Fatal Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia in a previously healthy woman was most likely associated with a contaminated hot tub

Community-acquired pneumonia due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in previously healthy individuals is a rare disease that is associated with high fatality. On 14 February 2010 a previously healthy 49-year-old woman presented to an emergency room with signs and symptoms of pneumonia, 2 days after returning from a spa holiday in a wellness hotel. Blood cultures and respiratory specimens grew P. aeruginosa. Despite adequate antimicrobial therapy, the patient died of septic multiorgan failure on day nine of hospitalization. On February 26, nine water samples were taken from the hotel facilities used by the patient: In the hot tub sample 37,000 colony-forming units of P. aeruginosa/100 ml were detected. Two of five individual colonies from the primary plate used for this hot tub water sample were found to be genetically closely related to the patients’ isolates. Results from PFGE, AFLP and MLST analysis allowed the two lung isolates gained at autopsy and the whirlpool bathtub isolates to be allocated into one cluster. The patient most likely acquired P. aeruginosa from the contaminated water in the hotel’s hot tub. The detection of P. aeruginosa in high numbers in a hot tub indicates massive biofilm formation in the bath circulation and severe deficiencies in hygienic maintenance. The increasing popularity of hot tubs in hotels and private homes demands increased awareness about potential health risks associated with deficient hygienic maintenance

High-Resolution Melting Analysis as a Powerful Tool to Discriminate and Genotype Pseudomonas savastanoi Pathovars and Strains

Pseudomonas savastanoi is a serious pathogen of Olive, Oleander, Ash, and several other Oleaceae. Its epiphytic or endophytic presence in asymptomatic plants is crucial for the spread of Olive and Oleander knot disease, as already ascertained for P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi (Psv) on Olive and for pv. nerii (Psn) on Oleander, while no information is available for pv. fraxini (Psf) on Ash. Nothing is known yet about the distribution on the different host plants and the real host range of these pathovars in nature, although cross-infections were observed following artificial inoculations. A multiplex Real-Time PCR assay was recently developed to simultaneously and quantitatively discriminate in vitro and in planta these P. savastanoi pathovars, for routine culture confirmation and for epidemiological and diagnostical studies. Here an innovative High-Resolution Melting Analysis (HRMA)-based assay was set up to unequivocally discriminate Psv, Psn and Psf, according to several single nucleotide polymorphisms found in their Type Three Secretion System clusters. The genetic distances among 56 P. savastanoi strains belonging to these pathovars were also evaluated, confirming and refining data previously obtained by fAFLP. To our knowledge, this is the first time that HRMA is applied to a bacterial plant pathogen, and one of the few multiplex HRMA-based assays developed so far. This protocol provides a rapid, sensitive, specific tool to differentiate and detect Psv, Psn and Psf strains, also in vivo and against other related bacteria, with lower costs than conventional multiplex Real-Time PCR. Its application is particularly suitable for sanitary certification programs for P. savastanoi, aimed at avoiding the spreading of this phytopathogen through asymptomatic plants

Listeriosis outbreak caused by acid curd cheese ‘Quargel’, Austria and Germany 2009

We report an outbreak of listeriosis in Austria and Germany due to the consumption of ‘Quargel’ cheese produced by an Austrian manufacturer. At the time of writing this report, the outbreak was known to account for 14 outbreak cases in 2009, including four cases with lethal outcome. On 23 January 2010, the cheese product was voluntarily withdrawn from the market

Update: Multinational listeriosis outbreak due to ‘Quargel’, a sour milk curd cheese, caused by two different L. monocytogenes serotype 1/2a strains, 2009-2010

We previously reported an outbreak of listeriosis in Austria and Germany due to consumption of ‘Quargel’ cheese. It comprised 14 cases (including five fatalities) infected by a serotype 1/2a Listeria monocytogenes (clone 1), with onset of illness from June 2009 to January 2010. A second strain of L. monocytogenes serotype 1/2a (clone 2) spread by this product could be linked to further 13 cases in Austria (two fatal), six in Germany (one fatal) and one case in the Czech Republic, with onset of disease from December 2009 to end of February 2010

Processing and characterization of Ti2AlC, Ti2AlN, and Ti2AlC0.5N0.5

In this article, we report on the fabrication and characterization of Ti2AlC, Ti2AlN, and Ti2AlC0.5N0.5. Reactive hot isostatic pressing (hipping) at ≈40 MPa of the appropriate mixtures of Ti, Al4C3 graphite, and/or AlN powders for 15 hours at 1300°C yields predominantly single-phase samples of Ti2AlC0.5N0.5; 30 hours at 1300°C yields predominantly single-phase samples of Ti2AlC. Despite our best efforts, samples of Ti2AlN (hot isostatic pressed (hipped) at 1400°C for 48 hours) contain anywhere between 10 and 15 vol pct of ancillary phases. At ≈25 μm, the average grain sizes of Ti2AlC0.5N0.5 and Ti2AlC are comparable and are significantly smaller than those of Ti2AlN, at ≈100 μm. All samples are fully dense and readily machinable. The room-temperature deformation under compression of the end-members is noncatastrophic or graceful. At room temperature, solid-solution strengthening is observed; Ti2AlC0.5N0.5 is stronger in compression, harder, and more brittle than the end-members. Conversely, at temperatures greater than 1200°C, a solid-solution softening effect is occurring. The thermal-expansion coefficients (CTEs) of Ti2AlC, Ti2AlN, and Ti2AlC0.5N0.5 are, respectively, 8.2 × 10-6, 8.8 × 10-6, and 10.5 × 10-6 °C-1, in the temperature range from 25°C to 1300°C. The former two values are in good agreement with the CTEs determined from high-temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrical conductivity of the solid solution (3.1 × 106 (Ω m)-1) is in between those of Ti2AlC and Ti2AlN, which are 2.7 × 106 and 4.0 × 106 Ω-1 m-1, respectively