The Extended Stability of Cervical Swabs in careHPV™ Collection Medium

@#Introduction: The careHPV™ Test is a US FDA approved, CE mark, and WHO prequalified in vitro diagnostic test designed to screen for 14 high-risk human papillomavirus (HRHPV) genotypes. The careHPV™ Test is one of the commercial HPV test validated to be used in low resource settings, boasting the economy of processing a maximum of 90 samples per batch and a near point-of-care turnaround time of 3 hours. According to the manufacturer, cervical swabs stored in careHPV™ Collection Medium are stable for 30 days when stored between 2-8°C. However, we often had difficulty consolidating enough samples for a full batch-test within 30 days, especially when screening women living in the low-density villages in rural Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. This study aimed to evaluate the stability and repeatability of cervical swabs preserved in careHPV™ Collection Medium stored at 4°C exceeding the recommended 30 days using the careHPV™ Test. Methods: Two groups of confirmed HRHPV-positive and HRHPV-negative cervical swab samples in careHPV™ Collection Medium consisting of 4 samples each were maintained at 4°C and tested using the careHPV™ Test at Day -38, -123, -131, -223, and -395. Results: All cervical swabs in the careHPV™ Collection Medium stored at 4°C remained stable for testing and demonstrated 100% repeatability for at least 395 days from the day of collection. Conclusion: The careHPV™ Test can be successfully performed on cervical swabs preserved in careHPV™ Collection Medium, which were stored at 4°C for at least 395 days.

Could bacteriophages isolated from the sewage be the solution to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus?

@#Introductions: The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria such as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) complicates the treatment of the simplest infection. Although glycopeptides such as vancomycin still proves to be effective in treating MRSA infections, the emergence of vancomycin-resistant strains limits the long term use of this antibiotic. Bacteriophages are ubiquitous bacterial viruses which is capable of infecting and killing bacteria including its antibiotic-resistant strains. Bactericidal bacteriophages use mechanisms that is distinct from antibiotics and is not affected by the antibioticresistant phenotypes. Objectives: The study was undertaken to evaluate the possibility to isolate bacteriolytic bacteriophages against S.aureus from raw sewage water and examine their efficacy as antimicrobial agents in vitro. Methods: Bacteriophages were isolated from the raw sewage using the agar overlay method. Isolated bacteriophages were plaque purified to obtain homogenous bacteriophage isolates. The host range of the bacteriophages was determined using the spot test assay against the 25 MRSA and 36 MSSA isolates obtained from the Sarawak General Hospital. Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Staphylococcus sciuri and Staphylococcus xylosus were included as non-SA controls. The identity of the bacteriophages was identified via Transmission Electron Microscopy and genomic size analysis. Their stability at different pH and temperature were elucidated. Results: A total of 10 lytic bacteriophages infecting S.aureus were isolated and two of them namely ΦNUSA-1 and ΦNUSA-10 from the family of Myoviridae and Siphoviridae respectively exhibited exceptionally broad host range against >80% of MRSA and MSSA tested. Both bacteriophages were specific to S.aureus and stable at both physiologic pH and temperature. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the abundance of S.aureus specific bacteriophages in raw sewage. Their high virulence against both MSSA and MRSA is an excellent antimicrobial characteristic which can be exploited for bacteriophage therapy against MRSA.

One Health Perspectives on Emerging Public Health Threats / 예방의학회지

Antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases, including avian influenza, Ebola virus disease, and Zika virus disease have significantly affected humankind in recent years. In the premodern era, no distinction was made between animal and human medicine. However, as medical science developed, the gap between human and animal science grew deeper. Cooperation among human, animal, and environmental sciences to combat emerging public health threats has become an important issue under the One Health Initiative. Herein, we presented the history of One Health, reviewed current public health threats, and suggested opportunities for the field of public health through better understanding of the One Health paradigm.