Evaluation of the eazyplex® EHEC complete (Amplex) assay for the differentiation of stx1 and stx2 positivity in stool samples.

The performance of the eazyplex® EHEC complete (Amplex) for the detection of Shiga toxin genes in stool samples was evaluated. The assay performed well in distinguishing between stx1 and stx2 but suboptimal sensitivity may limit its use to complementary testing rather than primary diagnosis of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infections.

High nuc DNA load in whole blood is associated with sepsis, mortality and immune dysregulation in Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia is a disease with varying presentation, ranging from uncomplicated to life-threatening infections. In S. aureus bacteraemia, a high load of bacterial DNA in blood has been linked to mortality.

Evaluation of the BD Max Enteric Parasite Panel for Clinical Diagnostics.

We compared the performance of the BD Max enteric parasite panel to routine microscopy and an in-house PCR for the detection of Giardia intestinalis, Entamoeba histolytica, and Cryptosporidium spp. The enteric parasite panel showed good specificity for all targets and good sensitivity for E. histolytica and Cryptosporidium spp.