ABSTRACT
A human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative patient with no risk factor experienced HIV type 1 (HIV-1) primary infection 4 weeks after being hospitalized for surgery. Among the medical staff, only two night shift nurses were identified as HIV-1 seropositive. No exposure to blood was evidenced. To test the hypothesis of a possible nurse-to-patient transmission, phylogenetic analyses were conducted using two HIV-1 genomic regions (pol reverse transcriptase [RT] and env C2C4), each compared with reference strains and large local control sets (57 RT and 41 C2C4 local controls). Extensive analyses using multiple methodologies allowed us to test the robustness of phylogeny inference and to assess transmission hypotheses. Results allow us to unambiguously exclude one HIV-positive nurse and strongly suggest the other HIV-positive nurse as the source of infection of the patient.
Subject(s)
HIV Envelope Protein gp120/genetics , HIV Infections/transmission , HIV Reverse Transcriptase/genetics , HIV-1/genetics , Infectious Disease Transmission, Professional-to-Patient , Adult , Amino Acid Sequence , Female , HIV Infections/virology , HIV-1/classification , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Molecular Sequence Data , PhylogenyABSTRACT
CDC group IV c-2, an environmental gram-negative bacillus recently proposed for inclusion in the genus Ralstonia, has been isolated in several human infections. Biochemical characterization and 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing with phylogenetic analysis were used to characterize eight clinical isolates and four type strains. Other typing tools, such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis, were also used. PFGE typing of clinical isolates was unsuccessful because the DNA was degraded, and RAPD analysis was poorly discriminatory. In contrast, the type strains were clearly distinguished with both PFGE and RAPD analysis. All of the 16S rDNA sequences were identical. Comparison of the 16S rDNA sequences to the GenBank sequences showed that they were consistent with CDC group IV c-2 belonging to the genus Ralstonia. The closest matches were obtained with Ralstonia eutropha. However, four differences in 32 biochemical tests separated R. eutropha from CDC group IV c-2, which suggests that CDC group IV c-2 is a new species of the genus Ralstonia.
Subject(s)
Cupriavidus necator/classification , Gram-Negative Aerobic Rods and Cocci/classification , Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/microbiology , Phylogeny , DNA, Ribosomal/genetics , Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field , Gram-Negative Aerobic Rods and Cocci/genetics , Gram-Negative Aerobic Rods and Cocci/isolation & purification , Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/blood , Humans , RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics , Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA TechniqueABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: We present here GRANT ( G enotypic R esistance An alysis T ool), a program that automatically detects resistance-related mutations in HIV-1 protein sequences, and comments on the degree of resistance conferred when possible. This program is easily user-customizable, allowing immediate updates as new resistance mutations are discovered, or use with an organism other than HIV. AVAILABILITY: The package is available free of charge over the internet, either directly from the authors, or by anonymous ftp (ftp. infobiogen.fr/pub/logiciels/mac/biology or windows as appropriate). Versions exist for PPC and 68K Apple Macintosh running MacOS 7.5 or higher. Microsoft Excel 5.0 is required for quality output. A PC version is in progress. CONTACT: goujon@infobiogen.fr
