Monitoring on chemical and biological pollutants in sea waters of central-northern Sardinia

Introduction. The aims of this study are to assess the quality of the coastal waters of central-northern Sardinia through data from a monitoring network and to outline maps and experimental models of environmental risk correlated to the presence of chemical and microbiological contaminants. The area studied is the coast between Capo Falcone and the mouth of the river Coghinas, in the northwestern part of the island. Methods. In a first phase, 7 sampling stations of sea water and 1sampling station of bivalve molluscs (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lam.) wereidentified. For each transept 3 different collection points at respectively 500, 1000, and 3000 meters from the coast for a total 21 sampling sites were identified. In a second phase, another 7 transepts wereidentified, 2 of which on the island of Asinara. Results. As regards the microbiological monitoring of the sea water, very low concentrations of Total coliforms, Faecal coliforms and Faecal Streptococci were found and no Salmonella were isolated. Chemical analysis of the waters showed a high constant presence of phenols. In the bivalves we found rather high concentrations of Faecal coliforms without any clear seasonal variation, while no Salmonella was isolated in any of the examined samples. Discussion. The results show that the considered area is not affected by serious pollution processes, thus allowing to express a completely satisfactory judgement on its state of health. However, anthropic pressure in the considered territory is testified by the presence in the water of high concentrations of phenols. Conclusions. The results point out to the necessity of targeted and rational preventive action by means of control and protection measures for environmental ecosytems

Prevalence and antibiotic-resistance of <i>Salmonella</i> isolated from food in Morocco

Background: Salmonellosis remains one of the most frequent food-borne diseases worldwide, especially in developing countries. The emergence of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella isolates from food can potentially compromise the treatment of these infections. This investigation was conducted for the first time in Morocco both to detect the occurrence of Salmonella in foods as well as to determine the antibiotic resistance profile of the Salmonella isolates. Methodology: In total, 11,516 food samples collected from 2002 to 2005 were investigated. Isolated Salmonella were characterized by serotyping and susceptibilities were determined for 15 antimicrobial drugs using the disc diffusion assay. Results: The overall percentage of Salmonella prevalence (n=105) was 0.91% with rates of 71% for slaughterhouses and 9% for seafood. Sixteen different serotypes were identified among 104 Salmonella enterica isolates including serotypes Infantis (n=25), Bredeney (n=13), Blokley (n=11), Typhimurium (n=9), Mbandaka (n=8), Branderup II (n=7), and Kiambu (n=6); 1 isolate of Salmonella enterica belonged to subspecies II salamae. Twenty-nine percent of isolates (n=30/105) were resistant to at least one antimicrobial. Resistance to tetracycline was the most common finding (21%), followed by resistance to ampicillin (13%), amoxicillin+clavulanic acid (9%), streptomycin (7%), chloramphenicol (4%) and nalidixic acid (3,8%). None of the isolates was resistant to 3rd-cephalosporin and fluoroquinolones (i.e. ciprofloxacin). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was seen in 9.5% of the isolates, mainly in S. Typhimurium DT104 with R-type ACSSuT and S. Hadar. Conclusions: Despite a low frequency of Salmonella isolation, S. Typhimurium DT104 was identified in the first step of the food chain. The study points out the need control antibiotic resistance in Salmonella isolated from food in Morocco to avoid the spread of MDR

Case Report HPV Type 6 and 18 Coinfection in a Case of Adult-Onset Laryngeal Papillomatosis: Immunization with Gardasil

Laryngeal papillomatosis (LP) is a rare human papillomavirus (HPV) related disease that often requires multiple surgical interventions and residual impairment of voice is almost inevitable. We report the case of a patient with adult onset recurrent LP, showing moderate dysplasia and coinfection with HPV types 6 and 18. The tetravalent HPV vaccine Gardasil was prescribed off label, with the aim of triggering an immunogenic response and consequently reducing the probability of further recurrences. The patient was followed for 9 months with no sign of relapse of his LP. The postexposure use of the anti-HPV vaccine could represent a promising therapeutic agent in established LP. Unfortunately, the potential efficacy of this new therapeutic option in this situation has been suggested only by isolated case reports. Further controlled studies, with a longer follow-up and a larger sample size, are needed to assess efficacy of Gardasil in LP

Detection and genotyping of human Papillomavirus in urine samples from unvaccinated male and female adolescents in Italy

The introduction of vaccination against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in adolescent girls in 2006 has focused virological surveillance on this age group. As few studies have evaluated HPV infections in young populations, further data are needed in order to improve and extend prophylactic policy and to monitor epidemiological changes. The present study aimed at evaluating overall and type-specific HPV prevalence in both female and male adolescents in Italy. HPV DNA detection and genotyping was performed on urine samples collected from 870 unvaccinated adolescents (369 females, 501 males, 11-18 years of age) in five cities in Italy. Following DNA extraction by means of a commercial kit (NucliSENS®-miniMAG®, bioMérieux), the L1 gene fragment was PCR amplified and genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. HPV DNA was detected in 1.5% of all samples, and in 3% and 0.4% of samples from females and males, respectively. In approximately 70% of HPV DNA positive adolescents, the infection was due to a single genotype, with 88.9% of genotypes belonging to the HR-clade. The only two HPV-positive boys (14 and 18 years old) had HPV-70 genotype. Only one of the 11 HPV-infected girls was in the 11-14 age-group. HPV prevalence was 4.2% in girls aged 15-18 years and 60% of infections were due to vaccine types HPV-16 or HPV-6/-11. This is one of the few studies, the first conducted in Italy, on HPV infection in adolescents. Urine testing is the easier way of detecting HPV infection in younger populations. Our data revealed a very low HPV prevalence, and no infections were observed in the 12-year-old vaccine target population. The majority of infections were seen in females aged 15-18 years. Overall, more than 50% and 30% of the potentially persistent HPV infections detected in this group could have been prevented by the quadrivalent and the bivalent vaccines, respectively

Antimicrobial activities of essential oils against common hospital Fungi species

Introduction: In hospitals and other healthcare settings the presence of airborne and sedimented fungi is an extrinsic risk factor for opportunistic infections involving both immunocompromised and non-immunocompromised persons. In hospitalized patients, it is estimated that 9% of hospital-acquired infections are caused by fungi. Lethality rate varies from 40% to 100% depending on the immunosuppression degree of stakeholders. To prevent healthcare-associated infections, the control of environmental fungal contamination through use of sanitizing/disinfecting practices is basic. However, the widespread use of common disinfectants could promote the growth of antibiotic-resistant superbugs and cause environmental harm. These aspects stimulated the search of new antimicrobial agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of essential oils of Mentha insularis Req., Mentha pulegium L., Mentha requienii Bentham, Artemisia caerulescens L. ssp. densiflora (Viv), Rosmarinus officinalis L. var. albiflorus, Rosmarinus officinalis L. var. lavandulescens, and Ocotea puchury major Mart. against fungi species frequently found in hospitals and potentially responsible for opportunistic mycoses. Methods: The essential oils’ antifungal activity was carried out by agar disc diffusion technique. Results: All tested essential oils are effective, though to a different degree, against both molds that yeasts assessed. The major antifungal activity was showed by Mentha oils. Particularly, Mentha requienii and Mentha insularis oils were active until 1:8 dilution against Rhodotorula spp. and 1:16 dilution against mixed molds, while M. pulegium was strongly active until 1:2 against both fungi. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, few or no data are available in literature on the activity of essential oils against hospital environmental isolates of fungi. Results suggest their potential application in sanitation procedures of the hospital, and in general, of the “care settings”

HPV infection and triple-negative breast cancers: an Italian case-control study

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most important neoplasia among women. To reduce its incidence and mortality impact it would be desirable to early identify risk factors associated with its development. It was recently suggested that biological agents could be the etiological cause, particularly Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). No specific relationship with different breast cancer types has been demonstrated until now. In particular, the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by a receptor negative pattern (ER/PgR/HER2–negative) and poor prognosis, can represent one of the most relevant clinical and public health priority in terms of observational research. Findings: Aim of the study was to evaluate the HPV-positivity prevalence in two breast cancer series (TNBC vs. non-TNBC) in Northern Sardinia, Italy. The sample size of each group was represented by 40 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens. The mean age was 60.3 years. The majority of the cancers were ductal (84%). The grading distribution was different: G2 was the most prevalent grade in the non-TNBC series, whereas G3 was the most frequent in the TNBC series (70% and 72%, respectively). Six biological samples were HPV-positive (7.5%): the positivity was assessed only in the TNBC group (15%; p-value: 0.026). The isolated genotypes were: 16, 31, 45, 52, 6, and 66. Only one co-infection was found (i.e., HPV-6 and -66). Conclusions: The prevalence of HPV-positivity in TNBC specimens was 15%. On the basis of its carcinogenetic ability, an etiological role in the pathogenesis of the cancer could be supposed. This association should be confirmed with longitudinal studies to better assess the role of the HPV infection in TNBC and non-TNBC tumors

<i>Thymus catharinae Camarda</i>: comparazione fitochimica della composizione dell'olio essenziale ottenuto da popolazioni puntuali vegetanti spontanee in Sardegna e valutazione della attività biologica

Sono stati intrapresi studi fitochimici al fine di descrivere compiutamente diverse popolazioni spontanee in Sardegna di Thymus catharinae. In diverse zone dell’interno della Sardegna, sono state effettuate raccolte puntuali della specie, al fine di verificare eventuali differenze fitochimiche legate al substrato, all’altitudine ed all’esposizione delle piante e infine valutarne l’attività antiradicalica ed antimicrobica

Is there an authentic increased risk of pneumococcal pneumonia among young mothers whose children were fully vaccinated with PCV7? The role of methodological shortcomings

We read with interest the manuscript of Hak et al., who car-ried out a nested case-control study in the U.K. to assess the riskof pneumococcal pneumonia in young mothers, whose children were vaccinated with 3 doses of 7-valent pneumococcal-conjugate-vaccine (PCV7) by 24 months of age. The Authors hypothesizedthat the increased risk of pneumonia is a consequence of a serotypereplacement following pneumococcal vaccination. However, publichealth advantages related to prevention of pneumococcal diseasedue to vaccination were not adequately pointed out; consequently,the low impact of the maternal risk (i.e., only 6 cases/45,000 person-year in the group aged 20–24 years were registered) deserves tobe more emphasized, rather than focusing only on the strengthof the association. Furthermore, the incidence rate detected inthe age-group 20–24 years largely contributed to the changeof the overall incidence (from 61 to 81 cases per 100,000 in 2006 and 2010, respectively), but it was not possible to understand if the temporal trend of the incidence rates was statistically significant

2012: the year in review. Part 1: tuberculosis

THIS YEAR-IN-REVIEW ARTICLE describes the main findings of research published from January to August 2012 in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. The original articles included in this review were classified into two main groups based on the progression of the natural history of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active tuberculosis (TB) disease. We selected only articles published in the research article section dealing with epidemiological, clinical, diagnostic and public health features of LTBI and TB

HPV Type 6 and 18 coinfection in a case of adult-onset laryngeal papillomatosis: Immunization with Gardasil

Laryngeal papillomatosis (LP) is a rare human papillomavirus (HPV) related disease that often requires multiple surgical interventions and residual impairment of voice is almost inevitable. We report the case of a patient with adult onset recurrent LP, showing moderate dysplasia and coinfection with HPV types 6 and 18. The tetravalent HPV vaccine Gardasil was prescribed off label, with the aim of triggering an immunogenic response and consequently reducing the probability of further recurrences. The patient was followed for 9 months with no sign of relapse of his LP. The postexposure use of the anti-HPV vaccine could represent a promising therapeutic agent in established LP. Unfortunately, the potential efficacy of this new therapeutic option in this situation has been suggested only by isolated case reports. Further controlled studies, with a longer follow-up and a larger sample size, are needed to assess efficacy of Gardasil in LP.</p