Cluster of legionnaires’ disease in an Italian prison

Background: Legionella pneumophila (Lp) is the most common etiologic agent causing Legionnaires’ Disease (LD). Water systems offer the best growth conditions for Lp and support its spread by producing aerosols. From 2015 to 2017, the Regional Reference Laboratory of Clinical and Environmental Surveillance of Legionellosis of Palermo monitored the presence of Lp in nine prisons in Western Sicily. During this investigation, we compared Lp isolates from environmental samples in a prison located in Palermo with isolates from two prisoners in the same prison. Methods: We collected 93 water samples from nine Sicilian prisons and the bronchoalveolar lavages (BALs) of two prisoners considered cases of LD. These samples were processed following the procedures described in the Italian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Legionellosis of 2015. Then, genotyping was performed on 19 Lp colonies (17 from water samples and 2 from clinical samples) using the Sequence-Based Typing (SBT) method, according to European Study Group for Legionella Infections (ESGLI) protocols. Results: Lp serogroup (sg) 6 was the most prevalent serogroup isolated from the prisons analyzed (40%), followed by Lp sg 1 (16%). Most of all, in four penitentiary institutions, we detected a high concentration of Lp >104 Colony Forming Unit/Liter (CFU/L). The environmental molecular investigation found the following Sequence Types (STs) in Lp sg 6: ST 93, ST 292, ST 461, ST 728, ST 1317 and ST 1362, while most of the isolates in sg 1 belonged to ST 1. We also found a new ST that has since been assigned the number 2451 in the ESGLI-SBT database. From the several Lp sg 1 colonies isolated from the two BALs, we identified ST 2451. Conclusions: In this article, we described the results obtained from environmental and epidemiological investigations of Lp isolated from prisons in Western Sicily. Furthermore, we reported the first cluster of Legionnaires’ in an Italian prison and the molecular typing of Lp sg 1 from one prison’s water system and two BALs, identified the source of the contamination, and discovered a new ST

EXTRACELLULAR VESCICLES DERIVED FROM GUT MICROBIOTA IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE AND COLORECTAL CANCER

The human gut microbiome encompasses inter alia, the myriad bacterial species that create the optimal host-microrganism balance essential for normal metabolic and immune function. Various lineas of evidence suggest that dysregulation of the microbiota-host interaction is linked to pathologies such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC). Extracellular vescicles (EVs), found in virtually all body fluids and produced by both eukaryotic cells and bacteria are involved in cell-cell communication and crosstalk mechanism, such as the immune resèponse, barrier function and intestinal flora. This review highlligts advancements in knbowledge of the functional role that Evs may have in IBD and CRC, and discusses the possible use of EVs derived from intestinal microbiota in therapeutic strategies for treating these conditions

Antitumoral activity of curcumin: an adjuvant therapeutic strategy

Curcumin, an active substance contained in an Indian spice called turmeric or curcuma, is well known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In recent times, it was taken into account and studied as an antitumoral molecule, by relying on its interference on several biological mechanisms, such as the inhibition of inflammatory mediators, the enhancement of detoxifying enzymes’ action and processes of cell growth and proliferation

Un metodo per riconoscere faglie attive sepolte mediante misure areali di radon dal suolo

Lo studio riassume i risultati di una campagna di misure geochimiche e strutturali condotte nel 2004 (Neri et al., 2011) e riguarda la misurazione delle emissioni di gas radon e thoron dal suolo effettuate lungo il fianco orientale dell’Etna, in una zona caratterizzata dalla presenza di numerose faglie attive. Le elaborazioni statistiche effettuate hanno permesso di riconoscere soglie di anomalia dei dati geochimici, nonché la produzione di mappe di distribuzione che hanno evidenziato una significativa correlazione spaziale tra le anomalie riscontrate e i principali lineamenti tettonici. Entrambe le anomalie di radon e thoron si trovavano in aree interessate da sismicità relativamente profonda, in particolare in corrispondenza delle zone di intersezione tra faglie differentemente orientate. Questo studio conferma che la mappatura della distribuzione di gas radon e thoron dal suolo può rivelare la presenza di faglie nascoste da coperture recenti, o faglie che non sono chiaramente visibili in superficie

Total CO2 output from Ischia Island volcano (Italy)

The total amount of CO2 released at Ischia Island has been estimated from soil gas flux measurements and from chemical composition of the gases released by fumaroles or dissolved in groundwaters. The preliminary results indicate an overall CO2 output of about 15 kg s–1 from the entire island (46 km2). The main contribution to the total output from diffuse soil degassing is about 14.8 kg s–1, followed by dissolved CO2 of about 0.3 kg s–1. The contribution of fumaroles to the total output was found to be negligible (about 0.03 kg s–1). Ischia’s output, although being considerably less than that of open conduit volcanoes, is higher than many other volcanic systems, especially those related to volcanic arcs. The recent tensile tectonic regime of the area allows probably an easier upflow of CO2 from the mantle sustaining the diffuse degassing of the island

Age and Cytokine Gene Variants Modulate the Immunogenicity and Protective Effect of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-Based Vaccination

: The introduction of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in late 2020 substantially changed the pandemic picture, inducing effective protection in the population. However, individual variability was observed with different levels of cellular response and neutralizing antibodies. We report data on the impact of age, gender, and 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of cytokine genes on the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG titers measured 31 and 105 days after administration of the second dose of BNT162b2 vaccine to 122 healthy subjects from the health care staff of the Palermo University Hospital, Italy. The higher titers at 31 days were measured in the younger subjects and in subjects bearing T-positive genotypes of IL-1R1 rs2234650 or the GG homozygous genotype of IL-6 rs1800795 SNP. T-positive genotypes are also significantly more common in subjects with higher titers at day 105. In addition, in this group of subjects, the frequency of the CT genotype of IL-4 rs2243250 is higher among those vaccinated with higher titers. Moreover, these SNPs and TNFA rs1800629 are differently distributed in a group of subjects that were found infected by SARS-CoV-2 at day 105 of evaluation. Finally, subjects that were found to be infected by SARS-CoV-2 at day 105 were significantly older than the uninfected subjects. Taken together, these data seem to suggest that age and polymorphisms of key cytokines, which regulate inflammation and humoral immune response, might influence the magnitude of the antibody response to vaccination with BNT162B2, prompting speculation about the possible benefit of a genetic background-based assessment of a personalized approach to the anti-COVID vaccination schedule

Cefiderocol Efficacy in a Real-Life Setting: Single-Centre Retrospective Study

The current carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria (CR-GN) treatment guidelines lack strong evidence about cefiderocol (CFD) efficacy against CR-GN, especially CRAB. The study’s purpose is to evaluate the effectiveness of CFD in a real-life setting. We made a single-center retrospective study of 41 patients who received CFD in our hospital for several CR-GN infections. Bloodstream infections (BSI) affected 43.9% (18/41) of patients, while CRAB affected 75.6% (31/41) of isolated CR-GN patients. Thirty-days (30-D) all-causes mortality affected 36.6% (15/41) of patients, while end-of-treatment (EOT) clinical cure affected 56.1% (23/41). Finally, microbiological eradication at EOT affected 56.1% (23/41) of patients. Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that septic shock is an independent factor associated with mortality. Subgroup analyses showed no difference in CFD effectiveness between monotherapy and combination therapy