14 research outputs found
Ruling Out Bacillus anthracis
Optimization of methods for ruling out Bacillus anthracis leads to increased yields, faster turnaround times, and a lighter workload. We used 72 environmental non–B. anthracis bacilli to validate methods for ruling out B. anthracis. Most effective were horse blood agar, motility testing after a 2-h incubation in trypticase soy broth, and screening with a B. anthracis–selective agar
VIM-1 Metallo-β-lactamase in Acinetobacter baumannii
In 2004 and 2005, 5 metallo-β-lactamase (MBL)-positive Acinetobacter baumannii isolates were found in 2 Greek hospitals. Isolates were unrelated and carried blaVIM-1 in a class 1 integron; blaOXA-51- and blaOXA-58-like carbapenemase genes were also detected. VIM-1 MBL in Acinetobacter spp. causes concern, given the increasing resistance of this species
The first database comprised of flagellin gene (flaA) types of Campylobacter jejuni human clinical isolates from Greece
Flagellin subunit A gene (flaA) typing of Campylobacter has been
recognized by several groups as a relatively simple and quick genotyping
method. The present study aimed to create, for the first time in Greece,
a database with flaA restriction patterns, which could be used for
future epidemiological and clinical studies. A total of 207 C. jejuni
clinical isolates of known serotype were collected from 5 general
hospitals of the area of Attica, during the period 2000-2003.
The RFLP profiles of each strain were matched in 44 bins of 0 or 1.
Thirty nine different flaA types, designated as flaA 1 GR to flaA 39 GR
(GR: Greece) were found. There was no significant association of certain
genotypes with certain serotypes. However flaA typing showed a
remarkable discriminatory ability inside the non-typable (NT) group.
Evaluating our results we observed (i) that there was no clonality of a
certain flaA type among the strains and the serotypes examined and (ii)
that the discriminatory ability of flaA typing was much better than that
of serotyping. Giving a simple and detailed description of the data
analysis, we are the first who publish the bin patterns for the flaA
genotypes found
VIM-12, a Novel Plasmid-Mediated Metallo-β-Lactamase from Klebsiella pneumoniae That Resembles a VIM-1/VIM-2 Hybrid
A transferable plasmid from Klebsiella pneumoniae carried a class 1 integron containing bla(VIM-12), a novel bla(VIM)-type gene, flanked by two copies of aacA7. bla(VIM-12) was clustered between bla(VIM-1) and bla(VIM-2) and differed from bla(VIM-1) by 18 nucleotides that were all located at the 3′ end and matched the corresponding nucleotides in bla(VIM-2). The bla(VIM-12)-associated 59-base element was identical to that described in bla(VIM-2) alleles
In vitro activities of tigecycline against recently isolated Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria in Greece, including metronidazole-resistant strains
The in vitro activity of tigecycline was compared with those of
benzylpenicillin, piperacillin + tazobactam, cefoxitin, imipenem,
metronidazole, clindamycin, and tetracycline against 249 Gram-negative
anaerobic bacteria (158 Bacteroides fragilis group, 27 non fragilis
Bacteroides spp., 44 Prevotella spp., and 20 miscellaneous), recently
isolated from 8 general hospitals in Athens, Greece. Overall tigecycline
MIC50 and MIC90 were 0.25 and 2 mg/L, respectively, whereas B. fragilis
group MICSO and MIC90 were 0.5 and 4 mg/L, respectively. In total, 93%
of the isolates were susceptible to tigecycline (MIC <= 4 mg/L) and no
high-level resistance (MIC >= 32 mg/L) was detected. In addition,
tigecycline exhibited good activity against metronidazole- and
tetracycline-resistant isolates (MIC90, 0.5 and 8 mg/L, respectively).
In summary, tigecycline exhibits good in vitro activity against
Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria isolated in Greece, as well as
stability to the most common occurring resistance mechanisms, attributes
that make this parenteral agent an attractive alternative for use
against infections involving these microorganisms. (c) 2006 Elsevier
Inc. All rights reserved
Multiple Clones within Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium Phage Type DT104
Six distinct clones were present among Greek multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium phage type DT104, since isolates belonging to resistance phenotypes including the ACSSuT (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfonamides, and tetracycline) core could be distinguished with respect to their pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns, int1 integron structures, and presence or absence of antibiotic resistance genes ant(3")-Ia, pse-1, and tem-1