A van Belkum

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..Epidemiological conditions should determine which is the optimal typing method to be used...

..jejuni strains. The structure was elucidated using material from a single colony. The total time for sample preparation and MS analysis is less than 60 min...

..Results are discussed in the context of experimental variability of the procedures or genetic heterogeneity of HPV16 pools derived from cervical swabs...

..Recommendations for unification of the different fields through standardization of laboratory techniques are made...

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..The current state of technology is summarized, and future perspectives are sketched...

..hominis and sexual risk behavior (P=0.0004). M. hominis and sexual risk behavior were more closely associated than M. hominis and T. vaginalis. No indications were found for an enhanced pathogenicity by either of the symbionts...

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..Specific emphasis is placed upon the pros and cons of the various artificial, mostly in vitro models employed to study the interaction between bacterial and human or animal cells...

..Means for integrated assessment of bacterial biology, epidemiology, and population structure will be discussed...

..Together, DNA repeat analysis in microbial species provides information on both functional and evolutionary aspects of genetic diversity among microbial isolates...

..Although microbial SSR genotypes have been used with increasing frequency for studying the epidemiology and evolution of microbial strains and isolates, such approaches should be used with caution...

..Technical limitations and possibilities for improvement will be discussed...

..One of the 5-nucleotide VNTRs proved to be hypervariable. This variability may reflect the molecular basis of a mechanism used by H. influenzae bacteria to successfully colonize and infect different human individuals...

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..In conclusion, it appears that the standardization of PFGE depends on controlling a variety of experimental intricacies, as is the case with other bacterial typing procedures...

..The observed variability in this latter class of VNTRs might be reminiscent of the bacterium's capacity to deal with unfavorable host factors...

..It is concluded that a major clone of MRSA has spread through a large part of Turkey, causing longitudinally persistent colonization in all of the institutions surveyed...

..Considering the combined data from the five typing techniques applied previously as the "gold standard," the single BOX PCR test demonstrated excellent resolving powers while maintaining epidemiological linkage...

..aureus infections...

..We conclude that both clonal expansion and the emergence of unique HLGRE have contributed significantly to the increasing incidence of HLGRE...

..5, p <0.05) were significantly higher in colonized children. The levels of IgA against CHIPS, IsdH and IsdA were higher (p <0.05). Therefore, CHIPS, Efb, IsdA and IsdH seem to play a role in nasal colonization of young children...

..Therefore, further characterization of GBS- or MFS-related C. jejuni should target the genes involved in the synthesis of LPS and the incorporation of sialic acid...

..Contribution of the DNA probes to the discriminatory power of the system was analyzed by comparison of dendrograms. This study demonstrates that binary typing is a robust tool for the genetic typing of S. aureus isolates...

..This was not the case for cells pre-incubated with H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis on S. aureus. We conclude that exposure to S. pneumoniae can modulate HMPV infection...

..This may suggest that the activity of the agrD gene product does not define colonization dynamics, which is further substantiated by the rarity of agr group 2 and 3 strains...

..urealyticum infection. In conclusion, the complex interaction between bacterial and parasitic pathogens and the infected host is determined by genetic characteristics of host and microorganisms involved...

..For final confirmation of species identities, PCR amplification of the small-subunit rRNA gene followed by RFLP analysis with various enzymes is recommended...

..In animal models, promising new anti-tuberculosis drugs are assessed in terms of toxic side effects and comparative therapeutic efficacy. Mice are frequently used and experimental infections are established in different ways...

..aureus. Despite these dynamic differences, a conservation of type assignments as based upon these two inherently different typing techniques was observed...

..In addition, we developed two specific PCRs for the detection of Staphylococcus aureus sequence type 398 (ST 398) isolates with 100% specificity and high sensitivity...

..The independent determinants of meningococcal carriage included age, regular visits to youth clubs (odds ratio [OR], 2.2) and discotheques (OR, 4.3), and pneumococcal carriage (OR, 4.1)...

..011). In conclusion, although IEC-carrying βC-Φs are highly prevalent among human colonizing S. aureus strains, they are not essential in the first stages of S. aureus nasal colonization...

..This report describes the first well-documented outbreak of S. schleiferi infection. A source of the outbreak was not detected...

..Three Tn1546 variants were found, including a new lineage containing an ISEfa5 insertion in an existing IS1251 element...

..These observations underscore the pathogenic potential of clonal CoNS types that have successfully and persistently colonized patients in this hemato-oncology department...

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..E-test and the agar screen were the only two methods detecting all VRE, including the vanC1/C2 VRE...

..It is a tool for screening variability within a collection of isolates. Because of the high throughput, it enables the analysis of multiple colonies per patient, which will enhance the quality of clinical and epidemiological studies...

..We conclude that C. jejuni from chickens cannot be distinguished from human strains and that GBS or MFS related strains do not belong to a distinct genetic group...

..aureus circulates among humans at low frequency (0.2%) but was isolated in 3 human cases of bacteremia (2.1%; p = 0.026). Although its natural host is probably porcine, ST398 MRSA likely causes infections in humans...

..Therefore, vaccines should be based on multiple components. IsdA is immunogenic and, therefore, produced in nearly all bacteremic patients. This suggests that IsdA might be a useful component of a multivalent staphylococcal vaccine...

..RAPD fingerprinting of Aspergillus isolates can help to determine the cause of an outbreak of invasive aspergillosis...

..Costs per positive case detected in the combined method were 39% of standard costs...

..In a clinical setting, 40 MRSA strains were detected with PHMB(+), compared with only 23 detected with a routine method. Thus, this selective broth significantly (P < 0.001) improved the rate of MRSA detection...

..All procedures grouped the two variants similarly. Redefinition of the taxonomic status of complement-resistant M. catarrhalis or even the definition of a new species may be opportune...

..The performance of the assay indicates that it has potential value for use in future early intervention studies...

..Staphylococcus aureus isolates (n = 20) were analyzed to establish the feasibility of BT. A technically simple and fast procedure has been developed for application in routine microbiology laboratories...

..A large proportion of the Enterobacter strains was acquired through cross-transmission. This finding contrasts with the prevailing opinion that resistant Enterobacter strains are selected primarily from the patient's own gut flora...

..catarrhalis is probably defined by multiple genes, although not all of these genes may be present within all M. catarrhalis isolates...

..Since the identification and susceptibility data are produced within 3 and 8 h, respectively, VITEK 2 appears a fast and reliable method for detection of GRE in microbiology laboratories...

..The first molecular typing results are encouraging. Both assessments indicate that programme expansion is required and that major performance discrepancies continue to exist...

..0079). This suggests that NCNGU might also be diagnosed by assessing the absence rather than the presence of certain bacterial species...

..06, Fisher's exact test). This prevalence is still among the lowest in the world, probably as a result of the stringent Dutch infection control policy, and the restrictive use of antibiotics in The Netherlands...

..aureus. Cortisol levels did not differ between these carrier groups (p=0.638). Long-term cortisol levels are not associated with S. aureus nasal carriage...

..The topics mentioned above are elaborated on and discussed in light of the increasing medical concern on the future detection of microbial infections beyond chemotherapeutic cure...

..aureus nasal carriage is a unique characteristic of a fraction of the population, and the attribute "persistent" should be confined to those individuals for whom serial nasal swab specimen cultures consistently yield S. aureus...

..jejuni who developed bloody diarrhea in The Netherlands, and we suggest a role for other virulence determinants...

..1%), whereas S. sciuri mecA was found in 33 isolates (64.7%). The staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) regions of S. aureus mecA-positive isolates contained elements of classical S. aureus SCCmec types II and/or III...

..This article aims to review what is currently known of the host and bacterial factors determining S. aureus nasal carriage, including recent developments and future prospects...

..Apparently, crowding is an important risk factor for early and frequent colonization with M. catarrhalis in the first year of life...

..Evolutionary adaptation of pathogens to the CF lung is a common theme in many of these studies...

..jejuni factors associated with GBS/MFS to date and has allowed us to analyze the genetic background of neuropathogenic C. jejuni strains with an unprecedented level of resolution...

..aureus carriage predisposition. However, MBL haplotypes do so significantly. Baseline HNP1-3 production is more the consequence of S. aureus colonization than a reason for the (non) carrier status...

..We successfully identify MRSA specific markers and elaborate on the general applicability of the htAFLP approach. This method can be applied to any microbial species for which at least one full-genome sequence is available...

..aureus colonizes the nose are still unknown. The staphylococcal cell-wall protein clumping factor B (ClfB) promotes adhesion to squamous epithelial cells in vitro and might be a physiologically relevant colonization factor...

..PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of C. jejuni genes involved in the biosynthesis of LOS demonstrated that specific genes were associated with the expression of ganglioside mimics and the development of neuropathy...

..52, P=0.02). These findings suggest that susceptibility to S. aureus nasal carriage is associated with the C1INH V480M polymorphism...

..In conclusion, the overall population structures of American and Dutch nasal carriage isolates of S. aureus are surprisingly similar, despite subtle geographic differences in the prevalence of certain S. aureus genotypes...

..Our studies demonstrate that MS-based structural analysis of bacterial LOS can be optimized to the level where only a single-colony quantity of material is required and time-consuming chemical treatments can be avoided...

..We investigated the extent of S. aureus presence in meat and found 36 S. aureus strains in 79 samples. Two strains were MRSA; 1 was multilocus sequence type 398, the clone related to farming...

..Variation in the uspA2 5' non-coding "AGAT" repeat region was also observed. These results may have implications for future M. catarrhalis vaccines comprising UspA1 or UspA2 components...

..We conclude that sialylation of the LOS outer core contributes significantly to epithelial invasion by C. jejuni and may thus play a role in subsequent postinfectious pathologies...

..The high prevalence of PVL-positive S. aureus strains in certain regions of Indonesia is of concern since these strains may cause severe infections in the community and in hospitals...

..Our results should also be useful in the choice of effective vaccine candidates against M. catarrhalis...

..Samples containing 10(2) to 10(3) MRSA cells were frequently reported to be negative. MRSE samples were scored as negative by all commercial tests but by only two out of three in-house tests...

..2%) and no PVL positive strains were detected. The population structure of S. aureus strains isolated from HIV patients appeared to be strongly overlapping with that of S. aureus isolates from healthy individuals...

..Thus, addition of the 336PS conjugate to a type 5- and type 8-CP protein conjugate vaccine would significantly extend the vaccine coverage...

..pneumoniae subtypes. Further studies should demonstrate whether differences in bacterial interference are due to more subtle genetic changes...

..This review aims to outline our current knowledge of M. catarrhalis, an organism that has evolved from an emerging to a well-established human pathogen...

..Those infected with S. aureus strains belonging to a CC had higher mortality than those infected with strains not belonging to a CC (P<.05), which indicates the coevolution of S. aureus virulence and spread in humans...

..All steps of this new procedure were developed to ensure a rapid turnaround time and moderate cost. The results obtained suggest that this rapid approach is a valuable tool for the genotyping of S. aureus isolates in real time...

..Mastitis-associated S. aureus isolated in diverse farm animal species form a distinct genetic cluster, characterized by an overrepresentation of the toxic shock syndrome toxin superantigen-encoding gene...

..Further analysis of 35 of these isolates confirmed loss of the mecA gene in 32 isolates. This finding has important implications for the management of strain collections...

..Our study into genetic determinants of S. aureus carriage patterns is the largest in the field, but still we found no association between VDR gene variation and S. aureus nasal carriage...

..We provide evidence that essentially any S. aureus genotype carried by humans can transform into a life-threatening human pathogen but that certain clones are more virulent than others...

..006). S aureus nasal carriers and non-carriers differ significantly in risk and outcome of nosocomial S aureus bacteraemia. Genotyping revealed that 80% of strains causing bacteraemia in carriers were endogenous...

..tuberculosis. The tests allowed for identification of the major Mycobacterium species and M. tuberculosis variants and clones...

..Analysis of strains from the second collection revealed that chip-defined MLST was concordant with conventional MLST. Array-mediated MLST data were reproducible, exchangeable, and epidemiologically concordant...

..The identification of these microbial genetic markers, which are predictive of the severity and the course of the disease, will facilitate guided individualized antimicrobial therapy in the future...

..This highlights the need for closer international collaboration to monitor the spread of current epidemic strains as well as the emergence of new ones...

..These FQREC resemble animal-source E. coli and presumably pose little threat to noncompromised hosts. Similar analysis of other FQREC is needed...

..The current BT protocol thus represents a simple method generating robust, reproducible genotype data for S. aureus strains...

..001). This is the first report on a genotypic study where genetic markers which may be used to study pathogenicity in M. mycetomatis were obtained...

..The successful MRSA types can acquire prominent positions in hospitals of previously low-endemicity MRSA status...