Diagnostic performance of the AID line probe assay in the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and drug resistance in Romanian patients with presumed TB.

Background: The AID line probe assay has shown promising evaluation data on the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as well as 1st- and 2nd-line drug resistance, using isolates and selected clinical samples in previous studies.

Methods: The diagnostic performance of three AID-modules (AID INH/RIF, AID FQ/EMB and AID AG) was analyzed in sputum samples from patients with presumed tuberculosis against culture methods and phenotypic drug resistance as reference standards.

Results: 59 patients had culture-confirmed tuberculosis.

Detailed stratified GWAS analysis for severe COVID-19 in four European populations.

Given the highly variable clinical phenotype of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a deeper analysis of the host genetic contribution to severe COVID-19 is important to improve our understanding of underlying disease mechanisms. Here, we describe an extended genome-wide association meta-analysis of a well-characterized cohort of 3255 COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure and 12 488 population controls from Italy, Spain, Norway and Germany/Austria, including stratified analyses based on age, sex and disease severity, as well as targeted analyses of chromosome Y haplotypes, the human leukocyte antigen region and the SARS-CoV-2 peptidome. By inversion imputation, we traced a reported association at 17q21.

Clinical standards for drug-susceptible pulmonary TB.

The aim of these clinical standards is to provide guidance on 'best practice´ for diagnosis, treatment and management of drug-susceptible pulmonary TB (PTB). A panel of 54 global experts in the field of TB care, public health, microbiology, and pharmacology were identified; 46 participated in a Delphi process. A 5-point Likert scale was used to score draft standards.

Pathogenesis of tuberculosis: the 1930 Lübeck disaster revisited.

During the 1930 Lübeck bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) disaster, 251 neonates received three oral BCG doses accidentally contaminated by virulent ; 67 (26.7%) infants died of tuberculosis. BCG reversion to pathogenicity did not occur.

Overproduction of Chromosomal β-Lactamase Gene Maintains Resistance to Cefazolin in Escherichia coli Isolates.

Cefazolin, an active agent against Escherichia coli, is used to treat urinary and biliary tract infections. Cefazolin is used widely as an antibiotic, and the increase in the emergence of cefazolin-resistant E. coli in many countries is a major concern.

Mycobacterial infections in adults with haematological malignancies and haematopoietic stem cell transplants: guidelines from the 8th European Conference on Infections in Leukaemia.

Mycobacterial infections, both tuberculosis and nontuberculous, are more common in patients with haematological malignancies and haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients than in the general population-although these infections remain rare. Mycobacterial infections pose both diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. The management of mycobacterial infections is particularly complicated for patients in haematology because of the many drug-drug interactions between antimycobacterial drugs and haematological and immunosuppressive treatments.

Rifapentine access in Europe: growing concerns over key tuberculosis treatment component.

https://bit.ly/3jz85eh

Tuberculosis Treatment Monitoring and Outcome Measures: New Interest and New Strategies.

Despite the advent of new diagnostics, drugs and regimens, tuberculosis (TB) remains a global public health threat. A significant challenge for TB control efforts has been the monitoring of TB therapy and determination of TB treatment success. Current recommendations for TB treatment monitoring rely on sputum and culture conversion, which have low sensitivity and long turnaround times, present biohazard risk, and are prone to contamination, undermining their usefulness as clinical treatment monitoring tools and for drug development.

Consensus management recommendations for less common non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary diseases.

The 2020 clinical practice guideline for the treatment of non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) by the American Thoracic Society, European Respiratory Society, European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, and Infectious Diseases Society of America; and the 2017 management guideline by the British Thoracic Society covered pulmonary diseases in adults caused by Mycobacterium avium complex, Mycobacterium kansasii, Mycobacterium xenopi, and Mycobacterium abscessus. In order to provide evidence-based recommendations for the treatment of less common non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) species in adult patients without cystic fibrosis or HIV infection, our expert panel group performed systematic literature searches to provide management guidance for pulmonary diseases caused by seven additional organisms: Mycobacterium chelonae, Mycobacterium fortuitum, Mycobacterium genavense, Mycobacterium gordonae, Mycobacterium malmoense, Mycobacterium simiae, and Mycobacterium szulgai. Treatment recommendations were developed by a structured consensus process.

Influenza Outbreak and a Group Meal in a Geriatric Long-term Care Facility in Japan.

Influenza outbreaks at geriatric long-term care facilities (g-LTCFs) can be deadly and their prevention is important. However, the factors influencing disease transmission in g-LTCFs remain controversial. In this descriptive study, we tried to identify the potential risk factors influencing influenza outbreaks that occurred in different influenza seasons within a single g-LTCF with 100 residents in Gunma Prefecture.

All-cause mortality rates in adults with carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections: a comprehensive review of pathogen-focused, prospective, randomized, interventional clinical studies.

Introduction: Pathogen-focused, randomized, controlled trials (PF-RCT) are important in the fight against carbapenem-resistant (CR) Gram-negative infections. Some recently approved antibiotics and older generic antibiotics with activity against CR Gram-negative bacteria were investigated in PF-RCTs in a variety of infections.

Areas Covered: We searched Pubmed, Cochrane database and international clinical trial databases for PF-RCTs for the period between 2005 and 2020 and compared the study designs, patient populations, infection types, pathogens, and Day-28 all-cause mortality (ACM).

Tuberculosis endotypes to guide stratified host-directed therapy.

There is hope that host-directed therapy (HDT) for Tuberculosis (TB) can either shorten treatment duration, help cure drug resistant disease or limit the immunopathology. Many candidate HDT drugs have been proposed, however solid evidence only exists for a few select patient groups. The clinical presentation of TB is variable, with differences in severity, tissue pathology, and bacillary burden.

Clinical standards for the assessment, management and rehabilitation of post-TB lung disease.

Increasing evidence suggests that post-TB lung disease (PTLD) causes significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of these clinical standards is to provide guidance on the assessment and management of PTLD and the implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). A panel of global experts in the field of TB care and PR was identified; 62 participated in a Delphi process.

100 years of Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin.

Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), an experimental vaccine designed to protect cattle from bovine tuberculosis, was administered for the first time to a newborn baby in Paris in 1921. Over the past century, BCG has saved tens of millions of lives and has been given to more humans than any other vaccine. It remains the sole tuberculosis vaccine licensed for use in humans.

Seroprevalence of -Specific IgG Antibody among Mozambican Tuberculosis Patients.

Background: Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is a life-threatening sequel in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). -specific IgG antibody is a useful diagnostic biomarker supporting CPA diagnosis, especially in countries with limited health recourses.

Methods: We conducted a prospective pilot study to assess the seroprevalence of -specific IgG antibodies among 61 Mozambican tuberculosis patients before, during, and after the end of TB treatment.