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📃Scientific paper: Molecular eidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae complex in a tertiary hospital in Shandong, China Abstract: Background The increasing incidence and prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae complex (CREC) poses great challenges to infection prevention and disease treatment. However, much remains unknown about the clinical characteristics of CREC isolates. Our objective was to characterize antimicrobial resistance and, carbapenemase production in CREC with 36 CREC isolates collected from a tertiary hospital in Shandong, China. Results Three types of carbapenemases (NDM, IMP and VIM) were detected in these isolates. Among them, NDM carbapenemases were most prevalent, with a 61.2% (22/36) detection rate for NDM-1, 27.8% (10/36) for NDM-5 and 2.8% (1/36) for NDM-7. IMP-4 was found in two isolates and VIM-1 in only one isolate. The MLST analysis identified 12 different sequence types (STs), of which ST171 (27.8%) was the most prevalent, followed by ST418 (25.0%). ST171 isolates had significantly higher rates of resistance than other STs to gentamicin and tobramycin ( P s < 0.05), and lower rates of resistance to aztreonam than ST418 and other STs ( Ps  < 0.05). Among 17 carbapenemase-encoding genes, the bla _NDM−5 gene was more frequently detected in ST171 than in ST418 and other isolates ( Ps  < 0.05). In contrast, the bla _NDM−1 gene was more frequently seen in ST418 than in ST171 isolates. One novel ST (ST1965) was identified, which carried the bla _NDM−1 gene. Conclusion NDM-5 produced by ST171 and NDM-1 carbapenemase produced by ST418 were the leading cau... Continued on ES/IODE ➡️ https://etcse.fr/bIM ------- If you find this interesting, feel free to follow, comment and share. We need your help to enhance our visibility, so that our platform continues to serve you.

On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, we are sharing this excellent e-module developed by the ISAC Viral Infections Working Group and produced by our colleagues at Page Medical. Hepatitis C Virus: Tackling this infection with Direct Acting Antivirals The course is aimed at early career healthcare professionals interested in learning more about HCV, including hepatologists and other prescribing clinicians, medical microbiologists, virologists, nurses and lab technicians. Course Aims The course is aimed at early career healthcare professionals interested in learning more about HCV, including hepatologists and other prescribing clinicians, medical microbiologists, virologists, nurses and lab technicians. You will start by learning about HCV including the structure of the virus, the epidemiology and clinical presentation. You will then explore HCV coinfection before moving on to learn about treatment methods and reasons why treatment may fail, such as antimicrobial resistance. Lastly, you will learn about occult HCV and the risks this type of infection poses to patients. You will also have the opportunity to follow and discuss two case studies as the course progresses. By the end of this course you will be able to... * Identify Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) structure * Explain HCV coinfection * Classify Direct Acting Antivirals (DAAs) for HCV * Explain causes of HCV treatment failure * Discuss mechanisms of HCV resistance to DAAs * Define occult HCV * Discuss pathophysiology of occult HCV * Explain diagnosis and importance of occult HCV Sign up for free ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eSBhXgid #WorldHepatitisDay #Hepatitis #viralinfections #HepC #virology #infection #infectiousdisease #antivirals #globalhealth #publichealth #healthcare #heptology #microbiology Page Medical Hannah Stewart The World Hepatitis Alliance World Hepatitis Alliance

The bacterial infection transmitted by ticks affects nearly half a million people in the US every year Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Helsinki in Finland have discovered a protein found in human sweat that can protect against Lyme disease. As published in Nature Communications, around one-third of the population was found to carry a genetic variation of SCGB1D2, a secretoglobin associated with Lyme disease, a bacterial infection transmitted by ticks. Affecting nearly half a million people in the US annually, Lyme disease is often caused by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi and can cause symptoms such as fever, headache and fatigue. Previously, researchers from Stanford University ran a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on a Finnish dataset containing genome sequences of 410,000 people, including 7,000 patients with Lyme disease and revealed three links to Lyme disease, including two already-identified hits in immune molecules and a third, unidentified hit being SCGB1D2. Produced primarily by cells in the sweat glands, secretoglobins are a group of proteins found in tissues that line the lungs and other organs that play a role in immune responses to infection. In an effort to determine how this protein influences Lyme disease, the new study created normal and mutated versions of SCGB1D2 and exposed them to lab-grown Borrelia burgdorferi. Researchers found that the normal version of SCGB1D2 inhibited the growth of the bacterium, while the mutated version of the protein required twice as much SCGB1D2 to suppress bacterial growth. After injecting exposed bacteria with either the normal or mutated variant of SCGB1D2 into mice, the team found that mice injected with the bacteria exposed to the mutant protein became infected with Lyme disease, while mice injected with bacteria exposed to the normal version of SCGB1D2 did not. Read more: https://lnkd.in/evrB_psQ Stay in touch with all the leading stories, events and opportunities by subscribing to our LinkedIn Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RbdKtc or joining some of the largest groups most relevant to you: https://bit.ly/4caKquL (A-Z list)

📢 Voices in Infection Biology  Next up in our seminar series is Till Strowig from Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, kindly hosted by Felix Key. 🗓️ Wednesday, May 15 🕓 4 pm CEST (Berlin time) Registration: https://lnkd.in/gnaNV5kV The gut microbiota – from interindividual differences to novel therapeutics Healthcare-associated infections, particularly those caused by Gram-negative multidrug-resistant organisms (GN-MDR), are a pressing global issue, significantly impacting morbidity and mortality rates. Gut colonization with these GN-MDRs often precedes systemic infections in patients. Decolonization strategies based on antibiotic treatments have a long-lasting and broad impact on the gut microbiota and put further selective pressure on developing multi- and pan-resistant nosocomial pathogens. Therefore, the need for alternative methods to eliminate selectively MDR pathogens is not just urgent but crucial. We aim to develop “live biotherapeutic drugs” (LBP) as novel therapeutics against GN-MDR, selectively targeting the pathogen while leaving the surrounding microbiota intact. Our approach is based on ecological principles: nutrient competition between related bacteria. Utilizing ex vivo assays and large strain collections of commensal bacteria, we identified in the past years that Klebsiella oxytoca promotes colonization resistance against various GN-MDR and enteropathogens in the gut. In two instances, we have linked the phenotype to competition for different nutrients in vivo. Moreover, the microbial context of the competition, i.e., the presence of additional commensal bacteria, plays an important role in decolonization that is in line with the current understanding of gut microbiota ecology.

(Vienna, 22 May 2017) Ticks carry a large number of pathogens, some of which can cause serious diseases in humans. As part of a recent study conducted by Anna-Margarita Schötta from the Institute of Hygiene and Applied Immunology and Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology of MedUni Vienna, an inventory has been made of the various pathogens carried by ticks in all parts of Austria. The main findings: around 30% of all ticks in Austria are infected with Borrelia – so more than previously thought –, around 16% with Rickettsia and 4% with the bacterium "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis". A total of 554 ticks were analysed, from Vienna to Vorarlberg. Lyme borreliosis is one of the commonest tick-borne infections in the world. Austria sees around 70,000 new cases every year. Borrelia are transferred from the ticks to humans via their sting (colloquially: bite). Treatment with antibiotics is most effective when given as soon as possible after onset of the disease. If the bacterial infection is not detected in good time, it can lead to serious problems such as joint inflammation, painful infections of the nerve roots, meningitis and paralysis. Austrian States: Ticks most likely to be infected with Borrelia in Vorarlberg The results of the study show that it is the ticks in Vorarlberg – between two and five locations were tested in each state – that are most commonly infected with Borrelia (33.9%), followed by Upper Austria (28.3%) and Tyrol (27.9%). The risk is lowest in Lower Austria, where only one in five ticks is a potential carrier. Rickettsia (bacteria that can cause typhus fever, inter alia) were primarily identified in ticks in the Vienna area: approximately every second tick is infected with Rickettsia, followed by Carinthia (23.8%) and Lower Austria (18.8%) It was likewise the ticks in Vienna and Tyrol that were most affected by Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis (which causes the infectious disease neoehrlichiosis), at a figure of just over 8%. https://lnkd.in/eEMtzxud

🌟New review in IJAA 🌟 Clinical and laboratory insights into the threat of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (Han et al) Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) typically causes severe invasive infections affecting multiple sites in healthy individuals. In the past, hvKP was characterized by a hypermucoviscosity phenotype, susceptibility to antimicrobial agents, and its tendency to cause invasive infections in healthy individuals within the community. However, there has been an alarming increase in reports of multidrug-resistant hvKP, particularly carbapenem-resistant strains, causing nosocomial infections in critically ill or immunocompromised patients. This presents a significant challenge for clinical treatment. Early identification of hvKP is crucial for timely infection control. Notably, identifying hvKP has become confusing due to its prevalence in nosocomial settings and the limited predictive specificity of the hypermucoviscosity phenotype. Novel virulence predictors for hvKP have been discovered through animal models or machine learning algorithms, while standardization of identification criteria is still necessary. Timely source control and antibiotic therapy have been widely employed for the treatment of hvKP infections. Additionally, phage therapy is a promising alternative approach due to escalating antibiotic resistance. In summary, this narrative review highlights the latest research progress in the development, virulence factors, identification, epidemiology of hvKP, and treatment options available for hvKP infection. Read more ⬇ https://lnkd.in/ekMkqCQm #Klebsiellapneumoniae #pneumoniae #clinicalmicro #healthcare #antibioticresistance #antibiotics #antimicrobialresistance #antimicrobials #clinicalmicrobiology #publichealth #antibiotics

So, it's more than just Lyme disease that can make me sick? Ticks harbor multiple infectious pathogens that can be transmitted to humans through a tick bite or tainted blood transfusion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now reports that “a single tick can transmit multiple pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites.” This can result in patients developing what is referred to as Lyme disease “co-infections.” In fact, between 2004 and 2016, the CDC identified 7 new tick-borne microbes capable of infecting humans. Researchers from Columbia University, Tufts Medical Center, and Yale School of Medicine examined the extent of co-infections in patients diagnosed with Lyme disease. Their findings are alarming. 40% of Lyme disease patients had concurrent Babesia 1 in 3 patients with Babesia had concurrent Anaplasmosis Two-thirds of patients with Babesiosis experienced concurrent Lyme disease and one-third experienced concurrent Anaplasmosis.  As tick populations explode and expand into new geographic regions and cases of Lyme disease continue to soar, there is growing and warranted concern surrounding the medical communities’ ability to recognize, diagnose, and treat Lyme disease co-infections Unfortunately, testing for tick co-infections does not occur regularly. One study found that out of nearly 3 million specimens, only 17% were tested for non-Lyme tick-borne diseases. *** Yet, an accurate diagnosis is critical, given that patients may require different treatment depending upon the type of co-infection. For instance, antibiotics prescribed for Lyme disease may be ineffective in treating parasitic or viral tick-borne diseases such as Babesia. *LymeLightNow sidenote - independent funded research is needed because even the antibiotic treatments that are the go to for Lyme disease only work part of the time. Why? Because the spirochete recognizes when it is under attack and they begin to shift to a cyst nature and then to a biofilm. This allows the pathogen to live on, even though CDC data says that antibiotics will kill Lyme by 90%. Maybe, but those that hid and shifted, will need more to kill them off. ***visit LymeLightNow.com to learn more and support our advocacy and free family education programs in the communities, along with educating doctors on the updated knowledge and experiences of patients.

Bloodstream Infections (BSI) are a major cause of death and hospitalization among hemodialysis (HD) patients. In a retrospective cohort study of HD patients with a BSI in the years 2014 to 2018, among 251 dialysis patients, 44 patients (17.5%) developed 54 BSI events, while 10 of them (3.9% of the whole cohort) developed recurrent BSI events. Gram-negative microorganisms caused 46.3% of all BSI events. 31.4% of these BSI were caused by resistant bacteria. The findings highlight the need to follow local epidemiology for implementing appropriate preventative measures. #BSI #clabsi #crbsi #infectioncontrol #dubaihealthcare #dialysis

In 86% of cases (19 of 22 strains isolated from 14 infection cases), the bacteria causing postoperative infections are entirely similar, genetically, to those present before the operation on the patient's body. A similar result was found for antibiotic resistances, which resembled those present in the patients' bacterial community. A subsequent analysis of 59 postoperative infections, from a sample of 1610 operated patients, revealed that none of these infections originated from bacterial strains shared among patients. In other words, they do not seem to derive from a common source like the hospital environment. https://lnkd.in/d7EaeJJa

📃Scientific paper: Controlling the bacterial load of Salmonella Typhi in an experimental mouse model by a lytic Salmonella phage STWB21: a phage therapy approach Abstract: Background Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi is one of the major pathogens causing typhoid fever and a public health burden worldwide. Recently, the increasing number of multidrug-resistant strains of Salmonella spp . has made this utmost necessary to consider bacteriophages as a potential alternative to antibiotics for S. Typhi infection treatment. Salmonella phage STWB21, isolated from environmental water, has earlier been reported to be effective as a safe biocontrol agent by our group. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of phage STWB21 in reducing the burden of salmonellosis in a mammalian host by inhibiting Salmonella Typhi invasion into the liver and spleen tissue. Results Phage treatment significantly improved the survival percentage of infected mice. This study also demonstrated that oral administration of phage treatment could be beneficial in both preventive and therapeutic treatment of salmonellosis caused by S. Typhi. Altogether the result showed that the phage treatment could control tissue inflammation in mice before and after Salmonella infection. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of phage therapy in a mouse model against a clinically isolated Salmonella Typhi strain that includes direct visualization of histopathology and ultrathin section microscopy images from the liver and spleen sections. Continued on ES/IODE ➡️ https://etcse.fr/4jewr ------- If you find this interesting, feel free to follow, comment and share. We need your help to enhance our visibility, so that our platform continues to serve you.