Binary Toxin and Death after Clostridium difficile Infection

TOC Summary: Strains with these genes in addition to toxins A and B were associated with the highest case-fatality rates

Examination of equine glandular stomach lesions for bacteria, including Helicobacter spp by fluorescence in situ hybridisation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The equine glandular stomach is commonly affected by erosion and ulceration. The aim of this study was to assess whether bacteria, including Helicobacter, could be involved in the aetiology of gastric glandular lesions seen in horses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Stomach lesions, as well as normal appearing mucosa were obtained from horses slaughtered for human consumption. All samples were tested for urease activity using the Pyloritek^®assay, while mucosal bacterial content was evaluated using Fluorescence <it>In Situ </it>Hybridisation. In selected sub samples, bacteria characterisation was pursued further by cloning and sequencing. Mucosal lesions were found in 36/63 stomachs and included hyperplastic rugae, polypoid structures and focal erosions. None of the samples were tested positive for urease activity or for FISH using the Helicobacter genus specific probe. In samples of lesions, as well as normal samples, clones with 99% similarities to <it>Lactobacillus salivarius </it>and <it>Sarcina ventriculi </it>were found. <it>Escherichia </it>like bacterium clones and Enterococcus clones were demonstrated in one focal erosion. Based on a phylogenetic tree these clones had 100% similarity to <it>Escherichia fergusonii and Enterococcus faecium</it>. The Enterococcus were found colonising the mucosal surface, while <it>E. fergusonii </it>organisms were also demonstrated intraepithelial.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Gastric Helicobacter spp. could not be verified as being involved in lesions of the glandular stomach of the horse. Since <it>E. fergusonii </it>has been described as an emerging pathogen in both humans and animals, the finding of this bacterium in gastric erosion warrants further clarification to whether gastric infection with this type bacterium is important for horses.</p

Outbreak of Salmonella manhattan associated with a ready-to-eat pork product in Denmark in 1998

Salmonella Manhattan is rarely found in Denmark. Since 1980, only 0-3 human cases have been registered annually. However, in the first 4 weeks of 1998, 19 cases of this serotype were registered suggesting an outbreak. S. Manhattan isolates from 18 human cases were typed using pulsedfield gel electrophoresis. Twelve of these isolates were identical and 3 were closely related, whereas the remaining isolates from humans in 1997 were clearly different. This indicated an outbreak with a common source. Further typing of S. Manhattan isolates collected as a part of the routine surveillance of domestic animals and food suggested a link to pork. Of 17 isolates from broilers, pigs and imported poultry, 6 isolates from breeder pigs imported from an internationally operating pig-production company were indistinguishable from the outbreak strain, whereas the remaining were different. A matched case-control study of 16 cases and 45 controls was carried out. The results suggested that cured and smoked ready-to-eat fillet of pork was the most likely source. Ten of 16 cases had consumed this product within three days before onset of disease, compared with 4 of 45 matched controls (OR 17,

The emergence of nalidixic acid resistant, multiresistant S. typhimurium DT104 in Denmark. An outbreak in humans traced back to pork

Infection with the zoonotic Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium DTI04 has been recognised since the beginning of the 90\u27s as a health problem in several industrialised countries. The present investigation demonstrates that results of surveillance of Salmonella infection in food animals, food production and among humans enabled identification of an outbreak of human salmonellosis caused by a nalidixic acid resistant strain of S. typhimurium DTJ 04. The source of infection was traced back to a single slaughterhouse and two pig herds

Predicting antimicrobial drug consumption using web search data

Consumption of antimicrobial drugs, such as antibiotics, is linked with antimicrobial resistance. Surveillance of antimicrobial drug consumption is therefore an important element in dealing with antimicrobial resistance. Many countries lack sufficient surveillance systems. Usage of web mined data therefore has the potential to improve current surveillance methods. To this end, we study how well antimicrobial drug consumption can be predicted based on web search queries, compared to historical purchase data of antimicrobial drugs. We present two prediction models (linear Elastic Net, and nonlinear Gaussian Processes), which we train and evaluate on almost 6 years of weekly antimicrobial drug consumption data from Denmark and web search data from Google Health Trends. We present a novel method of selecting web search queries by considering diseases and drugs linked to antimicrobials, as well as professional and layman descriptions of antimicrobial drugs, all of which we mine from the open web. We find that predictions based on web search data are marginally more erroneous but overall on a par with predictions based on purchases of antimicrobial drugs. This marginal difference corresponds to < 1% point mean absolute error in weekly usage. Best predictions are reported when combining both web search and purchase data. This study contributes a novel alternative solution to the real-life problem of predicting (and hence monitoring) antimicrobial drug consumption, which is particularly valuable in countries/states lacking centralised and timely surveillance systems

An outbreak of salmonellosis in Denmark caused by pork from a single slaughterhouse

Due to a rise in the endemic level of Salmonella Typhimurium infections in humans in Funen county, an outbreak of this serotype was discovered in the first week of September 1996. During the outbreak period (28 August - 14 October 1996) approximately 170 culture confirmed cases were registered at Statens Serum Institut. Almost all isolates were of phage type 12, which is frequently found in pork in Denmark - about 60% of S. Typhimurium isolates from pork are of DT 12 (Anon., 1997)

Relationship Between Media Coverage and Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) Vaccination Uptake in Denmark: Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND: Understanding the influence of media coverage upon vaccination activity is valuable when designing outreach campaigns to increase vaccination uptake. OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between media coverage and vaccination activity of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine in Denmark. METHODS: We retrieved data on media coverage (1622 articles), vaccination activity (2 million individual registrations), and incidence of measles for the period 1997-2014. All 1622 news media articles were annotated as being provaccination, antivaccination, or neutral. Seasonal and serial dependencies were removed from the data, after which cross-correlations were analyzed to determine the relationship between the different signals. RESULTS: Most (65%) of the anti-vaccination media coverage was observed in the period 1997-2004, immediately before and following the 1998 publication of the falsely claimed link between autism and the MMR vaccine. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the first MMR vaccine (targeting children aged 15 months) and provaccination media coverage (r=.49, P=.004) in the period 1998-2004. In this period the first MMR vaccine and neutral media coverage also correlated (r=.45, P=.003). However, looking at the whole period, 1997-2014, we found no significant correlations between vaccination activity and media coverage. CONCLUSIONS: Following the falsely claimed link between autism and the MMR vaccine, provaccination and neutral media coverage correlated with vaccination activity. This correlation was only observed during a period of controversy which indicates that the population is more susceptible to media influence when presented with diverging opinions. Additionally, our findings suggest that the influence of media is stronger on parents when they are deciding on the first vaccine of their children, than on the subsequent vaccine because correlations were only found for the first MMR vaccine

The effect of a diet with fructan-rich chicory roots on intestinal helminths and microbiota with special focus on Bifidobacteria and Campylobacter in piglets around weaning

The restrictions on the use of antibiotic and anthelmintic treatments in organic pig farming necessitate alternative non-medical control strategies. Therefore, the antibiotic and parasite-reducing effect of a fructan-rich (prebiotic) diet of dried chicory was investigated in free-ranging piglets. Approximately half of 67 piglets from 9 litters were experimentally infected with Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis in the suckling period (1 to 7 weeks of age) and 58 of the piglets were challenged daily with E. coli O138:F8 for 9 days after weaning to induce weaning diarrhoea. The litters were fed either chicory (30% DM) or a control diet. The effect of chicory on intestinal helminths, intestinal microbiota, especially Bifidobacteria and Campylobacter spp., and E. coli post-weaning diarrhoea was assessed. The weight gain of the piglets was not impaired significantly by chicory. The intestinal A. suum worm burden was reduced by 64% (P=0.034) in the chicory-fed piglets, whereas these same piglets had 63% more T. suis worms (P=0.016). Feeding with chicory elicited no changes among the main bacterial groups in ileum according to terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. However, the terminal-restriction fragment (T-RF) 208 bp, which may belong to Lachnospiraceae, was stimulated by the chicory feed (P=0.03), and T-RF 370 bp that matches Enterobacter belonging to the Enterobacteria was reduced (P=0.004). Additionally, chicory increased the level of Bifidobacteria (P=0.001) and the faecal Campylobacter excretion level was transitorily reduced in chicory-fed piglets at 7 weeks of age (P=0.029). Unfortunately, it was not possible to assess the effect of chicory on post-weaning diarrhoea as it did not develop. In conclusion, feeding piglets chicory around the time of weaning caused complex changes of the microbiota and parasite communities within the intestinal tract, and feeding piglets chicory may therefore serve as an animal-friendly strategy to control pathogens

Community cohort study of rotavirus and other enteropathogens: are routine vaccinations associated with sex-differential incidence rates?

OBJECTIVE: Community studies in West Africa have demonstrated that routine vaccinations may have non-targeted effects, the female-male mortality ratio being reduced after administration of BCG and increased after diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP). We examined whether immunisation status was associated with infection with rotavirus and other enteropathogens. METHODS: We recruited 200 children shortly after birth and followed them until 2 years of age with weekly morbidity interviews and stool sampling. Vaccination status for each child was classified according to the most recent vaccination as documented by vaccination card. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The female-male incidence rate ratios (IRR) of infection with an enteropathogen and of enteropathogen-associated diarrhoea were estimated for children according to whether they had received BCG or DTP as their last vaccination. RESULTS: For children who received BCG as their last vaccine, the adjusted female-male IRRs for primary rotavirus-infection and diarrhoea were 1.05 (95% CI: 0.21-5.28) and 0.0 (95% CI: 0-3.02), respectively. For children who received DTP as their last vaccine, the adjusted female-male IRRs were 1.93 (0.89-4.21) and 1.92 (0.70-5.32), respectively, for rotavirus-associated infection and diarrhoea. Restricted to the rotavirus season, the female-male IRRs for rotavirus infection and diarrhoea were 2.56 (1.17-5.63) and 2.63 (0.94-7.34), respectively. The female-male IRR for rotavirus-associated diarrhoea differed significantly among BCG and DTP recipients (p=0.02). Infections with enteropathogens not associated with diarrhoea were associated with lower female-male IRRs after BCG of 0.82 (0.55-1.23) and higher female-male IRRs after DTP vaccination of 1.32 (1.03-1.70) for primary infection (p=0.05). Though there were few infections with other diarrhoea-causing enteropathogens, these were also associated with a lower female-male IRR after BCG of 0.62 (0.26-1.52) and a higher female-male IRR after DTP vaccination of 1.51 (1.04-2.20) for all infection. CONCLUSION: Routine immunisations may affect morbidity for non-targeted infections. As in studies of infant mortality, BCG is associated with lower risk for girls, whereas, DTP is associated with higher risk for girls relative to boys