activity of ozenoxacin against and clinical isolates recovered in a worldwide multicentre study (2020-2022).

Objectives: We performed a multicentre study (2020-2022) to compare the activity of ozenoxacin and comparator agents against and clinical isolates from skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTI).

Methods: A total of 1725 isolates (1454 and 271 ) were collected in 10 centres from eight countries between January 2020 and December 2022. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was determined (microdilution-SENSITITRE).

A geospatial approach to identify patterns of antibiotic susceptibility at a neighborhood level in Wisconsin, United States.

The global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) varies regionally. This study explores whether geospatial analysis and data visualization methods detect both clinically and statistically significant variations in antibiotic susceptibility rates at a neighborhood level. This observational multicenter geospatial study collected 10 years of patient-level antibiotic susceptibility data and patient addresses from three regionally distinct Wisconsin health systems (UW Health, Fort HealthCare, Marshfield Clinic Health System [MCHS]).

Surveillance for multidrug resistant Escherichia coli carriage in cattle, dogs and humans reveals predominance of CMY-2, CTX-M-15 and CTX-M-9 groups of β-lactamases.

Global spread of antimicrobial multidrug resistance (MDR) in human and veterinary medicine relies upon diagnostics, surveillance and stewardship to guide mitigation. Utilizing surveillance of fecal samples from our service area for detecting MDR Escherichia coli carriage in humans (2143), dogs (627), and cattle (130), we found isolates resistant to third/fourth generation cephems present in 3.7 %, 13.

Sternal osteomyelitis caused by in an immunocompetent patient following coronary artery bypass surgery.

Skin commensals, especially gram-positive cocci, are the usual microbial organisms that cause post-operative sternal wound infections. Rarely, environmental bacteria such as spp. have been implicated as etiological agents in post-cardiac procedure surgical site infections.

Multicenter Clinical Evaluation of Modified Two-Tiered Testing Algorithms for Lyme Disease Using Zeus Scientific Commercial Assays.

Modified two-tiered testing (MTTT) algorithms for Lyme disease (LD), which involve the sequential use of orthogonal enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) without immunoblotting, are acceptable alternatives to standard two-tiered testing (STTT; EIA followed by immunoblots) provided the EIAs have been FDA-cleared for this intended use. We evaluated four Zeus Scientific LD EIAs used in two distinct MTTT algorithms for FDA review. MTTT 1 used a VlsE1/pepC10 polyvalent EIA followed by a whole-cell sonicate (WCS) polyvalent EIA.

What Is Your Diagnosis?

In collaboration with the American College of Veterinary Radiology.

Clinical Laboratory Perspective on Streptococcus halichoeri, an Unusual Nonhemolytic, Lancefield Group B Streptococcus Causing Human Infections.

Streptococcus halichoeri is a relatively newly identified species of pyogenic streptococci that causes zoonotic infection in humans. S. halichoeri was first described in 2004 as indigenous to seals, and only 8 reports of human S.

Comparison of Two Commercial Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) Systems for Identification of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria.

Objectives: This multicenter study's aim was to assess the performance of two commercially available matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry systems in identifying a challenge collection of clinically relevant nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM).

Methods: NTM clinical isolates (n = 244) belonging to 23 species/subspecies were identified by gene sequencing and analyzed using Bruker Biotyper with Mycobacterial Library v5.0.

Beta-Hemolytic Nongroup A Streptococcal Pharyngitis in Children.

Objective: To evaluate the epidemiology, clinical features, and antibiotic prescribing patterns for nongroup A streptococci (NGAS) in children.

Study Design: Throat cultures obtained for pharyngitis were assessed at a large community-based health system over 10 years. Epidemiologic and clinical features of children with NGAS were compared with children with group A Streptococcus (GAS) and negative cultures.

Infectious Mononucleosis and Lyme Disease as Confounding Diagnoses: A Report of 2 Cases.

Lyme disease and infectious mononucleosis are common illnesses that share similar clinical presentations. Significant cross-reactivity is known to occur between Lyme and EBV serologic assays complicating the diagnosis. To date, no prior cases of concurrent acute Lyme and EBV infections have been reported.

Development and Validation of a Serologic Test Panel for Detection of Powassan Virus Infection in U.S. Patients Residing in Regions Where Lyme Disease Is Endemic.

Powassan virus (POWV) is an emerging tick-borne arbovirus presenting a public health threat in North America. POWV lineage II, also known as deer tick virus, is the strain of the virus most frequently found in ticks and is implicated in most cases of POWV encephalitis in the United States. Currently, no commercial tests are available to detect POWV exposure in tick-borne disease (TBD) patients.

The nasal microbiota of dairy farmers is more complex than oral microbiota, reflects occupational exposure, and provides competition for staphylococci.

Allergic and autoimmune diseases had been attributed to lack of exposure to biodiversity, an important factor in regulating immune homeostasis in a healthy host. We posit that the microbiome of healthy dairy farmers (DF) will be richer than non-farmers (NF) living in urban settings due to exposure to a greater biodiversity in the dairy environment. However, no studies have investigated the relationships between microbiota of dairy farmers (DF) compared with urban non-farmers (NF).

Serologic Evidence of Powassan Virus Infection in Patients with Suspected Lyme Disease.

Powassan virus (POWV) lineage II is an emerging tickborne flavivirus with an unknown seroprevalence in humans. In a Lyme disease-endemic area, we examined the seroreactivity to POWV in 2 patient cohorts and described the clinical features of the POWV-seroreactive patients. POWV disease might be less neuroinvasive than previously thought.

Risk Factors for Severe Infection, Hospitalization, and Prolonged Antimicrobial Therapy in Patients with Babesiosis.

Babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne disease transmitted by the hard tick , which also transmits Lyme disease. Better gradation of prognostic indicators are needed to determine which patients may develop serious complications requiring hospitalization, and to provide early guidance on appropriate therapy. In this study, we evaluated 128 patients with smear or real time polymerase chain reaction-confirmed infections over a period of 16 years.

Pro-inflammatory immune responses are associated with clinical signs and symptoms of human anaplasmosis.

Human anaplasmosis (HA) is an emerging tick-borne disease that may present as a mild flu-like illness or a life threatening, sepsis-like condition. Although disease severity is hypothesized to relate to immunopathology and immune dysfunction in humans, studies to directly measure immune responses in infected humans have been very limited. We quantified cytokines in 80 confirmed HA patients using a multiplex chemiluminescence immunoassay system and compared similarly measured responses in 1000 control subjects.

T2 Magnetic Resonance Assay-Based Direct Detection of Three Lyme Disease-Related Borrelia Species in Whole-Blood Samples.

In early Lyme disease (LD), serologic testing is insensitive and seroreactivity may reflect active or past infection. In this study, we evaluated a novel assay for the direct detection of three species of spirochetes in whole blood. The T2 magnetic resonance (T2MR) assay platform was used to amplify DNA released from intact spirochetes and to detect amplicon.

Serologic screening of United States blood donors for Babesia microti using an investigational enzyme immunoassay.

Background: The tick-borne pathogen Babesia microti has become recognized as the leading infectious risk associated with blood transfusion in the United States, yet no Food and Drug Administration-licensed screening tests are currently available to mitigate this risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of an investigational enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for B. microti as a screening test applied to endemic and nonendemic blood donor populations.

Surveillance of Wisconsin Antibacterial Susceptibility Patterns.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance presents a threat to quality patient care. Knowledge of localantibacterial susceptibility patterns can guide clinicians in empiric antibacterial administration andassist pharmacists and infectious disease physicians in development of appropriate therapeutic pathways.

Methods: To characterize Wisconsin antibacterial susceptibility patterns and elucidate geographicor temporal variation in antibacterial resistance, a retrospective, observational analysis of antibiogram data was performed.

Appearances are Deceptive: Staphylococcus Superinfection of Clavicular Tuberculous Osteomyelitis.

A man, aged 25 years, presented with pain, swelling, and drainage from the right clavicular area. He had a past history of abscess at the sternoclavicular joint. The cultures from the drainage site grew methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, and he was placed on appropriate antibiotics.

A clinical, diagnostic, and ecologic perspective on human anaplasmosis in the Upper Midwest.

Introduction: Human anaplasmosis caused by the bacterial pathogen Anaplasma phagocytophilum was first discovered in the Upper Midwest in 1990. Since that time the number of cases in the region has steadily increased, such that today, the pathogen rivals that of Lyme disease in causing human tick-borne-related illness.

Objective: We provide an overview of the biology, clinical characteristics, and epidemiology of the disease in the Upper Midwest and discuss currently available diagnostic methods.

High diversity of plasmids harbouring blaCMY-2 among clinical Escherichia coli isolates from humans and companion animals in the upper Midwestern USA.

Objectives: To determine the population structure and genetic relatedness of plasmids encoding CMY-2 β-lactamase in clinical Escherichia coli from humans and companion animals within a defined geographical area.

Methods: In total, 42 human and 73 companion animal isolates displaying an AmpC phenotype were isolated at a regional diagnostic reference laboratory in the upper Midwestern USA during 2009-11. Following PCR screening for transferable AmpC genes and plasmid transformation, blaCMY-2-positive plasmids were characterized by S1 nuclease PFGE, PCR-based replicon typing, antimicrobial susceptibility testing of transformants, conjugation experiments, plasmid multilocus sequence typing and restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Flap infection associated with medicinal leeches in reconstructive surgery: two new drug-resistant organisms.

The use of medicinal leeches in reconstructive surgery has proven value for the salvage of flaps with venous congestion but is associated with a risk of leech-acquired infection. The most common leech-associated organism is Aeromonas hydrophila, which antibiotic prophylaxis is typically directed against. The authors describe two new multidrug-resistant organisms acquired from medicinal leech therapy that resulted in flap infection.

Preparation of corneal donor eyes comparing 1% versus 5% povidone-iodine.

Purpose: To compare the effect of 1% versus 5% polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine (PVP-I) chemical preparation (prep) of the eye on the recovery of organisms from donor globes before in situ recovery of donor corneal tissue.

Methods: One hundred consecutive pairs of donor corneas (200 eyes) were randomized to receive either 1% or 5% PVP-I drops applied to the conjunctival cul-de-sac, which was left in place for 2 minutes. Limbal cultures were obtained before and after prepping of the eye.