remaining CD8+ DC demonstrate a reduced capacity for the uptake of apoptotic cells.

Latrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with florid plaques.

Florid plaques indistinguishable from those found in vCJD were identified at a postmortem examination in the brain of a 58-year-old clinical suspect case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Western blotting of brain tissue revealed an unusual prion protein type. Since the patient had received a dura mater graft 20 years prior to death and florid plaques are not only found in new variant CJD, the findings argue in favor of an iatrogenic origin of the disease with the longest incubation time following a dura mater graft reported to date even though he may have been exposed to BSE.

Comparison of two commercially available avidity tests for toxoplasma-specific IgG antibodies.

Background: IgG anti-Toxoplasma avidity tests have proven useful to discriminate between recent and distant infection in management of pregnant women with anti-Toxoplasma-IgM antibodies. This study was performed to compare two commercially available IgG anti-Toxoplasma avidity test kits.

Methods: Sixty-four samples positive for IgM and IgG anti-Toxoplasma antibodies were analyzed with two IgG anti-Toxoplasma avidity tests: VIDAS Toxo IgG avidity kit (BioMérieux, Marcy-l'Etoile, France) and Toxoplasma gondii IgG avidity EIA kit (Labsystems, Helsinki, Finland).

Postexposure prophylaxis against prion disease with a stimulator of innate immunity.

The absence of an immune response to prions--the infectious agents of scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease--might be related to the fact that these agents do not contain nucleic acids. We aimed to use CpG oligodeoxynucleotides, which have been shown to stimulate innate immunity, as a form of postexposure prophylaxis in mice. We inoculated healthy mice with brain homogenates from mice infected with the RML scrapie prion, and then injected CpG oligodeoxynucleotides.