Salmonella enterica outbreak in healthcare professionals linked to a new year’s party held in the Intensive Care Unit

To describe a food-borne Salmonella enterica outbreak occurringin healthcare professionals after a potluck party that took place inthe Intensive Care Unit of Hospital da Beneficência Portuguesa deSão Paulo. Epidemiological inquiry of food consumption by thehealthcare professionals involved anal swabs cultured inMacConkey agar, lactose negative colonies isolated and identifiedusing the Microscan system, and the final identification performedin the Public Health Laboratory of São Paulo - Instituto Adolfo Lutz,by serology. No food that is not safely prepared by the hospitalkitchen should be allowed inside the hospital

Comparison of a rapid cytomegalovirus pp65 antigenemia assay revealed by immunofluorescence to an in-house assay revealed by immunoperoxidase for diagnosis in solid organ transplant recipient patients

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia is still one of the two major assays available for diagnosis and monitoring of CMV infections. A commercial rapid test recently available in Brazil for quantification of human cytomegalovirus pp65 antigenemia revealed by immunofluorescence technique was compared with the original in-house method revealed by immunoperoxidase in patients receiving solid organ transplants. Of 80 blood samples tested for CMV antigenemia, 34 (42.5%) were positive: commercial assay detected 33 (97%) and in-house assay detected 20 (58.8%) samples. The numbers of positive cells in the two assays were different, with a median of 4.5 and 12 positive cells obtained by in-house and commercial kit, respectively. Discrepancies between assays occurred in 15 specimens from patients with low-grade antigenemia (median 6 positive cells). The assay-time was reduced in approximately 50% compared to in-house methodology. In conclusion, besides comparable results obtained for both assays, the commercial antigenemia assay provides more rapid and sensitive results.Hospital Albert Einstein Clinical Laboratory Microbiology SectionUNIFESP Infectious Diseases Department Clinical Virology LaboratoryUNIFESP, Infectious Diseases Department Clinical Virology LaboratorySciEL

Phylogenetic Analysis of Stenotrophomonas spp. Isolates Contributes to the Identification of Nosocomial and Community-Acquired Infections

Stenotrophomonas ssp. has a wide environmental distribution and is also found as an opportunistic pathogen, causing nosocomial or community-acquired infections. One species, S. maltophilia, presents multidrug resistance and has been associated with serious infections in pediatric and immunocompromised patients. Therefore, it is relevant to conduct resistance profile and phylogenetic studies in clinical isolates for identifying infection origins and isolates with augmented pathogenic potential. Here, multilocus sequence typing was performed for phylogenetic analysis of nosocomial isolates of Stenotrophomonas spp. and, environmental and clinical strains of S. maltophilia. Biochemical andmultidrug resistance profiles of nosocomial and clinical strains were determined. the inferred phylogenetic profile showed high clonal variability, what correlates with the adaptability process of Stenotrophomonas to different habitats. Two clinical isolates subgroups of S. maltophilia sharing high phylogenetic homogeneity presented intergroup recombination, thus indicating the high permittivity to horizontal gene transfer, a mechanism involved in the acquisition of antibiotic resistance and expression of virulence factors. for most of the clinical strains, phylogenetic inference was made using only partial ppsA gene sequence. Therefore, the sequencing of just one specific fragment of this gene would allow, in many cases, determining whether the infection with S. maltophilia was nosocomial or community-acquired.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Univ São Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Pediat, BR-05403900 São Paulo, BrazilHosp Israelita Albert Einstein, BR-05652900 São Paulo, BrazilInst Butantan, Bacteriol Lab, BR-05503900 São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2010/04115-9Web of Scienc