Cytophagic histiocytic panniculitis (CHP) was first described in 1980. It classically presents with intermittent recurrent episodes of pyrexia subcutaneous nodules, pancytopenia and liver dysfunction, but most patients have in addition a multitude of other manifestations which confuse the clinical picture. Despite the variable clinical course, the disease is often fatal. Diagnosis is based on h...

BACKGROUND We examined the role of aerosol transmission of influenza in an acute ward setting. METHODS We investigated a seasonal influenza A outbreak that occurred in our general medical ward (with open bay ward layout) in 2008. Clinical and epidemiological information was collected in real time during the outbreak. Spatiotemporal analysis was performed to estimate the infection risk among p...

The objective of this study was to determine risk factors associated with mortality in patients with nosocomial Escherichia coli bacteremia from January 2009 to January 2011. In a retrospective study the medical records of 88 patients over 18 years with nosocomial bacteremia caused by E. coli were analyzed. In univariate analysis several risk factors, including chronic renal failure, altered me...

Most cases of nosocomial bacteremia are catheter related, and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are the microorganisms most frequently associated with these infections. Subtle morphological differences are frequently found among CoNS colonies cultured from infected catheters. The aim of this study was to analyze the significance of the morphological heterogeneity observed in these CoNS po...

We present a case report of a 41-year-old woman of Malay ethnicity who presented with an 11-day history of fever and left-sided lymphadenopathy after consuming 'Miracle Mineral Solution' (sodium chlorite solution) for the first time. A diagnosis of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease was established via lymph node biopsy after other differentials were excluded. The aetiology of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease re...

Fast and reliable genotyping methods that allow real-time epidemiological surveillance would be instrumental to monitoring of the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. We describe an automated variable-number tandem repeat-based method for the rapid genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus. Multiplex PCR amplifications with eight primer pairs that target gene regions with variable n...

The epidemiology of vancomycin-resistant Entero- coccus faecium (VREF) in Europe is characterized by a large community reservoir. In contrast, nosocomial outbreaks and infections (without a community reservoir) characterize VREF in the United States. Previous studies demonstrated host-specific genogroups and a distinct genetic lineage of VREF associated with hospital outbreaks, characterized by...

Degradation of 17 -Estradiol by a Gram-Negative Bacterium Isolated from Activated Sludge in a Sewage Treatment Plant in Tokyo, Japan Katsuhiko Fujii,* Shintaro Kikuchi, Masataka Satomi, Noriko Ushio-Sata, and Naoki Morita Department of Applied Chemistry, Muroran Institute of Technology, Mizumoto, Muroran 050-8585, Fisheries Research Agency, Fukuura, Kanazawa, Yokohama 236-8648, Department of Sc...

Chancroid is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the Gram negative bacterium Haemophilus ducreyi and is characterised by necrotising genital ulceration which may be accompanied by inguinal lymphadenitis or bubo formation. H ducreyi is a fastidious organism which is difficult to culture from genital ulcer material. DNA amplification techniques have shown improved diagnostic sensitivit...

Chancroid is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the Gram negative bacterium Haemophilus ducreyi and is characterised by necrotising genital ulceration which may be accompanied by inguinal lymphadenitis or bubo formation. H ducreyi is a fastidious organism which is difficult to culture from genital ulcer material. DNA amplification techniques have shown improved diagnostic sensitivit...