International journal of medical microbiology : IJMM
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Int. J. Med. Microbiol. · Mar 2013
A comparison of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus reveals no clinical and epidemiological but molecular differences.
Most studies on Staphylococcus aureus have focused on the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections. In contrast, little information is available regarding the molecular epidemiology of currently circulating methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates in hospital settings, an epoch when the epidemiology of S. aureus has undergone significant changes. We conducted a cross-sectional study to compare the clinical, epidemiological, and genetic characteristics of MSSA and MRSA isolates at 3 tertiary-care hospitals in Medellín, Colombia, from February 2008 to June 2010. ⋯ Most of the clinical-epidemiological characteristics and risk factors evaluated did not allow for discriminating MRSA- from MSSA-infected patients. The lack of equivalence among the genetic backgrounds of the major MSSA and MRSA clones would suggest that the MRSA clones are imported instead of arising from successful MSSA clones. This study emphasizes the importance of local surveillance to create public awareness on the changing S. aureus epidemiology.
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Int. J. Med. Microbiol. · Aug 2011
Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage, virulence traits, antibiotic resistance mechanisms, and genetic lineages in healthy humans in Spain, with detection of CC398 and CC97 strains.
S. aureus nasal carriage was investigated in 278 healthy humans, determining the antibiotic resistance mechanisms, virulence traits, and genetic lineages of recovered isolates. Nasal samples were cultured in specific media for S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) recovery. S. aureus was detected in 53 of 278 nasal samples (19.1%): MRSA was found in one sample (0.4%) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) in the remaining 52 samples. ⋯ Two MSSA presented the sequence-type ST398 [harboring erm(T) gene], and 2 additional isolates were typed as ST97. Interestingly, MSSA CC398 and CC97 isolates were detected. These clonal complexes are associated with food-producing animals.
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Int. J. Med. Microbiol. · Mar 2011
Molecular analysis and mating behaviour of the Trichophyton mentagrophytes species complex.
Isolates of the Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex vary phenotypically. Whether the closely related zoophilic and anthropophilic anamorphs currently associated with Arthroderma vanbreuseghemii have to be considered as members of the same biological species remains an open question. ⋯ We have also shown that all the isolates from tinea pedis and tinea unguium identified as T. interdigitale based on ITS sequences mated with A. vanbreuseghemii tester strains, but had lost their ability to give fertile cleistothecia. Therefore, T. interdigitale has to be considered as a humanized species derived from the sexual relative A. vanbreuseghemii.
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Rapid diagnosis of sepsis is of outstanding significance as each hour of delay of appropriate antimicrobial therapy increases mortality by 5-10%. As a result, antibiotics are started without a definitive microbial result based on clinical signs in concert with "biomarkers" with high sensitivity but a lack of specificity. Diagnostic uncertainty is compensated for by liberal use of broad spectrum antibiotics with inherent resistance as an increasing public-health problem. ⋯ Recent data from transcriptomic and/or proteomic profiling would, however, indicate that marker panels derived from transcriptomic or proteomic profiling are superior to single proteins to differentiate non-infectious from sepsis-associated systemic inflammation. Multiplexed assay systems, e.g. after platform transfer from whole-genomic chips to multiplexed quantitative PCR are currently being developed with potential to improve sensitivity and specificity. Clinical utility of both, molecular tests to identify the pathogen and the ensuing host response, has still to be evaluated in prospective trials.