J. Verhaegen

Sexually transmitted infections among married women in Dhaka, Bangladesh: unexpected high prevalence of herpes simplex type 2 infection

Objectives: To document the prevalence of reproductive tract infections (RTI) and sexually transmitted infections (STI) among women attending a basic healthcare clinic in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to identify risk factors associated with the diseases and to estimate the incidence of syphilis, hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV), and herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2) infection. Methods: A cross sectional sample of 2335 consecutive women was examined during 1996–8. Women were interviewed about risk factors for RTI/STI and tested for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis, Treponema pallidum, HIV, HCV, HBV, HSV-1 and HSV-2 infection as well as vaginal candidosis and bacterial vaginosis. Women with antibodies to T pallidum were retested at regular intervals. One year after ending the study seroconversion for syphilis, HBV, HCV, and HSV-2 infection was detected among women initially negative for the respective diseases. Results: The overall prevalence rate of N gonorrhoeae, C trachomatis, T vaginalis, and T pallidum infection was 0.5%, 1.9%, 2.0%, and 2.9% respectively. Overall, 35% of the women had antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen, 0.9% had HCV, and 12% HSV-2 infection. Risk factors for gonorrhoea/C trachomatis infection were a husband not living at home or suspected of being unfaithful. HSV-2 infection was associated with the same risk factors and with a polygamous marriage. The prevalence of HSV-2 infection among women “at risk” was 23%. HIV infection was not diagnosed. Repeated serological examination indicated that only 32% of women with serological evidence of syphilis had active disease. The seroincidences of HBV, HCV, and HSV-2 were 0.03, 0.007, and 0.009 per person year. Seroconversion for syphilis was not observed.

Zoonotic transmission of Cryptococcus neoformans from a magpie to an immunocompetent patient

Abstract.  Lagrou K, Van Eldere J, Keuleers S, Hagen F, Merckx R, Verhaegen J, Peetermans WE, Boekhout T (University Hospital Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; and Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, CT Utrecht, the Netherlands) Zoonotic transmission of Cryptococcus neoformans from a magpie to an immunocompetent patient (Case report). J Intern Med 2005; 257: 385–388.

Prospective study of catalase-positive coryneform organisms in clinical specimens : Identification, clinical relevance, and antibiotic susceptibility

During a 6-month period, all clinical isolates of catalase-positive coryneform organisms, which were isolated during the routine processing of clinical specimens, were characterized in the laboratory of the 1800-bed University Hospital of Leuven. The distribution of the species in the corynebacteria was: Corynebacterium amycolatum 70 (53%), Corynebacterium jeikeium 16 (12%), Corynebacterium striatum 11 (8%), Corynebacterium afermentans 10 (7%), Corynebacterium minutissimum 9 (6%), CDC coryneform group G 4 (3%), Corynebacterium urealyticum 4 (3%), Corynebacterium glucuronolyticum 1 (0.7%), and Corynebacterium xerosis 1 (0.7%). Of the 150 isolates, 37 (25%) were considered to be infection related and the remaining 113 (75%) were of questionable clinical significance. Susceptibility of the corynebacteria to 12 antibiotics active against Gram-positive organisms was evaluated. C. amycolatum, C. jeikeium, and C. urealyticum were multiresistant, but all isolates were susceptible to teicoplanin and vancomycin. Most of the C. amycolatum strains, and all strains of C. jeikeium and C. striatum, were susceptible to the vibrocidal compound O/129.

Three cases of destructive native valve endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus lugdunensis

Described here are three cases of acute native valve endocarditis due to the coagulase-negative pathogen Staphylococcus lugdunensis with serious complications. Two of the three patients died despite optimal antibiotic therapy and cardiovascular surgery. These cases demonstrate the aggressive nature of S. lugdunensis and emphasize the importance of identifying coagulase-negative staphylococci to the species level and not considering the isolation of S. lugdunensis from normally sterile body fluids as contamination. On the contrary, when this organism is found in patients with endocarditis, early surgery should be considered. The possibility that this organism could be misidentified as S. aureus because of ‘autocoagulation’ and that commercial identification systems may misidentify it as S. haemolyticus, S. hominis or S. warneri should also be remembered.

Increase in Penicillin Resistance Rates in Belgium due to Clonal Spread of a Penicillin-Resistant 23F Streptococcus pneumoniae Strain

Abstract In 1994 a sudden increase in penicillin resistance was observed in Belgium among invasive pneumococci. To determine whether this increase was due to clonal spread of a resistant strain or to de novo acquisition of penicillin resistance, pneumococci of capsular types 23F, 19, 14, 9, and 6, isolated in 1993 and 1994, were analyzed by capsular serotyping and DNA macrorestriction analysis, resolved by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Furthermore, pneumococcal isolates from northern France, a region with a high prevalence of penicillin resistance, and from southern Belgium, a region with a low but increasing prevalence of penicillin resistance, were analyzed. The rate of resistance of invasive pneumococci to penicillin increased from 2.3% in 1993 to 7.6% in 1994. Pneumococcal serotype 23F represented 26.7% of the penicillin-resistant isolates in 1993 and 40.4% in 1994, while the prevalence of serotype 23F decreased from 10.9% in 1993 to 8.8% in 1994. In 1994 up to 35.8% of serotype 23F isolates were penicillin resistant. The Belgian penicillin-resistant 23F isolates from 1994 were genetically closely related to the French 23F penicillin-resistant isolates and, as clones were clearly distinct from the other serotypes as well as from the penicillin-susceptible 23F isolates. These data demonstrate the important contribution of the clonal spread of a penicillin-resistant pneumococcal strain in the overall increase of penicillin resistance in our country.

Bacteraemia caused by Leptotrichia trevisanii in a neutropenic patient

We describe an episode of Leptotrichia trevisanii bacteraemia in a neutropenic hemato-oncology patient receiving chemotherapy for Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts-2 (RAEB-2). Although Leptotrichia spp. colonize the oral cavity and genitourinary tract, serious episodes of bacteraemia might occur in immunocompromised patients, particularly in those with severe neutropenia. Therefore, microbiologists should consider the possibility of Leptotrichia spp. septicemia in patients with blood cultures positive for gram negative bacilli, when routine microbiology tests fail to reveal a correct identification of the organism.

Influence of postmortem time on the outcome of blood cultures among cadaveric tissue donors

Tissue banks provide tissues of human cadaver donors for transplantation. The maximal time limit for tissue retrieval has been set at 24 h postmortem. This study aimed at evaluating the evidence for this limit from a microbiological point of view. The delay of growth in postmortem blood cultures, the identification of the species isolated and clinical/environmental factors were investigated among 100 potential tissue donors. No significant difference was found in the rate of donors with grown blood cultures within (25/65=38%) compared with after (24/65=37%) 24 h of death. Coagulase-negative staphylococci and gastro-intestinal microorganisms were isolated within and after 24 h of death. Two factors—antimicrobial therapy and “delay before body cooling”—were significantly inversely related with donors’ blood culture results. From a microbiological point of view, there is no evidence for avoiding tissue retrieval among donors after 24 h of death.

SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING OF PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA BY THE VITEK 2 SYSTEM: A COMPARISON WITH ETEST RESULTS

Abstract P. aeruginona infections need accurate antimicrobial susceptibility data, as treatment mainly relies on antibiotic efficiency in debilitated patients. Vitek 2, a popular automated susceptibility testing method, was compared with Etest to assess its reliability on 150 Belgian P. aeruginonas isolates. Vitek 2 and Etest exhibited a high degree of concordance, but some discrepancies in clinical category were evident for cefepime (high minor and borderline very major error rate) and for piperacillin/tazobactam (high very major error rate). Vitek 2 appears to yield valuable information to the clinician concerning the antimicrobials amikacin, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin and meropenem, in the setting of pseudomonas infection. For cefepime and piperacillin/tazobactam, a confirmatory testing by means of disk diffusion is worth considering.

Bacteraemia with Leptotrichia buccalis: report of a case and review of the literature.

We report here on a new case of L. buccalis bacteraemia. To our knowledge 16 other cases of L. buccalis bacteraemia have been reported in the literature, most of them in neutropenic patients. However L buccalis endocarditis does occasionally occur in non-neutropenic patients. The identification of L. buccalis is based on well known phenotypic features and confirmed by the detection of a large peak of lactic acid by gas chromatography for non volatile organic acids. L. buccalis is sensitive to a wide range of antibiotics including beta-lactam antibiotics, but it is resistant to aminoglycosides and macrolides.

Surveillance of antibiotic resistance in non invasive clinical isolates of streptococcus pneumoniae collected in belgium during winters 2003 and 2004.

Abstract A total of 391 and 424 non-invasive isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae collected by 15 laboratories during the 2003 and 2004 survey were tested for their susceptibility by a microdilution technique following NCCLS recommendations. Insusceptibility rates (IR) in the two surveys (2003/2004) were as follows: penicillin 15.0/14.7 % [8.4/6.4 % Resistance (R)], ampicillin 17.4/14.6 % (R 9.0/7.1 %), amoxicillin ± clavulanic acid 2.6/1.2 % (R 0/0 %), cefaclor 14.3/14.1 % (R 11.5/13.4 %), cefuroxime 13.6/12.7 % (R 10.5/11.8 %), cefuroxime-axetil 10.5/11.8 % (R 10.0/9.2 %) (breakpoints based on 250 mg), cefotaxime 4.9/6.2 % (R 1.3/2.4 %), ceftazidime NotTested (NT)/6.4 (R NT/2.6 %), cefepime NT/6.4 (R NT/2.6 %), imipenem 7.7/8.9 % (R 1.8/1.4 %), ertapenem 0.8/NT % (R 0/NT %), ciprofloxacin 13.8/9.0 % (R 4.3/2.4 %), levofloxacin 3.3/2.8 % (R 1.5/0.2 %), moxifloxacin 0.6/0.2 % (R 0.3/0 %), ofloxacin 13.5/9.0 % (R 4.3/2.4 %), erythromycin 26.1/24.7 % (R 25.3/24.5 %), azithromycin 25.4/24.7 % (R 24.6/24.5 %), telithromycin 0.8/0.2 % (R 0.5/0 %), clindamycin 21.2/18.4 % (R 19.2/17.7 %) and tetracycline 32.3/22.1 % (R 29.2/19.3 %). There were only minor differences in resistance rates according to age, sample site, admission type (i.e. ambulatory, hospitalized or long-term care facility patients), gender and geographic origin. Overall, telithromycin (MIC50, MIC90 in 2003/2004: 0.015 µg/ml, 0.12 µg/ml/ 0.008,0.06 respectively), ertapenem (0.03; 0.25/NT), moxifloxacin (0.06; 0.25/0.06, 0.12), and amoxicillin ± clavulanic acid (0.03; 0.25/0.015, 0.5) were the most active compounds in both surveys. In 2003, the most common resistance phenotype was isolated insusceptibility to tetracycline (10.5 %) followed by combined insusceptibility to erythromycin and tetracycline (9.3 %). Erythromycin-tetracycline resistance (10.4 %) was the most common in 2004. Isolates showing resistance to an antibiotic were significantly more present in 2003 than in 2004 (50.4 % versus 40.8 %). In penicillin-insusceptible isolates, MICs of all beta-lactams were increased but cross-resistance between penicillin and other β-lactams in the penicillin-insusceptible isolates was not complete. In the 2003 survey, most of these isolates remained fully susceptible to ertapenem (94.9 %) and amoxicillin ± clavulanic acid (83.1 %). In the 2004 survey, 91.9 % of the penicillin insusceptible isolates remained susceptible to amoxicillin ± clavulanic acid. In both surveys, the most common serotypes in penicillin insusceptible isolates were 14, 23, 19 and 9 (20.0 %, 20.0 %, 16.4 % and 10.9 % respectively in 2003; 41.6 %, 11.7 %, 15.0 % and 18.3 % respectively in 2004).