Characterization and Fitness Cost of Tn, a Novel Integrative and Conjugative Element Conferring Multidrug Resistance in .

A multidrug-resistant (MDR) strain of , Hi-228, with phenotypic resistance toward ampicillin, cefotaxime, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, and azithromycin, was isolated in Oslo, Norway. The strain was part of a clonal outbreak (2016-2017) comprising five ST143 strains with identical resistotypes. Hi-228 carries a novel integrative and conjugative element (ICE), Tn, contributing to this remarkable and previously unreported MDR profile.

Rapid diagnosis and reduced workload for urinary tract infection using flowcytometry combined with direct antibiotic susceptibility testing.

Background: We evaluated if flowcytometry, using Sysmex UF-5000, could improve diagnosis of urinary tract infections by rapid identification of culture negative and contaminated samples prior to culture plating, thus reducing culture plating workload and response time. We also evaluated if it is possible to reduce the response time for antibiotic susceptibility profiles using the bacteria information flag on Sysmex UF-5000 to differentiate between Gram positive and negative bacteria, followed by direct Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (dAST) on the positive urine samples.

Methods: One thousand urine samples were analyzed for bacteria, white blood cells and squamous cells by flowcytometry before culture plating.

Suitability of stx-PCR directly from fecal samples in clinical diagnostics of STEC.

PCR-based testing for Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) directly from fecal samples is increasingly being implemented in routine diagnostic laboratories. These methods aim to detect clinically relevant amounts of microbes and not stx-carrying phages or low backgrounds of STEC. We present a diagnostic procedure and results from 1 year of stx-targeted real-time PCR of fecal samples from patients with gastrointestinal symptoms in Norway.

Molecular epidemiology of metallo-beta-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from Norway and Sweden shows import of international clones and local clonal expansion.

Scandinavia is considered a region with a low prevalence of antimicrobial resistance. However, the number of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria is increasing, including metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL)-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study MBL-producing P.