Multifocal diffusion of a KPC-3 producing ST512 K. pneumoniae clone in Northern Italy

Sequence Type 258 (ST258) together with its allelic single- and double-locus variants have mostly been associated with the dissemination of KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in Europe. A total of 56 nonreplicate K. pneumoniae isolates with decreased carbapenem-susceptibility, collected at 7 different hospitals located in Northern Italy were investigated for the occurrence of blaKPC-type genes. PCR and sequencing results highlighted the presence of blaKPC-2 or blaKPC-3 determinants in 10/56 and 5/56 cases respectively. Here we describe the intra- and inter-hospital spread in Northern Italy of a K. pneumoniae ST512 clone harboring the blaKPC-3 gene

the importance of an early alert from the microbiology laboratory and multidisciplinary collaboration during a suspected salmonellosis outbreak

Background and aims. Salmonellosis is one of the most common and widely distributed food-borne diseases. The increasing complexity and globalization of the food industry are causing an increase of some of these large-scale food-borne illnesses, thus there is a need for improvements in public health signal detection and communication streams between laboratories and regulatory agencies. The aim of this study is to show how the early reporting of salmonellosis cases directly from the Laboratory of Microbiology to the Local Health Service Infectious Diseases Office along with the prompt response of the ASL, and the rapid involvement of the Local Veterinary Prevention Department resulted in an improved individuation and investigation of a suspected food-borne outbreak with anomalous manifestation. Materials and methods. From August to November 2014 the early warning from the Laboratory of Microbiology regarding Salmonella spp. isolates with the identical serogroup and antibiotic resistance phenotype, allowed for prompt identification of a food-borne infection. Results and conclusions. The genotyping analysis suggested that over the period considered there was more than a single monophasic Salmonella typhimurium isolate: one responsible for the sporadic cases that occurred in September and October, and another in November

Candida albicans in a neonatal intensive care unit: antifungal susceptibility and genotypic analysis.

Invasive candidiasis in neonates has become an increasing problem over the past decade in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). From August 2005 to January 2006, six invasive candidiasis occurred in neonates in NICU of the S. Matteo hospital of Pavia. The study focused on the species involved and their in vitro antifungal susceptibility. Genotyping was conducted to determine clonal relatedness. A total of 22 yeasts were isolated from different biological samples of neonates during six months. The infants were infected with or colonized by Candida albicans and six patients developed C. albicans deep infections. The genotyping of the transposable intron region of C. albicans strains showed that they belonged to the genotype A (17 isolates) and genotype B (5 isolates). The RAPD confirmed these results. These data suggest that nosocomial transmission of C. albicans could be take into account as a mode of acquisition by neonates in NICUs at this hospital

Trends in frequency and in vitro antifungal susceptibility patterns of Candida isolates from women attending the STD outpatients clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Northern Italy during the years 2002-2007

Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a common mucosal infection caused by saprophytic and opportunistic yeasts belonging to the Candida genus. 518 vaginal swabs, with positive fungal culture were collected from unselected women attending the Sexually Transmitted Disease clinic of an Italian tertiary care hospital over a six year period to determine the pathogen prevalence in vulvovaginal candidiasis and to evaluate in vitro the antifungal susceptibilities of yeast recovered by Sensititre YeastOne antifungal panel plates according to CLSI document M27-A2. The isolates belonging to the genus Candida were 495 (95.5%) with Candida albicans percentage equal to 61.2%. Voriconazole was highly active (MIC50 0.008; MIC90 0.5 microg/ml), regardless of the species tested. On the contrary, fluconazole susceptibility was based upon the species. The intrinsic resistance to fluconazole of C. krusei was confirmed