Staphylococcus aureus is an important cause of bloodstream infections worldwide. We examined the prevalence of genes that encode erythromycin ribosome methylase and bacterial toxins in S. aureus collected from bloodstream infections. Sixty different S. aureus isolates were obtained from blood cultures of patients who were admitted to a Teaching Hospital in Tianjin from January 2006 to August 20...

A novel PCR-hybridization assay, performed in single closed capillaries, was developed to detect clarithromycin resistance-associated gene mutations in Helicobacter pylori. Mutations were detected by thermal analysis in 33 of 34 (97%) resistant isolates but not in 66 isolates determined to be sensitive by conventional antibiotic assays. The method was rapid and reproducible, and it reduced PCR ...

The LCx Mycobacterium tuberculosis ligase chain reaction system (Abbott Diagnostic Division, Abbott Park, Ill.) was used to detect M. tuberculosis in 150 consecutive BACTEC vials on the day on which a positive growth index (GI) was recorded. By LCx, M. tuberculosis DNA was detected in BACTEC vials on average 2.6 days before the presence of acid-fast bacilli could be confirmed by microscopic exa...

We investigated the prevalence of Legionella species isolated from puddles on asphalt roads. In addition, we carried out sequence-based typing (SBT) analysis on the genetic relationship between L. pneumophila serogroup 1 (SG 1) isolates from puddles and from stock strains previously obtained from sputum specimens and public baths. Sixty-nine water samples were collected from puddles on roads at...

Khoy, one of the major cities in the west Azarbaijan province is known for its nature, military, border positions, proximity to the Silk Road, including many different cultures and overall is one of the important settlements in the area. This essay investigates Khoy city’s expansion, from early Islam until late Qajar (Fourth - Fourteenth century) according to historical documents. This article ...

This study was designed to determine the strength of the association between the isolation of nonfermentative gram-negative bacilli (NFGNB) from tap water faucet aerators and the prevalence of colonization or infection of patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Surveillance cultures were obtained during a 4-month period from 162 faucet aerators located in seven different ICUs. The prevalence o...

OBJECTIVES Ireland has the highest rate of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) isolated from blood of nosocomial patients in Europe, which rose from 33% (110/330) in 2007 to 45% (178/392) in 2012. No other European country had a VREfm rate from blood cultures of >25%. Our aim was to elucidate the reasons for this significantly higher rate in Ireland. METHODS The epidemiology and...

Bovine tuberculosis caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis is a major infectious disease of animals and has zoonotic importance for humans. Even though the incidence is believed to be very low in India, human tuberculosis caused by M. bovis has been increasingly recognized in many other countries of the world. As differentiation of mycobacterial species take long time, a method for the rap...

BACKGROUND This study was aimed to investigate the genetic diversity and antibiotic resistance profile of the nosocomial infection agent Acinetobacter baumannii from a medical intensive care unit (ICU) in a teaching hospital in Suzhou, China. METHODS The genetic relationship among A. baumannii isolates in an ICU was investigated using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The antibiotic resistan...

Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most important opportunistic pathogens that causes serious health care associated complications in critically ill patients. In the current study we report on the diversity of the clinical multi-drug resistant (MDR) A. baumannii in Kuwait by molecular characterization. One hundred A. baumannii were isolated from one of the largest governmental hospitals in K...