Clinical Science and Epidemiology
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyAnalyses of a Ceftazidime-Avibactam-Resistant Citrobacter freundii Isolate Carrying blaKPC-2 Reveals a Heterogenous Population and Reversible GenotypeThe development of ceftazidime-avibactam resistance among KPC-producing isolates during treatment with this agent has been reported. Usually isolates that become resistant have a mutated blaKPC gene that confers resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam and susceptibility to meropenem. We report a Citrobacter freundii isolate that developed ceftazidime-...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDeep Sequencing of H7N9 Influenza A Viruses from 16 Infected Patients from 2013 to 2015 in Shanghai Reveals Genetic Diversity and Antigenic DriftH7N9 subtype avian influenza viruses caused infections in over 1,400 humans from 2013 to 2017 and resulted in almost 600 deaths. It is important to understand how avian influenza viruses infect and cause disease in humans and to assess their potential for efficient person-to-person transmission. In this study, we used deep sequencing of primary clinical material to assess the evolution and potential for human adaptation of H7N9...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyTransmission of Foot-and-Mouth Disease from Persistently Infected Carrier Cattle to Naive Cattle via Transfer of Oropharyngeal FluidFoot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a viral disease of livestock with substantial impact on agricultural production and subsistence farming on a global scale. Control of FMD is impeded by the existence of a prolonged asymptomatic carrier phase during which infected cattle shed low quantities of infectious virus in oropharyngeal fluid (OPF) for months to years after infection. The epidemiological significance of FMD virus (FMDV) carriers is...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDevelopment and Use of an Endpoint Titration Assay To Characterize Mumps IgG Avidity following Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination and Wild-Type Mumps InfectionNumerous outbreaks of mumps have occurred in the United States among two-dose measles-mumps-rubella (MMR)-vaccinated populations since 2006. The avidity of mumps-specific IgG antibodies may affect susceptibility to mumps virus infection in some vaccinated individuals. To accurately measure mumps avidity, we developed and validated a mumps-specific IgG avidity assay that determines avidity at the endpoint titer of serially diluted serum...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyExperimental Infection of Tadarida brasiliensis with Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the Fungus That Causes White-Nose SyndromeWhite-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease that is causing severe declines of bat populations in North America. Identifying ways to reduce the impacts of this disease is a priority but is inhibited by the lack of an experimental animal model that does not require the use of wild-caught bat species already impacted by WNS. We tested whether Tadarida brasiliensis,...
Observation | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyInvestigation of the Plasma Virome from Cases of Unexplained Febrile Illness in Tanzania from 2013 to 2014: a Comparative Analysis between Unbiased and VirCapSeq-VERT High-Throughput Sequencing ApproachesCharacterization of the viruses found in the blood of febrile patients provides information pertinent to public health and diagnostic medicine. PCR and culture have historically played an important role in clinical microbiology; however, these methods require a targeted approach and may lack the capacity to identify novel or mixed viral infections. High-throughput sequencing can overcome these constraints. As the cost of running...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyTongue Microbiota and Oral Health Status in Community-Dwelling Elderly AdultsAspiration of oral contents can lead to pneumonia, which is a major cause of death among elderly adults susceptible to swallowing impairments. Tongue microbiota are a dominant source of oral microbial populations that are ingested with saliva. This large-scale population-based study revealed variations in the tongue microbiota among community-dwelling elderly adults. The total bacterial density was independent of the conditions of teeth...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyProfiling of Bacterial and Fungal Microbial Communities in Cystic Fibrosis Sputum Using RNAHere we demonstrate the use of an RNA-based analysis of specific taxa of interest, including bacteria and fungi, within microbial communities. This multiplex method may be useful as a means to identify samples with specific combinations of taxa and to gain information on how specific populations vary over time and space or in response to perturbation. A rapid means to measure bacterial and fungal populations may aid in the study of host...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDevelopment and Validation of 13-plex Luminex-Based Assay for Measuring Human Serum Antibodies to Streptococcus pneumoniae Capsular PolysaccharidesThe pneumococcal enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measures IgG antibodies in human serum, and it is an important assay that supports licensure of pneumococcal vaccines. The immune correlate of protection, 0.35 µg/ml of IgG antibodies, was determined by the ELISA method. Pfizer has developed a new Luminex-based assay platform to replace the ELISA. These papers describe the important work of (i) validating the Luminex-based assay...
Observation | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyExhaustive TORCH Pathogen Diagnostics Corroborate Zika Virus Etiology of Congenital Malformations in Northeastern BrazilThe Latin American Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak had a major impact on reproductive health worldwide. The reasons for the massively increased reports of neonatal microcephaly in northeastern Brazil are still unclear. Beyond the technical limitations of laboratory diagnostics, unambiguous diagnosis of ZIKV as the cause of congenital malformations is hampered by similar clinical pictures elicited by other pathogens known as TORCH pathogens....