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Journal of Medical Microbiology 01/2011; 60(Pt 5):689-90. · 2.50 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has dramatically changed over the past 10 y with the emergence of community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA). Recent studies have reported a frequent association of these strains with hospital outbreaks, and an incidence varying over time and by region. In order to evaluate the MRSA lineages circulating in our area of Italy, we performed a molecular characterization of CA-MRSA isolates prospectively collected from April 2006 to July 2007 at the San Paolo Hospital of Milan. We investigated the protein A-encoding gene (spa-typing), the staphylococcal chromosomal cassette SCCmec, the presence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), and 3 adhesin genes. Twenty-five CA-MRSA isolates cultured from 25 patients were collected; an equal number of healthcare-associated (HA)-MRSA strains, from 25 patients hospitalized in various wards, were collected for comparison purposes. SCCmec type IV emerged as the most frequent genotype in both CA- and HA-MRSA. Seventeen different spa types were identified: t515 was the most common (36%), followed by t008 (20%). We detected 3 PVL-positive strains, only among the CA-MRSA. On the whole, our local MRSA epidemiology appears to be heterogeneous, with a predominant t515 spa type, only recently considered to belong to clonal EMRSA-15.
Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases 12/2010; 42(11-12):873-8. · 1.72 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The newly available AST-YS01 Vitek 2 cards were evaluated, and the results were compared with those obtained by the CLSI M27-A2 microdilution reference method. Clinical fungal isolates, including 614 isolates of Candida spp., 10 Cryptococcus neoformans isolates, 1 Geotrichum capitatum isolate, and 2 quality control strains, were tested for their susceptibilities to amphotericin B, fluconazole, and voriconazole using both methods. The majority of fungal isolates were susceptible to all antifungal agents tested: the MIC(90) values determined by the Vitek 2 and CLSI methods were 0.5 and 1 microg/ml, respectively, for amphotericin B; 8 and 16 microg/ml, respectively, for fluconazole; and <0.12 and 0.25 microg/ml, respectively, for voriconazole. Overall there was excellent categorical agreement (CA) between the methods (99.5% for amphotericin B, 92% for fluconazole, 98.2% for voriconazole), but discrepancies were observed within species. The CAs for fluconazole were low for Candida glabrata and Candida krusei when the results of the CLSI method at 48 h were considered. Moreover, the fully automated commercial system did not detect the susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans to voriconazole. The Vitek 2 system can be considered a valid support for antifungal susceptibility testing of fungi, but testing of susceptibility to agents not included in the system (e.g., echinocandins and posaconazole) should be performed with other methods.
Journal of clinical microbiology 09/2010; 48(9):3153-7. · 4.16 Impact Factor
