Incidence of Inducible Clindamycin Resistance in Staphylococcus pseudintermedius from Dogs

Clindamycin is increasingly used to treat canine pyoderma. Eight of 608 Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolates were positive for inducible clindamycin resistance by double-disk diffusion testing and PCR detection of ermB. Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolates that are erythromycin resistant but clindamycin susceptible by in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing should be tested for inducible clindamycin resistance

Amikacin Resistance in Staphylococcus pseudintermedius Isolated from Dogs

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is the most common microorganism isolated from canine pyoderma and postoperative wound infections. The prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) has increased, and recently, isolates that are resistant not only to methicillin but also to other classes of antibiotic drugs, including aminoglycosides, have become common. A total of 422 S. pseudintermedius isolates collected from 413 dogs were analyzed for amikacin and methicillin resistance using broth microdilution and disk diffusion testing. Methicillin-resistant isolates were significantly (P < 0.0001) more likely to be resistant to amikacin (37%, 31/84) than were methicillin-susceptible isolates (7%, 22/338). Additionally, resistance to non-β-lactam antibiotics was significantly associated with resistance to amikacin irrespective of methicillin resistance. Among the 422 isolates, 32 that tested positive for amikacin resistance by broth microdilution or disk diffusion testing were investigated further for the presence of aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme genes using multiplex PCR. Of these isolates, 66% (21/32) were methicillin resistant. In contrast to previous studies of Staphylococcus aureus, the most prevalent gene detected was aph(3′)-IIIa found in 75% (24/32) of isolates followed by aac(6′)/aph(2″) and ant(4′)-Ia in 12% (4/32) and 3% (1/32), respectively. Understanding the differences in antimicrobial resistance gene carriage between different species of Staphylococcus may improve antimicrobial drug selection for clinical therapy and provide insights into how resistance develops in S. pseudintermedius

Thinking through heterogeneous infrastructure configurations

Studies of infrastructure have demonstrated broad differences between Northern and Southern cities, and deconstructed urban theory derived from experiences of the networked urban regions of the Global North. This includes critiques of the universalisation of the historically–culturally produced normative ideal of universal, uniform infrastructure. In this commentary, we first introduce the notion of ‘heterogeneous infrastructure configurations’ (HICs) which resonates with existing scholarship on Southern urbanism. Second, we argue that thinking through HICs helps us to move beyond technological and performative accounts of actually existing infrastructures to provide an analytical lens through which to compare different configurations. Our approach enables a clearer analysis of infrastructural artefacts not as individual objects but as parts of geographically spread socio-technological configurations: configurations which might involve many different kinds of technologies, relations, capacities and operations, entailing different risks and power relationships. We use examples from ongoing research on sanitation and waste in Kampala, Uganda – a city in which service delivery is characterised by multiplicity, overlap, disruption and inequality – to demonstrate the kinds of research questions that emerge when thinking through the notion of HICs

In Vitro Susceptibility of Equine-Obtained Isolates of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis to Gallium Maltolate and 20 Other Antimicrobial Agents

This study's objective was to determine the in vitro antimicrobial activities of gallium maltolate (GaM) and 20 other antimicrobial agents against clinical equine isolates of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. The growth of cultured isolates was not inhibited by any concentration of GaM. MIC data revealed susceptibility to commonly used antimicrobials

Religiosity, Spirituality, and the Subjective Quality of African American Men's Friendships: An Exploratory Study

The present study fills a crucial gap in literature surrounding the lives of African American men by exploring factors that shape the quality of these men's friendships. Drawing on data from a sample of 171 African American men, the study examines the relative utility of subjective religiosity, subjective spirituality, advice exchange, and affective sharing as predictors of the level of perceived support from male and female friends. Findings reveal age differences in subjective religiosity, subjective spirituality, and in level of advice and affective exchange in men's same-sex as well as cross-sex friendships. Age differences emerged in men's perceptions of the supportiveness of their friendships with women but not with men. Age was not a predictor of perceived supportiveness of same-sex or cross-sex friendships. Subjective religiosity did not predict support in same-sex or cross-sex friendships. Subjective spirituality positively predicted perceived support in men's same-sex friendships but not in cross-sex friendships. Implications of these findings are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44637/1/10804_2004_Article_341947.pd

Oral Administration of Electron-Beam Inactivated Rhodococcus equi Failed to Protect Foals against Intrabronchial Infection with Live, Virulent R. equi

There is currently no licensed vaccine that protects foals against Rhodococcus equi-induced pneumonia. Oral administration of live, virulent R. equi to neonatal foals has been demonstrated to protect against subsequent intrabronchial challenge with virulent R. equi. Electron beam (eBeam)-inactivated R. equi are structurally intact and have been demonstrated to be immunogenic when administered orally to neonatal foals. Thus, we investigated whether eBeam inactivated R. equi could protect foals against developing pneumonia after experimental infection with live, virulent R. equi. Foals (n = 8) were vaccinated by gavaging with eBeam-inactivated R. equi at ages 2, 7, and 14 days, or gavaged with equal volume of saline solution (n = 4), and subsequently infected intrabronchially with live, virulent R. equi at age 21 days. The proportion of vaccinated foals that developed pneumonia following challenge was similar among the vaccinated (7/8; 88%) and unvaccinated foals (3/4; 75%). This vaccination regimen did not appear to be strongly immunogenic in foals. Alternative dosing regimens or routes of administration need further investigation and may prove to be immunogenic and protective

Evaluation of Oxacillin and Cefoxitin Disk and MIC Breakpoints for Prediction of Methicillin Resistance in Human and Veterinary Isolates of Staphylococcus intermedius Group

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a coagulase-positive species that colonizes the nares and anal mucosa of healthy dogs and cats. Human infections with S. pseudintermedius range in severity from bite wounds and rhinosinusitis to endocarditis; historically, these infections were thought to be uncommon, but new laboratory methods suggest that their true incidence is underreported. Oxacillin and cefoxitin disk and MIC tests were evaluated for the detection of mecA- or mecC-mediated methicillin resistance in 115 human and animal isolates of the Staphylococcus intermedius group (SIG), including 111 Staphylococcus pseudintermediusand 4 Staphylococcus delphini isolates, 37 of which were mecA positive. The disk and MIC breakpoints evaluated included the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M100-S25 Staphylococcus aureus/Staphylococcus lugdunensis oxacillin MIC breakpoints and cefoxitin disk and MIC breakpoints, the CLSI M100-S25 coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) oxacillin MIC breakpoint and cefoxitin disk breakpoint, the CLSI VET01-S2 S. pseudintermedius oxacillin MIC and disk breakpoints, and the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) S. pseudintermedius cefoxitin disk breakpoint. The oxacillin results interpreted by the VET01-S2 (disk and MIC) and M100-S25 CoNS (MIC) breakpoints agreed with the results of mecA/mecC PCR for all isolates, with the exception of one false-resistant result (1.3% of mecA/mecC PCR-negative isolates). In contrast, cefoxitin tests performed poorly, ranging from 3 to 89% false susceptibility (very major errors) and 0 to 48% false resistance (major errors). BD Phoenix, bioMérieux Vitek 2, and Beckman Coulter MicroScan commercial automated susceptibility test panel oxacillin MIC results were also evaluated and demonstrated >95% categorical agreement with mecA/mecC PCR results if interpreted by using the M100-S25 CoNS breakpoint. The Alere penicillin-binding protein 2a test accurately detected all mecA-positive isolates, although for four isolates, cefoxitin induction was required prior to testing. These data demonstrate that the cefoxitin surrogate test does not reliably detect the presence of mecA in S. pseudintermedius isolates and that laboratories should perform oxacillin disk or MIC tests of these isolates when they are encountered