We evaluated the activity of ceftobiprole against 100 community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) and 100 hospital-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) isolates. Eight isolates were evaluated by time-kill studies for kill rate and potential for synergy with tobramycin. Ceftobiprole MIC(50) and MIC(90) values were 1 and 2 microg/ml, respectively, against CA-MRSA and HA-MRSA. ...

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have recently emerged as a nosocomial pathogen and present an increasing threat to the treatment of severely ill patients in intensive-care hospital settings. We outline results of a study of the epidemiology of VRE transmission in ICUs and define a reproductive number R0; the number of secondary colonization cases induced by a single VRE-colonized patient...

BACKGROUND There are few studies in Brazil that address baseline prevalence of MRSA colonization and associated risk factors at hospital admission, or the incidence of nosocomial colonization. We report a prospective study in a tertiary-care, university-affiliated hospital to implement a new MRSA control policy at the institution. METHODS A cohort of randomly selected patients admitted to eme...

To improve multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) detection, we successfully introduced the rpoB gene mutation line probe assay into the national laboratory in Latvia, a country with epidemic MDR-TB. The assay detected rifampin resistance with 91% sensitivity and 96% specificity within 1 to 5 days (vs. 12-47 days for BACTEC).

The distinction between healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) and community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infections has become increasingly blurred. We assessed the molecular characterization and antimicrobial resistance profile for MRSA isolates from blood. Most of all (81.9%) isolates are related to known HA-MRSA and CA-MRSA epidemic lineages, such as, USA300, USA400, USA600, USA800 and USA1100. ...

BACKGROUND Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is an important global health problem, and a control strategy known as DOTS-Plus has existed since 1999. However, evidence regarding the feasibility, effectiveness, cost, and cost-effectiveness of DOTS-Plus is still limited. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We evaluated the feasibility, effectiveness, cost, and cost-effectiveness of a DOTS-Pl...

A 72-year-old man, receiving 8 mg daptomycin/kg body weight/day for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia, was diagnosed with MRSA/vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) cholecystitis (daptomycin MIC values, 1 and 2 mg/liter, respectively). After the fifth drug dose, the bile concentration of daptomycin was 66 mg/liter 5 min after drug administration, with the b...

Tuberculosis remains a global emergency causing an estimated 1.5 million deaths annually. For several decades the major focus of tuberculosis treatment has been on antibiotic development targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The lengthy tuberculosis treatment duration and poor treatment outcomes associated with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are of major concern. The sparse new tube...

Background. Global concerns have been raised due to upward trend of Vancomycin Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) and Vancomycin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) reports which mean casting doubt on the absolute effectiveness of the last line of antibiotic treatment for S. aureus, vancomycin. Hence, epidemiological evaluation can improve global health care policies. Methodology. 171...

We studied the transmissibility of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) and healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (HA-MRSA) strains and the association of MRSA colonization pressure and MRSA transmission in critically ill children. Importantly, we found that in hospitalized children MRSA colonization pressure above 10% increases the risk of ...