Search results for " outbreak"

Initial viral load and decay kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 in the upper respiratory tract of adults and children

2021

We read with interest the systematic review published by Walsh et al. in the Journal of Infection,1 focusing on the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 RNA at the upper respiratory tract (URT). In this context, a novel SARS-CoV-2 variant lineage (B.1.1.7), first detected in the UK at the end of 2020 has transmission advantage over other lineages.2 Increased transmissibility of the B.1.1.7 variant has been linked to enhanced ACE2 affinity3 allegedly resulting in higher viral loads in URT, an observation that has been reported in some,3, 4, 5, 6 but not all7 large series published to date. In addition, longer duration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding in URT has been reported in individuals infected by the B.1.1…

Mixed infection by Legionella pneumophila in outbreak patients.

2013

During the molecular epidemiological study of a legionellosis outbreak, we obtained sequence based typing (SBT) profiles from uncultured respiratory samples of 15 affected patients. We detected several distinct allelic profiles some of which were a mixture of alleles present in the more common profiles. Chromatograms from the sequences of one patient with mixed profile showed polymorphisms in several positions, which could result from the simultaneous presence of different Legionella variants in the sample. In order to test this possibility, we cloned PCR amplification products from six loci for two patients with a mixed profile and a patient with a pure profile. After obtaining around 20 s…

Outbreak of multi-resistant Corynebacterium striatum infection in an Italian general intensive care unit.

2007

Outbreak of infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 258 producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase 3 in an intensive care unit in Italy

2010

Gram-negative pathogens producing carbapenemases represent an alarming clinical threat with serious effects on patient outcomes ([3][1], [7][2]). In 2001, Yigit et al. ([11][3]) reported a novel β-lactamase termed “ K lebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase” (KPC-1) in North Carolina. KPC-producing

Facepiece filtering respirators with exhalation valve should not be used in the community to limit SARS-CoV-2 diffusion.

2020

High incidence of outbreaks of norovirus GGII.4 in hospitals and nursing homes in Catalonia.

2009

Association between Conflict and Cholera in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

2022

Cholera outbreaks significantly contribute to disease mortality and morbidity in low- and middle-income countries. Cholera outbreaks have several social and environmental risk factors and extreme conditions can act as catalysts. A social extreme with known links to infectious disease outbreaks is conflict, causing disruption to services, loss of income and displacement. Here, we used the self-controlled case series method in a novel application and found that conflict increased the risk of cholera in Nigeria by 3.6 times and 19.7% of cholera outbreaks were attributable to conflict. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), conflict increased the risk of cholera by 2.6 times and 12.3% of ch…

Method for Specific Identification of the Emerging Zoonotic Pathogen Vibrio vulnificus Lineage 3 (Formerly Biotype 3).

2020

ABSTRACT Vibrio vulnificus is a zoonotic pathogen that is spreading worldwide due to global warming. Lineage 3 (L3; formerly biotype 3) includes the strains of the species with the unique ability to cause fish farm-linked outbreaks of septicemia. The L3 strains emerged recently and are particularly virulent and difficult to identify. Here, we describe a newly developed PCR method based on a comparative genomic study useful for both rapid identification and epidemiological studies of this interesting emerging group. The comparative genomic analysis also revealed the presence of a genetic duplication in the L3 strains that could be related to the unique ability of this lineage to produce sept…

Comparative evaluation of three different genotyping methods for investigation of nosocomial outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease in hospitals.

2000

ABSTRACT The increased incidence of nosocomial Legionnaires' disease in two hospitals prompted investigation of possible environmental sources. In the search for an effective DNA-typing technique for use in hospital epidemiology, the performance and convenience of three methods— Sfi I macrorestriction analysis (MRA), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), and arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR)—were compared. Twenty-nine outbreak-associated and eight nonassociated strains of Legionella pneumophila with 13 MRA types and subtypes were investigated. These strains comprised isolates from bronchoalveolar lavages, from environmental, patient-related sources, and type strains. All three typing…

Molecular Epidemiology and Evolution in an Outbreak of Fulminant Hepatitis B Virus

2006

ABSTRACT In order to establish the transmission pathway for two outbreak patients affected by fulminant hepatitis B (FHB) following a shared period of hospitalization, we sequenced the complete genomes of the hepatitis B viruses (HBV) isolated from them as well as from the suspected common source and 11 additional controls. Phylogenetic and statistical analyses of these sequences revealed that the two FHB patients were indeed infected by a common source and that the fatal development of the disease did not appear to be associated with any mutation previously reported to be related to FHB. These data have also allowed us to estimate the extent and distribution of genetic variability along th…