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Metallo-β-lactamases are resistance determinants of increasing clinical relevance in Gram-negative bacteria. Because of their broad range, potent carbapenemase activity and resistance to inhibitors, these enzymes can confer resistance to almost all β-lactams. Since the 1990s, several metallo-β-lactamases encoded by mobile DNA have emerged in important Gram-negative pathogens (ie, in Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii). Some of these enzymes (eg, VIM-1 and NDM-1) have been involved in the recent crisis resulting from the international dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and other enterobacteria.
The Lancet Infectious Diseases (Infectious Diseases) - Tue, 10 May 2011
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf
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Viral tropism is the ability of viruses to enter and infect specific host cells and is based on the ability of viruses to bind to receptors on those cells. Testing for HIV tropism is recommended before prescribing a chemokine receptor blocker. In most European countries, HIV tropism is identified with tropism phenotype testing. New data support genotype analysis of the HIV third hypervariable loop (V3) for the identification of tropism. The European Consensus Group on clinical management of tropism testing was established to make recommendations to clinicians and clinical virologists.
The Lancet Infectious Diseases (Infectious Diseases) - Tue, 10 May 2011
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf
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Expanded use of active surveillance for bacteria and of barrier precautions—specifically, gloves and gowns—did not reduce the transmission of two important antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospital-based settings, according to a clinical trial conducted in 18 intensive care units in the United States. Incomplete compliance by health care providers with recommended hand hygiene procedures and the use of gloves and gowns, along with time lags in confirming the presence of bacteria in patients, may have contributed to the findings.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Infectious Diseases) - Mon, 18 April 2011
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/
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New guidelines outline steps to eliminate catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI), one of the most deadly and costly threats to patient safety. Released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), the guidelines were developed by a working group led by clinical scientists from the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Critical Care Medicine Department (CCMD) along with 14 other professional organizations. Major areas of emphasis in the guidelines include educating and training health care personnel, using maximal sterile barrier precautions during catheter insertion, cleaning skin with chlorhexidine (an antibacterial scrub), and avoiding routine replacement of certain catheters.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Infectious Diseases) - Tue, 12 April 2011
http://www.cdc.gov/
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Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine think the reason some people are protected by the vaccine and others are not may lie within individual genomes or genetic blueprints of each person and the genes that govern how cells mount an immune response when exposed to the influenza vaccine. In a report in a recent issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers led by Drs. John Belmont and Robert Couch of BCM studied gene activity in 92 men ages 18 to 40 who received an influenza vaccination that provided protection against three kinds of flu virus – the usual format for vaccines given the public.
Baylor College of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) - Mon, 11 April 2011
http://www.bcm.edu
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A 53-year-old woman developed a black discolouration of her tongue. 4 weeks before developing the discolouration, she had had elective gynaecological surgery, from which she was recovering as an inpatient under our care. Here are the images of a lingua villosa nigra (black hairy tongue) caused by a Candida infection secondary to antibiotic use.
The Lancet (Infectious Diseases) - Mon, 4 April 2011
http://www.thelancet.com
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The new recommendations focus on the diagnosis of latent TB using interferon-gamma tests (IGT). All the other advice remains largely unchanged from the original guideline. The guideline addresses which diagnostic strategy is most accurate in diagnosing latent TB in adults and children who are recent arrivals from countries where TB is highly prevalent; in adults and children who have been in close contact with patients with active TB; in adults and children who are immunocompromised; healthcare workers and hard to reach populations.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Infectious Diseases) - Mon, 28 March 2011
http://www.nice.org.uk
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A New York man has contracted the AIDS virus in the nation's first case of transmission from a living organ donor since a screening test was implemented to prevent such infection, the New York State Department of Health said. The recipient of a live kidney transplant in a New York City hospital tested positive for the HIV virus, department spokeswoman Claudia Hutton said. While screening was properly conducted, the donor apparently contracted the virus after the screening test but in the days before the surgery, she said. Screening of organ donors went into effect in 1985 at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the United States to guard against HIV transmission during a transplant. The New York case marks the first time since then that a recipient has contracted HIV from a live organ donor, Hutton said.
Medline Plus (Infectious Diseases) - Mon, 21 March 2011
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
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A protein which could be targeted for a tuberculosis vaccine has been discovered by scientists at Imperial College London. TB is caused by bacteria and the only vaccine against it, the BCG jab, is not very effective. Now, the study, to be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identifies a new protein called EspC. which is secreted by the bacterium, provokes a very strong immune response, and is also highly specific to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This makes it an extremely promising candidate for a new TB vaccine that could stimulate broader and stronger immunity than BCG.
The disease of the lungs kills approximately two million people worldwide each year.
BBC News (Infectious Diseases) - Mon, 21 March 2011
http://news.bbc.co.uk
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Outbreaks of serious pneumococcal disease can occur with high attack rates in certain settings. We systematically reviewed studies of interventions implemented in pneumococcal clusters and those reporting the effect of antibiotics on carriage reduction to assess the effectiveness of interventions. Evidence was graded according to the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network system. Of 28 identified cluster reports, one showed that administration of antibiotics to close contacts reduced risk of pneumococcal disease.
The Lancet Infectious Diseases (Infectious Diseases) - Mon, 7 February 2011
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf