Molecular Characterization of Imported and Autochthonous Dengue in Northeastern Spain.

Dengue is the most significant arbovirus worldwide and a public health threat to non-endemic areas in which vectors are present. Autochthonous dengue transmission has been reported in several European countries in the last decade. Infected travelers from endemic regions arriving to areas colonized by in Europe need to be monitored in surveillance and control programs.

First Description of bla Carried on an IncX4 Plasmid in Escherichia coli ST679 Isolated in Spain.

This study describes the molecular characterization of an NDM-7 carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli strain Ec188, recovered from a rectal swab of a male patient who had travelled to Pakistan before his hospitalization at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain. The Ec188 isolate, assigned to a new multilocus sequence type ST679, was resistant to all beta-lactams, aminoglycosides (gentamicin, tobramycin, and with reduced susceptibility to amikacin), and ciprofloxacin. The bla gene was located on a 50 kb IncX4 plasmid (pEc188-NDM7), both in the original and transconjugant strains.

Characterization and rapid control of a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) outbreak in a renal transplant unit in Spain: The environment matters.

Objective: To describe a clonal outbreak due to vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) in the nephrology and renal transplant unit of a tertiary teaching hospital in Barcelona, Spain, and to highlight how active patient and environment surveillance cultures, as well as prompt and directed intervention strategies, mainly environmental, helped to successfully bring it under control.

Patients And Methods: A study was conducted on patients admitted to the nephrology ward with any culture positive for VREF over a 6-month period (August 2012-January 2013). Based on the identification of a clonal link between the isolates, weekly rectal screening using swabs was implemented for all patients, as well as environmental cultures and cleaning of medical equipment and the ward.

Sonication versus vortexing of implants for diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection.

Biofilm removal efficacy of vortexing alone was compared with the standard vortexing-sonication procedure. Among 135 removed prostheses, 35 were diagnosed with infection and 100 with aseptic failure. At a cutoff of ≥ 50 CFU/ml, sonication was more sensitive than vortexing (60% versus 40%, P = 0.

[Comparison study of a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay with an enzyme immunoassay and shell vial culture for influenza A and B virus detection in adult patients].

Introduction: The age of the patients and the type of sample are major problems in the diagnosis of influenza. Most available diagnostic techniques are highly effective in pediatric patients and in nasopharyngeal aspirates. However, in the adult population and using throat swabs, these techniques are much less reliable.

Characterization of a large outbreak by CTX-M-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and mechanisms leading to in vivo carbapenem resistance development.

All extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates from patients admitted to and adult intensive care unit were prospectively documented from 2002 to 2005, when a large outbreak (51 patients affected) of multiresistant ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae infection was detected. The involvement of a single K. pneumoniae clone was demonstrated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.