Bacterial Causes of Empyema in Children, Australia, 2007–2009

Most infections were caused by non–7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine serotypes

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Increased paediatric hospitalizations for empyema in Australia after introduction of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

Objective To examine rates of paediatric hospitalization for empyema and pneumonia in Australia before and after the introduction of the seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). Methods Rates of paediatric hospitalization for empyema and pneumonia (bacterial, viral and all types) were calculated following the codes of the International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10) as a principal diagnosis. The expected number of hospitalizations after the PCV7 was introduced was estimated on the basis of the observed number of hospitalizations before the introduction of the PCV7. Incidence rate differences (IRDs) and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated. Hospitalization incidence in each study period was expressed as the number of hospitalizations per million (10 6 ) person-years. The population of children aged 0-19 years in Australia from 1998 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2010, as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, was used to calculate the number of person-years in each period. Findings In the 5 years following the introduction of the PCV7, hospitalizations for pneumonia were fewer than expected (15 304 fewer; 95% confidence interval, CI: 14 646-15 960; IRD: -552 per 10 6 person-years; 95% CI: -576 to -529 per 10 6 person-years; IRR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.77-0.78). Hospitalizations for empyema, on the other hand, were more than expected (83 more; 95% CI: 37-128; IRD: 3 per 10 6 person-years; 95% CI: 1-5 per 10 6 person-years; IRR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.14-1.59). Reductions in hospitalizations were observed for all ICD-10 pneumonia codes across all age groups. The increase in empyema hospitalizations was only significant among children aged 1 to 4 years. Conclusion The introduction of the PCV7 in Australia was associated with a substantial decrease in hospitalizations for childhood pneumonia and a small increase in hospitalizations for empyema

Low PON2 gene expression is associated with <i>P. aeruginosa</i> infection but not with other pathogens.

<p>Horizontal bars represent median values. Significance compared with no pathogen group assessed by Kruskal–Wallis analysis with Dunn’s post test. No pathogen: no bacterial or fungal pathogens detected by culture. non-Pa bacteria: infection with any bacteria other than <i>P. aeruginosa</i> with undetectable <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and A. fumigatus; <i>A. fumigatus</i>: <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i> infection without detectable <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and with or without other bacteria; <i>P. aeruginosa</i>: <i>P. aeruginosa</i> infection with or without other pathogens. Infection defined as >10⁵ cfu/mL BALF.</p

Comparison of characteristics of patients with and without culture-detected <i>P. aeruginosa</i> infection in BALF.

*<p>Mann Whitney <i>U</i> test ^#Chi square. Significant differences are indicated in bold text.</p

Correlation of patient characteristics with PPARγ and PON2 gene expression.

*<p>Significant correlations are indicated in bold text.</p

Comparison of culture and RT–qPCR for detection of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and <i>lasI.</i>

<p>Comparison of culture and RT–qPCR for detection of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and <i>lasI.</i></p

Low PPARγ gene expression is associated with <i>P. aeruginosa</i> infection but not with presence of other pathogens.

<p>Horizontal bars represent median values. Significance compared with no pathogen group assessed by Kruskal–Wallis analysis with Dunn’s post test. No pathogen: no bacterial or fungal pathogens detected by culture. non-Pa bacteria: infection with any bacteria other than <i>P. aeruginosa</i> without detectable <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and <i>A. fumigatus</i>; <i>A. fumigatus</i>: infection with <i>A. fumigatus</i> without detectable <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and with or without other bacteria; <i>P. aeruginosa</i>: infection with <i>P. aeruginosa</i> with or without other pathogens. Infection defined as >10⁵ cfu/mL BALF.</p