Publications by authors named "Victoria D'Abrera"
Mycobacterium chimaera colonisation of heater-cooler units (HCU) in Western Australia, 2015: investigation of possible iatrogenic infection using whole genome sequencing.
James Owen Robinson Geoffrey Wallace Coombs David John Speers Terillee Keehner Anthony David Keil Victoria D'Abrera
Euro Surveill
November 2016
Article Synopsis
- A study in Western Australia began in August 2015 to sample heater-cooler units (HCUs) after a link was reported between HCU colonization by Mycobacterium chimaera and cases of endocarditis.
- Out of 15 HCUs tested, 10 were found to be colonized with M. chimaera, prompting further investigation with whole genome sequencing to determine connections to a patient's infection.
- Genetic analysis revealed that while the M. chimaera isolates from the HCUs were related, the isolate from the patient was genetically different, suggesting that the HCUs were not responsible for this specific infection.
An increase in off-season (June to September) Ross River virus (RRV) notifications from the greater Perth metropolitan area was observed from 2006 to 2009. We investigated the increase to determine whether it is likely to have reflected a true increase in off-season cases. A single positive RRV IgM test result is sufficient for RRV notification but where follow-up testing was performed, the positive predictive value of an IgM test where IgG was negative was very low in the off-season and also in the season when using the only commercially available test kit.
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