Frequency of the toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 gene in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from Pediatric Hospital in Morocco

Staphylococcus aureus is a common threat to hospitalized patients and is responsible for a variety of infections, ranging from superficial skin and soft tissue infections to toxic shock syndrome and severe systemic infections. Furthermore, methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a major concern in the hospital environment. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus produces a range of virulence factors such as toxic shock syndrome toxin-1.This study was conducted from December 2010 to Mai 2014 in a Mother Child Hospital CHU Mohamed VI Marrakech in Morocco. The Extreme Age was: 2 Days - 15 years, a total of 259 S. Aureus were collected from various clinical specimens, fifty three isolates identified as MRSA, In this study of 53 clinical SARM  isolates, the presence of the tst gene was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).A total of  259 S. aureus were collected from various clinical specimens, fifty three isolates identified as MRSA, The study revealed 15/53 (28,30%) isolates were positive for the tst gene of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates.These results reveal the remarkable risk of SARM infections in hospitals, regardless of methicillin- resistance status. Our results show a high rate of MRSA-TSST+ in the hospital

Prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae producing carbapenemase (OXA-48) responsible for urinary tract infections in Casablanca.

In recent years, we have witnessed the appearance of strains increasingly resistant to antibiotics. The large-scale spread of this resistance in the community today suggests that it will become a major public health problem shortly. Among the resistant strains are Enterobacteriaceae, which are responsible for numerous infections, particularly urinary tract infections. The present study focused on the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of uropathogenic enterobacteria isolated from the community environment. Our study included a total of 78 strains collected from UTIs during the year 2019. The confirmation of the species was performed by the Biomérieux VITEK system. The study of their antibiotic resistance was carried out by the method of diffusion on agar Mueller Hinton according to the recommendations of SFM-EUCAST 2019.The search for resistance genes bla(NDM, KPC, OXA-48) was performed by PCR. The results obtained showed that out of 78 samples of urinary enterobacteria, E.coli species dominated by a percentage of 58%, followed by K.pneumonia at 33%, and E.cloacae 8%. The study of antibiotic resistance profile showed high resistance to penicillins 91% followed by cephalosporins 58%. Carbapenems have a low activity on the studied strains with resistance percentages of 41% and 33% for imipenem and ertapenem respectively. The carbapenems resistance study allowed the detection of the blaOXA-48gene in three strains among the studied strains

Psoriasis and staphylococcus aureus skin colonization in Moroccan patients

Psoriatic lesions are rarely complicated by recurrent infections. The aim of our study is to determine skin colonisation and nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in patients with psoriasis and in healthy  persons. Patients and methods: a comparative study that include 33 patients with psoriasis and 33  healthy persons.Samples were taken from lesional and non lesional psoriatic skin and from healthy skin of control group. For S. aureus nasal carriage, we used sterile cotton tipped swabs. Out of165 samples (66 skin samples and 33 nasal swabs), 26 S. Aureus strains were isolated in 26 persons, 57.69% in the  control group and 42.3% in the psoriasisgroup. S. aureus skin colonization was found in one case (3%) inlesional psoriatic skin vs 9 cases (27.3%) in control skin OR=0.08 IC 95% (0.01-0.70) p=0.02 and in 12,1% in non lesional soriatic skin vs 27, 3% in control skin (p =0,13). This colonization was less important in lesional psoriatic skin (3%) than in non lesional psoriatic skin (12.1%) p= 0.20. Nasal screening identified (7/33) 21, 21% S. aureus carriers in psoriasis group and in control group. Our results are in consensus withliterature findings. They have confirmed the importance of antimicrobial peptides in Innateimmunity of human skin. These peptides are normally produced bykeratinocytes in response to inflammatory stimuli such as psoriasis. Their high  expression in psoriasis skin reduces the risk of skin infection and skin colonization with S. Aureus.Key words: Antimicrobial peptides, innate immunity, nasal carriage, psoriasis, skin colonization, staphylococcus aureu

The ocean sampling day consortium.

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world's oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

The ocean sampling day consortium

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

The Ocean Sampling Day Consortium

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

RET genetic screening in patients with medullary thyroid cancer: The Moroccan experience

Background : Germline RET gene mutations are well known to be the genetic causes of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) and may be identified by genetic screening. Aim : The purpose of the present study was to screen nine MTC patients for RET sequence changes. Materials and Methods : In this study, our sample was composed of 30 individuals: 9 index patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) corresponding either to 3 subjects with clinical evidence of MEN2, 6 with apparently sporadic MTC (sMTC), and 21 relatives have been investigated for RET mutations. After DNA extraction from peripheral blood leukocytes, RET exons 8, 10, 11, 13-16 and exon/intron boundaries were analyzed by direct PCR sequencing. Results : Three different known RET germline mutations in exon 11 (codon 634), p.Cys634Arg (c1900 T→C) (de novo case), p.Cys634Phe (c1901 G→T), p.Cys634Trp (c1902 C→G), were detected in three individuals with MEN2 phenotype. Of the 21 relatives, 2 cases presented mutation. Among the six probands with sMTC, none was found to carry mutation. There was no difference between RET polymorphisms detected among both MEN2 and sMTC patients. Conclusions : These preliminary data suggest that the RET mutation spectra observed in Moroccan patients with MEN2 are similar to those previously reported in other countries

Analysis of amino acid motif of penicillin-binding proteins 1a, 2b, and 2x in invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae nonsusceptible to penicillin isolated from pediatric patients in Casablanca, Morocco

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to investigate the nature of the amino acid motifs found in PBPs of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in invasive diseases from pediatric patients at Casablanca, Morocco. Five penicillin-susceptible (PSSP), ten penicillin-intermediate (PISP), and fifteen penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae (PRSP) were studied by PCR–RFLP and DNA sequencing of the pbp1a, − 2b, and − 2x genes. Results There were no changes in the conserved motifs of PBP1a, PBP2b and PBP2x for PSSP strains. Substitution close to PBP1a conserved motifs were found in all PRSP isolates and six/five PISP. Analysis of PBP2b showed that all but one of the 10 PISP strains and all PRSP had substitutions. Substitution close to PBP2x motifs showed that all but three of the 10 PISP strains and all PRSP had substitutions in tow conserved motifs. A total of 6, 11 and 10 genotypes were found after analysis of pbp1a, pbp2b, and pbp2x, respectively. The penicillin-nonsusceptible S. pneumoniae isolated in Casablanca share most amino acid substitutions of those reported worldwide, but they occurred among pneumococci with low level resistance to b-lactams