Publications

staphylococcus pseudintermedius and staphylococcus schleiferi subspecies coagulans from canine pyoderma cases in grenada, west indies, and their susceptibility to beta-lactam drugs.	over a 2-year period 66 cases of canine pyoderma in grenada, west indies, were examined by aerobic culture in order to ascertain the bacteria involved and their antimicrobial resistance patterns. of the 116 total bacterial isolates obtained, the majority belonged to gram-positive species, and the most common organism identified through biochemical and molecular methods was staphylococcus pseudintermedius. additionally, identification of a staphylococcus schleiferi subspecies coagulans isolate wa ...	2014	24592351
feasibility, efficacy, and adverse effects of outpatient antibacterial prophylaxis in children with acute myeloid leukemia.	intensive chemotherapy for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia incurs the risk of infectious complications, but the benefits of antibiotic prophylaxis remain unclear.	2014	24677028
rapid identification of stenotrophomonas maltophilia by peptide nucleic acid fluorescence in situ hybridization.	the objective of this study was to develop a novel peptide nucleic acid (pna) probe for stenotrophomonas maltophilia identification by fluorescence in situ hybridization (fish). the probe was evaluated using 33 human and veterinary clinical s. maltophilia isolates and 45 reference strains representing common bacterial species in the respiratory tract. the probe displayed 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity on pure cultures and allowed detection in sputum from cystic fibrosis patients. the dete ...	2014	25356348
evidence that intraspecific trait variation among nasal bacteria shapes the distribution of staphylococcus aureus.	nasal carriage of staphylococcus aureus is a risk factor for infection, yet the bacterial determinants required for carriage are poorly defined. interactions between s. aureus and other members of the bacterial flora may determine colonization and have been inferred in previous studies by using correlated species distributions. however, traits mediating species interactions are often polymorphic, suggesting that understanding how interactions structure communities requires a trait-based approach ...	2014	24980973
detection of k1 antigen of escherichia coli rods isolated from pregnant women and neonates.	the k1 antigen is an important virulence determinant of escherichia coli strains and has been shown to be associated particularly with neonatal meningitis, bacteraemia and septicaemia. thus, its detection seems to be useful, especially in the case of e. coli strains isolated from pregnant women and newborns. in this study, the sensitivity and specificity of the latex agglutination test (pastorex meningitis) for identification of e. coli serogroup k1 were assessed, using pcr as the gold standard. ...	2014	24737297
masquerading microbial pathogens: capsular polysaccharides mimic host-tissue molecules.	the increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria portends an impending postantibiotic age, characterized by diminishing efficacy of common antibiotics and routine application of multifaceted, complementary therapeutic approaches to treat bacterial infections, particularly multidrug-resistant organisms. the first line of defense for most bacterial pathogens consists of a physical and immunologic barrier known as the capsule, commonly composed of a viscous layer of carbohydrates that are ...	2014	24372337
antimicrobial susceptibility and mechanisms of high-level macrolide resistance in clinical isolates of moraxella nonliquefaciens.	we investigated antimicrobial susceptibility and the molecular mechanism involved in conferring high-level macrolide resistance in 47 clinical isolates of moraxella nonliquefaciens from japan. antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using etest and agar dilution methods. thirty-two erythromycin-non-susceptible strains were evaluated for the possibility of clonal spreading, using pfge. to analyse the mechanism related to macrolide resistance, mutations in the 23s rrna gene and the ribosomal p ...	2014	24196134
performance comparison of illumina and ion torrent next-generation sequencing platforms for 16s rrna-based bacterial community profiling.	high-throughput sequencing of the taxonomically informative 16s rrna gene provides a powerful approach for exploring microbial diversity. here we compare the performances of two common "benchtop" sequencing platforms, illumina miseq and ion torrent personal genome machine (pgm), for bacterial community profiling by 16s rrna (v1-v2) amplicon sequencing. we benchmarked performance by using a 20-organism mock bacterial community and a collection of primary human specimens. we observed comparatively ...	2014	25261520
profiling bacterial community in upper respiratory tracts.	infection by pathogenic viruses results in rapid epithelial damage and significantly impacts on the condition of the upper respiratory tract, thus the effects of viral infection may induce changes in microbiota. thus, we aimed to define the healthy microbiota and the viral pathogen-affected microbiota in the upper respiratory tract. in addition, any association between the type of viral agent and the resultant microbiota profile was assessed.	2014	25391813
effects of vaccination with 10-valent pneumococcal non-typeable haemophilus influenza protein d conjugate vaccine (phid-cv) on the nasopharyngeal microbiome of kenyan toddlers.	pneumococcal conjugate vaccines reduce the prevalence of vaccine serotypes carried in the nasopharynx. because this could alter carriage of other potential pathogens, we assessed the nasopharyngeal microbiome of children who had been vaccinated with 10-valent pneumococcal non-typeable haemophilus influenzae protein-d conjugate vaccine (phid-cv).	2015	26083474
development of two real-time multiplex pcr assays for the detection and quantification of eight key bacterial pathogens in lower respiratory tract infections.	the frequent lack of a positive and timely microbiological diagnosis in patients with lower respiratory tract infection (lrti) is an important obstacle to antimicrobial stewardship. patients are typically prescribed broad-spectrum empirical antibiotics while microbiology results are awaited, but, because these are often slow, negative, or inconclusive, de-escalation to narrow-spectrum agents rarely occurs in clinical practice. the aim of this study was to develop and evaluate two multiplex real- ...	2015	25980353
procalcitonin levels in gram-positive, gram-negative, and fungal bloodstream infections.	procalcitonin (pct) can discriminate bacterial from viral systemic infections and true bacteremia from contaminated blood cultures. the aim of this study was to evaluate pct diagnostic accuracy in discriminating gram-positive, gram-negative, and fungal bloodstream infections. a total of 1,949 samples from patients with suspected bloodstream infections were included in the study. median pct value in gram-negative (13.8 ng/ml, interquartile range (iqr) 3.4-44.1) bacteremias was significantly highe ...	2015	25852221
bacteriophages and phage-derived proteins--application approaches.	currently, the bacterial resistance, especially to most commonly used antibiotics has proved to be a severe therapeutic problem. nosocomial and community-acquired infections are usually caused by multidrug resistant strains. therefore, we are forced to develop an alternative or supportive treatment for successful cure of life-threatening infections. the idea of using natural bacterial pathogens such as bacteriophages is already well known. many papers have been published proving the high antibac ...	2015	25666799
development of a rapid and simplified protocol for direct bacterial identification from positive blood cultures by using matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of- flight mass spectrometry.	bloodstream infections represent serious conditions carrying a high mortality and morbidity rate. rapid identification of microorganisms and prompt institution of adequate antimicrobial therapy is of utmost importance for a successful outcome. aiming at the development of a rapid, simplified and efficient protocol, we developed and compared two in-house preparatory methods for the direct identification of bacteria from positive blood culture flasks (bd bactec fx system) by using matrix-assisted ...	2015	26546000
development of real-time pcr assays for the detection of moraxella macacae associated with bloody nose syndrome in rhesus (macaca mulatta) and cynomolgus (macaca fascicularis) macaques.	moraxella macacae is a recently described bacterial pathogen that causes epistaxis or so-called bloody nose syndrome in captive macaques. the aim of this study was to develop specific molecular diagnostic assays for m. macacae and to determine their performance characteristics.	2015	26365904
comprehensive laboratory evaluation of a highly specific lateral flow assay for the presumptive identification of bacillus anthracis spores in suspicious white powders and environmental samples.	we conducted a comprehensive, multiphase laboratory evaluation of the anthrax biothreat alert(®) test strip, a lateral flow immunoassay (lfa) for the rapid detection of bacillus anthracis spores. the study, conducted at 2 sites, evaluated this assay for the detection of spores from the ames and sterne strains of b. anthracis, as well as those from an additional 22 strains. phylogenetic near neighbors, environmental background organisms, white powders, and environmental samples were also tested. ...	2016	27661796
botryomycosis in a lung cavity.	botryomycosis is a rare pyogranulomatous disease characterized by suppurative and often granulomatous bacterial infection of the skin, soft tissues and viscera. only about 90 cases have been reported in world literature till date: 75% of them are cases of cutaneous botryomycosis. of the 18 reported cases of primary pulmonary botryomycosis, only one had histologically proven botryomycosis in a lung cavity. we report here a case of primary pulmonary botryomycosis occurring in a lung cavity, which ...	2016	27625451
kingella kingae expresses four structurally distinct polysaccharide capsules that differ in their correlation with invasive disease.	kingella kingae is an encapsulated gram-negative organism that is a common cause of osteoarticular infections in young children. in earlier work, we identified a glycosyltransferase gene called csaa that is necessary for synthesis of the [3)-β-galpnac-(1→5)-β-kdop-(2→] polysaccharide capsule (type a) in k. kingae strain 269-492. in the current study, we analyzed a large collection of invasive and carrier isolates from israel and found that csaa was present in only 47% of the isolates. further ex ...	2016	27760194
the microbiota in bronchoalveolar lavage from young children with chronic lung disease includes taxa present in both the oropharynx and nasopharynx.	invasive methods requiring general anaesthesia are needed to sample the lung microbiota in young children who do not expectorate. this poses substantial challenges to longitudinal study of paediatric airway microbiota. non-invasive upper airway sampling is an alternative method for monitoring airway microbiota; however, there are limited data describing the relationship of such results with lung microbiota in young children. in this study, we compared the upper and lower airway microbiota in you ...	2016	27388563
nasopharyngeal microbiota composition of children is related to the frequency of upper respiratory infection and acute sinusitis.	upper respiratory infections (uri) and their complications are a major healthcare burden for pediatric populations. although the microbiology of the nasopharynx is an important determinant of the complications of uri, little is known of the nasopharyngeal (np) microbiota of children, the factors that affect its composition, and its precise relationship with uri.	2016	27364497
spectrum and sensitivity of bacterial keratitis isolates in auckland.	background. the bacteria isolated from severe cases of keratitis and their antibiotic sensitivity are recognised to vary geographically and over time. objectives. to identify the most commonly isolated bacteria in keratitis cases admitted over a 24-month period to a public hospital in auckland, new zealand, and to investigate in vitro sensitivity to antibiotics. methods. hospital admissions for culture-proven bacterial keratitis between january 2013 and december 2014 were identified. laboratory ...	2016	27213052
evaluation of the bruker maldi biotyper for identification of fastidious gram-negative rods.	matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (maldi-tof ms) has entered clinical laboratories, facilitating identification of bacteria. here, we evaluated the maldi biotyper (bruker daltonics) for the identification of fastidious gram-negative rods (gnr). three sample preparation methods, direct colony transfer, direct transfer plus on-target formic acid preparation, and ethanol-formic acid extraction, were analyzed for 151 clinical isolates. direct colony transfe ...	2016	26659214
meningitis due to moraxella nonliquefaciens in a paediatric patient: a case report and review of the literature.	introduction.moraxella nonliquefaciens is an unusual organism to be isolated from cerebral spinal fluid (csf) and there exists only one case report of m. nonliquefaciens meningitis from a neonate. moraxella species normally exist as part of the human upper respiratory tract flora and rarely cause invasive human disease. there are only a handful of case reports implicating the organism as a cause of endocarditis, bacteraemia, septic arthritis and endophthalmitis. identification to the species lev ...	2017	28348808
a fatal endocarditis case due to an emerging bacterium: moraxella nonliquefaciens.	moraxella nonliquefaciens is a gram-negative coccobacillus considered as a commensal organism from the upper respiratory tract, with low pathogenic potential. the phenotypical conventional identification is difficult and the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight technology has increased the resolution of identification of this bacterium. we report a fatal case of endocarditis due to m. nonliquefaciens whose identification was confirmed by 16s rrna, and we review the literatu ...	2017	28271043