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

First high-quality draft genome sequence of Pasteurella multocida sequence type 128 isolated from infected bone

We report here the first high-quality draft genome sequence of Pasteurella multocida sequence type 128, which was isolated from the infected finger bone of an adult female who was bitten by a domestic dog. The draft genome will be a valuable addition to the scarce genomic resources available for P. multocida

Characterization of invasive and colonizing isolates of Streptococcus agalactiae in East African adults

Ninety-five colonizing isolates and 74 invasive isolates of Streptococcus agalactiae from Kenyan adults were characterized by using capsular serotyping and multilocus sequence typing. Twenty-two sequence types clustering into five clonal complexes were found. Data support the view that S. agalactiae isolates belonging to a limited number of clonal complexes are invasive in adults worldwide

The elusive meningococcal meningitis serogroup: a systematic review of serogroup B epidemiology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), is a widely distributed, complex human disease affecting all age categories. The causative agent, <it>Neisseria meningitidis</it>, is spread through aerosol respiratory droplets. 13 different serogroups have been identified, each with varying epidemiological features including prevalence, virulence, immunogenicity, geographical and temporal distribution. Although preventative measures are available for several of the serogroups, meningococcal disease caused by serogroup B is of particular interest due to the challenge it presents concerning vaccine development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic review of peer reviewed studies and reports, the collection of data from national and international health resources, along with the analysis of the Multi Locus Sequence Typing database was carried out aimed at collecting information concerning serogroup B IMD and the epidemiology attached to it.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A continuous output of related and novel STs occurring worldwide in terms of the hypervirulent clonal complexes was observed both in published studies and the MLST database in this case using the eburst software, which highlights the genetically diverse nature of serogroup B strains.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>With the recent dominance of serogroup B IMD seen in many countries, along with the presence of antibiotic resistance, vaccine development needs to target areas of the bacterium which tackle this widespread and heterogeneous aspect of meningococcal meningitis disease.</p

A Pasteurella multocida strain affecting nulliparous heifers and calves in different ways

Pasteurella multocida isolates from dairy cattle on a farm in Spain were associated with pneumonia of calves (six isolates) and mastitis of heifers (five isolates). The objective was to determine if the P. multocida isolates retrieved from both disease scenarios were the same strain or whether more than one strain was present. The isolates were identified by a species-specific polymerase chain (PCR) assay, serotyped by the Heddleston scheme and then typed by a number of molecular genotyping assays including multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). The 11 isolates were confirmed as P. multocida but failed to react with any of the 16 Heddleston antisera. The PCR targeting the genes associated with the lipopolysaccharide outer core biosynthesis locus assigned all the isolates to L3–the type that contains Heddleston serovars 3 and 4. The MLST analysis showed all isolates belonging to ST 79 within the clonal complex of ST13. Only one of the isolates showed a slight different profile by the repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR. The conclusion was that the same strain was associated with pneumonia in calves and mastitis in heifers

Meningococcus genome informatics platform: a system for analyzing multilocus sequence typing data

The Meningococcus Genome Informatics Platform (MGIP) is a suite of computational tools for the analysis of multilocus sequence typing (MLST) data, at http://mgip.biology.gatech.edu. MLST is used to generate allelic profiles to characterize strains of Neisseria meningitidis, a major cause of bacterial meningitis worldwide. Neisseria meningitidis strains are characterized with MLST as specific sequence types (ST) and clonal complexes (CC) based on the DNA sequences at defined loci. These data are vital to molecular epidemiology studies of N. meningitidis, including outbreak investigations and population biology. MGIP analyzes DNA sequence trace files, returns individual allele calls and characterizes the STs and CCs. MGIP represents a substantial advance over existing software in several respects: (i) ease of use—MGIP is user friendly, intuitive and thoroughly documented; (ii) flexibility—because MGIP is a website, it is compatible with any computer with an internet connection, can be used from any geographic location, and there is no installation; (iii) speed—MGIP takes just over one minute to process a set of 96 trace files; and (iv) expandability—MGIP has the potential to expand to more loci than those used in MLST and even to other bacterial species

The multilocus sequence typing network: mlst.net

The unambiguous characterization of strains of a pathogen is crucial for addressing questions relating to its epidemiology, population and evolutionary biology. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST), which defines strains from the sequences at seven house-keeping loci, has become the method of choice for molecular typing of many bacterial and fungal pathogens (and non-pathogens), and MLST schemes and strain databases are available for a growing number of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Sequence data are ideal for strain characterization as they are unambiguous, meaning strains can readily be compared between laboratories via the Internet. Laboratories undertaking MLST can quickly progress from sequencing the seven gene fragments to characterizing their strains and relating them to those submitted by others and to the population as a whole. We provide the gateway to a number of MLST schemes, each of which contain a set of tools for the initial characterization of strains, and methods for relating query strains to other strains of the species, including clustering based on differences in allelic profiles, phylogenetic trees based on concatenated sequences, and a recently developed method (eBURST) for identifying clonal complexes within a species and displaying the overall structure of the population. This network of MLST websites is available a

Molecular epidemiology of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in a single institution over a 10-year period

The molecular epidemiology and mechanisms of resistance of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) were determined in hospitals in the states of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC]), namely, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Isolates were subjected to PCR-based detection of antibiotic resistance genes and repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) assessments of clonality. Selected isolates were subjected to multilocus sequence typing (MLST). We investigated 117 isolates resistant to carbapenem antibiotics (either imipenem or meropenem). All isolates were positive for OXA-51. The most common carbapenemases were the OXA-23-type, found in 107 isolates, followed by OXA-40-type (OXA-24-type), found in 5 isolates; 3 isolates carried the ISAba1 element upstream of blaOXA-51-type. No OXA-58-type, NDM-type, VIM-type, or IMP-type producers were detected. Multiple clones were detected with 16 clusters of clonally related CRAB. Some clusters involved hospitals in different states. MLST analysis of 15 representative isolates from different clusters identified seven different sequence types (ST195, ST208, ST229, ST436, ST450, ST452, and ST499), as well as three novel STs. The vast majority (84%) of the isolates in this study were associated with health care exposure. Awareness of multidrug-resistant organisms in GCC states has important implications for optimizing infection control practices; establishing antimicrobial stewardship programs within hospital, community, and agricultural settings; and emphasizing the need for establishing regional active surveillance systems. This will help to control the spread of CRAB in the Middle East and in hospitals accommodating transferred patients from this region