Publications by authors named "Spittal W"

Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess antimicrobial resistance in Europe by analyzing clinical and animal isolates collected in 2018, focusing on emerging ribotypes (RT).
  • Fidaxomicin was found to be the most effective antibiotic, whereas specific ribotypes (RT027 and RT181) showed elevated resistance levels against metronidazole, moxifloxacin, and clindamycin.
  • The research indicated that increased resistance was primarily in eastern Europe, linked to RT027 and RT181, while northern and western Europe had lower resistance levels overall.
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Clostridioides difficile is the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea worldwide with significant morbidity and mortality. This organism is naturally resistant to several beta-lactam antibiotics that inhibit the polymerization of peptidoglycan, an essential component of the bacteria cell envelope. Previous work has revealed that C.

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Clostridioides difficile remains a key cause of healthcare-associated infection, with multidrug-resistant (MDR) lineages causing high-mortality (≥20%) outbreaks. Cephalosporin treatment is a long-established risk factor, and antimicrobial stewardship is a key control. A mechanism underlying raised cephalosporin MICs has not been identified in C.

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BackgroundThere is a paucity of data on community-based infection (CDI) and how these compare with inpatient CDI.AimTo compare data on the populations with CDI in hospitals vs the community across 12 European countries.MethodsFor this point-prevalence study (July-November 2018), testing sites sent residual diagnostic material on sampling days to a coordinating laboratory for CDI testing and PCR ribotyping (n = 3,163).

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Treatment for moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris relies on prolonged use of oral tetracycline-class antibiotics; however, these broad-spectrum antibiotics are often associated with off-target effects and negative gastrointestinal sequelae. Sarecycline is a narrow-spectrum antibiotic treatment option. Here, we investigated the effect of prolonged sarecycline exposure, compared with broad-spectrum tetracyclines (doxycycline and minocycline) upon the colonic microbiota.

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Objectives: The use of broad-spectrum cephalosporins is associated with induction of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). Recent knowledge on the importance of the healthy microbiota in preventing pathogen colonization/outgrowth highlights the caution needed when prescribing broad-spectrum antibiotics. The use of historical narrow-spectrum antibiotics, such as first-generation cephalosporins, is gaining increased attention once more as they have a reduced impact on the microbiota whilst treating infections.

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Within the human intestinal tract, dietary, microbial- and host-derived compounds are used as signals by many pathogenic organisms, including . Trehalose has been reported to enhance virulence of certain ribotypes; however, such variants are widespread and not correlated with clinical outcomes for patients suffering from infection (CDI). Here, we make preliminary observations on how trehalose supplementation affects the microbiota in an model and show that trehalose-induced changes can reduce the outgrowth of , preventing simulated CDI.

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Background: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) can colonize the gut and are of major clinical concern. Identification of CPE colonization is problematic; there is no gold-standard detection method, and the effects of antibiotic exposure and microbiota dysbiosis on detection are unknown.

Aim: Based on a national survey we selected four CPE screening assays in common use.

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Article Synopsis
  • Metronidazole has been the primary treatment for Clostridioides difficile infections, but resistance has been observed, sometimes due to a specific plasmid (pCD-METRO) and other unknown factors.
  • Researchers aimed to uncover additional causes of resistance that do not rely on plasmids by examining various clinical isolates of C. difficile.
  • The study revealed that almost all isolates exhibited increased resistance to metronidazole in the presence of haem and identified a genetic mutation in the hsmA gene associated with metronidazole resistance, highlighting the importance of haem in this resistance mechanism.
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C. difficile infection (CDI) is a worldwide healthcare problem with ~30% of cases failing primary therapy, placing a burden on healthcare systems and increasing patient morbidity. We have little understanding of why these therapies fail.

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Objectives: The approval of new antibiotics is essential to combat infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant pathogens; however, such agents should be tested to determine their effect on the resident microbiota and propensity to select for opportunistic pathogens, such as Clostridioides difficile. Eravacycline is a new antibiotic for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections. Here, we determined the effects of eravacycline compared with moxifloxacin on the microbiota and if these were conducive to induction of C.

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