Clinical Science and Epidemiology
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDevelopment and Validation of a Serologic Test Panel for Detection of Powassan Virus Infection in U.S. Patients Residing in Regions Where Lyme Disease Is EndemicApproximately 100 cases of POWV disease were reported in the United States over the past 10 years. Most cases have occurred in the Northeast (52) and Great Lakes (45) regions (https://www.cdc.gov/powassan/statistics.html). The prevalence of POWV in ticks and mammals is increasing, and POWV poses an increasing threat in a greater geographical range. In areas of the Northeast and...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyNovel ITS1 Fungal Primers for Characterization of the MycobiomeThe mycobiome constitutes all the fungal organisms within an environment or biological niche. The fungi are eukaryotes, are extremely heterogeneous, and include yeasts and molds that colonize humans as part of the microbiome. In addition, fungi can also infect humans and cause disease. Characterization of the bacterial component of the microbiome was revolutionized by 16S rRNA gene fragment amplification, next-generation sequencing...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyMeningococcal Antigen Typing System (MATS)-Based Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup B Coverage Prediction for the MenB-4C Vaccine in the United StatesThe meningococcal antigen typing system (MATS) is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based system that assesses the levels of expression and immune reactivity of the three recombinant MenB-4C antigens and, in conjunction with PorA variable 2 (VR2) sequencing, provides an estimate of the susceptibility of NmB isolates to killing by MenB-4C-induced antibodies. MATS assays or similar antigen phenotype analyses assume importance...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyUse of Multiplex Quantitative PCR To Evaluate the Impact of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine on Nasopharyngeal Pneumococcal Colonization in African ChildrenThis study focused on evaluating the effect of infant vaccination with 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), using a multiplex qPCR method, on the density of serotype-specific nasopharyngeal colonization in order to delineate the relative role of serotype replacement versus unmasking as the cause for the increase in nonvaccine serotype colonization in PCV7-vaccinated children. This is pertinent in the context of the ongoing...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyComparative Analysis of Bacterial Community Composition and Structure in Clinically Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Central Venous CathetersTotally implanted venous access ports (TIVAPs) are commonly used implants for the management of acute or chronic pathologies. Although their use improves the patient’s health care and quality of life, they are associated with a risk of infection and subsequent clinical complications, often leading to implant removal. While all TIVAPs appear to be colonized, only a fraction become infected, and the relationship between nonpathogenic...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyComparison of the Microbiota of Older Adults Living in Nursing Homes and the CommunityThe nose, throat, and skin over the subclavian and femoral veins are the body sites which harbor the bacteria which most commonly cause health care-associated infection. We assessed the effect of nursing home residence on the microbiota of these body sites in older adults. We found that the microbiota composition of the different body sites was similar between nursing home and community participants, but we identified differences in...
Perspective | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyImportance of Resolving Fungal Nomenclature: the Case of Multiple Pathogenic Species in the Cryptococcus GenusCryptococcosis is a major fungal disease caused by members of the Cryptococcus gattii and Cryptococcus neoformans species complexes. After more than 15 years of molecular genetic and phenotypic studies and much debate, a proposal for a taxonomic revision was made.
Opinion/Hypothesis | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyRole of AmpR in the High Expression of the Plasmid-Encoded AmpC β-Lactamase CFE-1CFE-1 is a unique plasmid-encoded AmpC β-lactamase with the regulator gene ampR. It imparts high resistance to most cephalosporins with constitutive high-level β-lactamase activity.
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyWhole-Genome Sequencing of Human Clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates Reveals Misidentification and Misunderstandings of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella variicola, and Klebsiella quasipneumoniaeKlebsiella pneumoniae is a serious human pathogen associated with resistance to multiple antibiotics and high mortality. K. variicola and K. quasipneumoniae are closely related organisms that are generally considered to be less-virulent opportunistic pathogens. We used a large, comprehensive, population-based strain collection and whole-genome...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyInduction of β-Lactamase Activity and Decreased β-Lactam Susceptibility by CO2 in Clinical Bacterial Isolatesβ-Lactamase induction and concurrent β-lactam resistance in respiratory tract pathogens as a consequence of growth in a physiologically relevant level of CO2 are of clinical significance, particularly given the ubiquity of TEM and SHV β-lactamase genes in diverse bacterial pathogens. This is the first report of β-lactamase induction by 5% CO2.