The aim of this study was to identify and compare the plasmid replicons clinical uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates, involving extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-positive ESBL-negative, E. ST131 non-ST131 various subclones. Plasmid replicon typing on 24 UPEC isolates carried out using polymerase chain reaction-based typing. A statistical analysis performed assess associations betw...

CONTEXT The effects of reduced-dose schedules of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) on pneumococcal carriage in children are largely unknown, although highly relevant in the context of subsequent herd effects. OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of a 2-dose and 2 + 1-dose PCV-7 schedule on nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage in young children compared with controls. DESIGN, SETTI...

Fourteen human carriage Listeria monocytogenes isolates were compared to sporadic and epidemic-associated human strains in order to ascertain the pathogenic behavior of these unrecognized asymptomatic strains. Experimental infection of 14-day-old chick embryos revealed that the majority of the carriage strains were attenuated for virulence. Of the 10 attenuated carriage strains, 5 were affected...

The locomotion and load carriage energetics of the southwestern American harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex rugosus, were quantified at several temperatures within their normal foraging temperature range using a voluntary locomotion regime (‘running tube respirometer’). In a metabolic rate (MR) versus running speed regression, the intercepts for the individual ants differed significantly, so data were...

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and persistence of Staphylococcus aureus carriage in the throat in relation to anterior naris carriage. By use of a sensitive enrichment broth, S. aureus was cultured from the two sites from 259 patients upon admission to an orthopedic ward and from 87 staff members of the same ward. The throat was the most common carriage site in both groups...

BACKGROUND Some genetic and phenotypic variables are associated among distinct microbial populations. OBJECTIVES The associations between multi-drug resistance (MDR) phenotypes, prevalence of antibiotic resistance integrons (ARIs), bla SHV, bla TEM and bla CTX-M gene carriage and genetic fingerprints of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), confirmed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PF...

BACKGROUND Several cohort studies have indicated associations between S. pneumoniae and other microbes in the nasopharynx. To study causal relationships between the nasopharyngeal microbiome and pneumococcal carriage, we employed an experimental human pneumococcal carriage model. Healthy adult volunteers were assessed for pneumococcal carriage by culture of nasal wash samples (NWS). Those witho...

There are 91 known capsular serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The nasopharyngeal carriage prevalence of particular serotypes is relatively stable worldwide, but the host and bacterial factors that maintain these patterns are poorly understood. Given the possibility of serotype replacement following vaccination against seven clinically important serotypes, it is increasingly important to un...

CONCLUSION Although children vaccinated with heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) had fewer episodes of acute otitis media (AOM), this trial was unable to prove a simultaneous decrease in nasopharyngeal carriage. OBJECTIVE Carriage rates of AOM pathogens in the nasopharynx are high among children, and colonization is the first step towards infection. The possible impact of PCV on ...

Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) and in particular multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms (MRGN) are an increasing problem in hospital care. However, data on the current prevalence of MDRO in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are rare. To assess carriage rates of MDRO in LTCF residents in the German Rhine-Main region, we performed a point prevalence survey in 2013. Swabs from nose, thr...