Background

The significance of heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) is unknown. Using a multinational collection of isolates from methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infective endocarditis (IE), we characterized IE patients with and without hVISA, and genotyped the infecting strains.

Methods

MRSA bloodstream isolates from 65 patients with definite IE from 8 countries underwent PCR for 31 virulence genes, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and multilocus sequence typing. hVISA was defined using population analysis profiling (PAP).

Results

Nineteen (29.2%) of 65 MRSA IE isolates exhibited hVISA by PAP. Isolates from Oceania and Europe were more likely to exhibit hVISA than isolates from the United States (77.8% vs. 35.0% vs. 13.9%; P < .001). The prevalence of hVISA was higher among isolates with a vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration of 2 mg/L (P = .026). hVISA-infected patients were more likely to have persistent bacteremia (68.4% vs. 37.0%; P = .029) and heart failure (47.4% vs. 19.6%; P = .033). Mortality of hVISA- and non-hVISA-infected patients did not differ (42.1% vs. 34.8%, P = .586). hVISA and non-hVISA isolates were genotypically similar.

Conclusions

In these analyses, hVISA occurred in over one-quarter of MRSA IE isolates, was associated with certain IE complications, and varied in frequency by geographic region.

The differentiation of species within the Streptococcus mitis group has posed a problem in the routine diagnostic microbiology laboratory for some time. It also constitutes a major weakness of recently introduced matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) fingerprinting systems. As the phylogenetic resolution of the spectral similarity measures employed by these systems is insufficient to reliably distinguish between the most closely related members of the group, the major pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae is frequently misidentified. In this study, a comparative analysis of MALDI-TOF spectra of several species from the S. mitis group has been performed in order to identify single peaks that could be used to improve mass spectrometry-based identification of the respective species. A characteristic peak profile could be identified that unambiguously distinguished the 14 S. pneumoniae isolates studied from 33 nonpneumococcal isolates of the S. mitis group. In addition, specific peak combinations could be assigned to other members of the group. The findings of this study suggest that it is possible to distinguish different species of the S. mitis group by close analysis of their mass peak profiles.

The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) project is a 7-country, standardized, comprehensive evaluation of the etiologic agents causing severe pneumonia in children from developing countries. During previous etiology studies, between one-quarter and one-third of patients failed to yield an obvious etiology; PERCH will employ and evaluate previously unavailable innovative, more sensitive diagnostic techniques. Innovative and rigorous epidemiologic and analytic methods will be used to establish the causal association between presence of potential pathogens and pneumonia. By strategic selection of study sites that are broadly representative of regions with the greatest burden of childhood pneumonia, PERCH aims to provide data that reflect the epidemiologic situation in developing countries in 2015, using pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines. PERCH will also address differences in host, environmental, and/or geographic factors that might determine pneumonia etiology and, by preserving specimens, will generate a resource for future research and pathogen discovery.

To develop a case definition for the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) project, we sought a widely acceptable classification that was linked to existing pneumonia research and focused on very severe cases. We began with the World Health Organization’s classification of severe/very severe pneumonia and refined it through literature reviews and a 2-stage process of expert consultation. PERCH will study hospitalized children, aged 1–59 months, with pneumonia who present with cough or difficulty breathing and have either severe pneumonia (lower chest wall indrawing) or very severe pneumonia (central cyanosis, difficulty breastfeeding/drinking, vomiting everything, convulsions, lethargy, unconsciousness, or head nodding). It will exclude patients with recent hospitalization and children with wheeze whose indrawing resolves after bronchodilator therapy. The PERCH investigators agreed upon standard interpretations of the symptoms and signs. These will be maintained by a clinical standardization monitor who conducts repeated instruction at each site and by recurrent local training and testing.

Streptococcus agalactiae UCN70, isolated from a vaginal swab obtained in New Zealand, is resistant to lincosamides and streptogramins A (LSA phenotype) and also to tiamulin (a pleuromutilin). By whole-genome sequencing, we identified a 5,224-bp chromosomal extra-element that comprised a 1,479-bp open reading frame coding for an ABC protein (492 amino acids) 45% identical to Lsa(A), a protein related to intrinsic LSA resistance in Enterococcus faecalis. Expression of this novel gene, named lsa(C), in S. agalactiae BM132 after cloning led to an increase in MICs of lincomycin (0.06 to 4 μg/ml), clindamycin (0.03 to 2 μg/ml), dalfopristin (2 to >32 μg/ml), and tiamulin (0.12 to 32 μg/ml), whereas no change in MICs of erythromycin (0.06 μg/ml), azithromycin (0.03 μg/ml), spiramycin (0.25 μg/ml), telithromycin (0.03 μg/ml), and quinupristin (8 μg/ml) was observed. The phenotype was renamed the LSAP phenotype on the basis of cross-resistance to lincosamides, streptogramins A, and pleuromutilins. This gene was also identified in similar genetic environments in 17 other S. agalactiae clinical isolates from New Zealand exhibiting the same LSAP phenotype, whereas it was absent in susceptible S. agalactiae strains. Interestingly, this extra-element was bracketed by a 7-bp duplication of a target site (ATTAGAA), suggesting that this structure was likely a mobile genetic element. In conclusion, we identified a novel gene, lsa(C), responsible for the acquired LSAP resistance phenotype in S. agalactiae. Dissection of the biochemical basis of resistance, as well as demonstration of in vitro mobilization of lsa(C), remains to be performed.

Corynebacterium accolens is a rare human pathogen. We encountered a case of C. accolens isolated from a thigh collection in a man with osteomyelitis of the adjacent pubic symphysis.

Campylobacter fetus has been isolated as an infrequent cause of abscesses. We report a case of Campylobacter fetus epidural abscess and bacteremia in a debilitated elderly man who had a fatal outcome.

Background

There are limited data on the etiology and characteristics of bloodstream infections in children presenting in hospital outpatient settings in South Asia. Previous studies in Nepal have highlighted the importance of murine typhus as a cause of febrile illness in adults and enteric fever as a leading bacterial cause of fever among children admitted to hospital.

Methods

We prospectively studied a total of 1084 febrile children aged between 2 months and 14 years presenting to a general hospital outpatient department in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, over two study periods (summer and winter). Blood from all patients was tested by conventional culture and by real-time PCR for Rickettsia typhi.

Results

Putative etiological agents for fever were identified in 164 (15%) patients. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) was identified in 107 (10%), S. enterica serovar Paratyphi A (S. Paratyphi) in 30 (3%), Streptococcus pneumoniae in 6 (0.6%), S. enterica serovar Typhimurium in 2 (0.2%), Haemophilus influenzae type b in 1 (0.1%), and Escherichia coli in 1 (0.1%) patient. S. Typhi was the most common organism isolated from blood during both summer and winter. Twenty-two (2%) patients were PCR positive for R. typhi. No significant demographic, clinical and laboratory features distinguished culture positive enteric fever and murine typhus.

Conclusions

Salmonella infections are the leading cause of bloodstream infection among pediatric outpatients with fever in Kathmandu Valley. Extension of immunization programs against invasive bacterial disease to include the agents of enteric fever and pneumococcus could improve the health of children in Nepal.

Murine typhus was diagnosed by PCR in 50 (7%) of 756 adults with febrile illness seeking treatment at Patan Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. Of patients with murine typhus, 64% were women, 86% were residents of Kathmandu, and 90% were unwell during the winter. No characteristics clearly distinguished typhus patients from those with blood culture–positive enteric fever.

Background. Using multinational collections of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) isolates from infective endocarditis (IE) and soft tissue infections (STIs), we sought to (1) validate the finding that S. aureus in clonal complex (CC) 30 is associated with hematogenous complications and (2) test the hypothesis that specific genetic characteristics in S. aureus are associated with infection severity.

Methods. IE and STI isolates from 2 cohorts were frequency matched by geographic origin. Isolates underwent spa typing to infer CC and multiplex polymerase chain reaction for presence of virulence genes.

Results. 114 isolate pairs were genotyped. IE isolates were more likely to be CC30 (19.5% vs 6.2%; P = .005) and to contain 3 adhesins (clfB, cna, map/eap; P < .0001 for all) and 5 enterotoxins (tst, sea, sed, see, and sei; P ≤ .005 for all). CC30 isolates were more likely to contain cna, tst, sea, see, seg, and chp (P < .05 for all).

Conclusions. MSSA IE isolates were significantly more likely to be CC30 and to possess a distinct repertoire of virulence genes than MSSA STI isolates from the same region. The genetic basis of this association requires further study.

Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae is a recently described streptococcus that is phenotypically and genetically distinct from Streptococcus pneumoniae and other viridans streptococci. Key characteristics of S. pseudopneumoniae are the absence of a pneumococcal capsule, insolubility in bile, resistance or indeterminate susceptibility to optochin when incubated in 5% CO2 but susceptibility to optochin when incubated in ambient air, and a positive reaction with the AccuProbe DNA probe hybridization test. The clinical importance of this bacterium is currently unknown. We report the characteristics and associated clinical data of 35 strains of S. pseudopneumoniae isolated from sputum samples from 33 patients. All isolates produced a positive result with the NOW S. pneumoniae antigen test (Binax, Inc.). No isolate was resistant to penicillin, but 60% were resistant to erythromycin and 77% were resistant to tetracycline. All patients had lower respiratory tract symptoms, 79% had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 33% had chest radiographic infiltrates. Compared with matched control patients who had Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from sputum, patients with S. pseudopneumoniae infection were more likely to have a history of COPD (odds ratio [OR], 5.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.67 to 20.11) or exacerbation of COPD (OR, 6.5; 95% CI, 2.61 to 16.20). Further research is needed to better characterize the epidemiology of S. pseudopneumoniae colonization and the role of S. pseudopneumoniae in COPD and other diseases.

We present the first reported case of a recurrent breast infection caused by Gordonia bronchialis. The infection occurred in a 43-year-old immunocompetent female, and species level identification was obtained with 16S rRNA sequencing.

We compared the Mycoplasma Duo kit (Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur) with PCR for detection of Ureaplasma spp. in endotracheal aspirates from 60 premature neonates. The overall agreement between the two tests was 96%. The Mycoplasma Duo assay is a useful alternative to culture and PCR for detection of neonatal Ureaplasma infection.

We compared the dried MicroScan microdilution panel, Synergy Quad plate agar dilution, and high-potency disk diffusion screening methods for the detection of high-level aminoglycoside resistance in 815 enterococcal bloodstream isolates. Agreement between the three methods was 99% when testing for high-level gentamicin resistance and 96% when testing for high-level streptomycin resistance.

Real-time PCR with melting curve analysis of PCR products is a rapid procedure for detecting and genotyping herpes simplex virus (HSV). When testing mucocutaneous samples for HSV by a real-time PCR assay targeting the DNA polymerase gene, we found that some PCR products had atypical melting curves that did not conform to the expected melting temperatures for HSV type 1 or 2. Sequence analysis showed that these strains had base-pair mismatches over the probe binding sites. An alternative assay is required to type such atypical isolates.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia, but it is undoubtedly underdiagnosed. We used a nested PCR assay (targeting the pneumolysin gene) to detect S. pneumoniae DNA in multiple sample types from 474 adults with community-acquired pneumonia and 183 control patients who did not have pneumonia. Plasma or buffy coat samples were PCR positive in only 6 of the 21 patients with positive blood cultures for S. pneumoniae and in 12 other patients (4 of whom had no other laboratory evidence of S. pneumoniae infection). Buffy coat samples from two control patients (neither having evidence of S. pneumoniae infection), but no control plasma samples, were PCR positive. Although pneumococcal antigen was detected in the urine from 120 of 420 (29%) patients, only 4 of 227 (2%) urine samples tested were PCR positive. Overall, 256 of 318 (81%) patients had PCR-positive sputum samples, including 58 of 59 samples from which S. pneumoniae was cultured. Throat swab samples from 229 of 417 (55%) patients were PCR positive and, in those who produced sputum, 96% also had positive PCR results from sputum. Throat swabs from 73 of 126 (58%) control patients were also PCR positive. We conclude that the pneumolysin PCR assay adds little to existing diagnostic tests for S. pneumoniae and is unable to distinguish colonization from infection when respiratory samples are tested.