Epidemiology, risk factors and possibilities for the prevention of acute leukaemia.

Acute leukaemias are malignant diseases of haematopoiesis, traditionally classified according to the affected cell line as acute lymphoblastic and acute myelogenous leukaemia. In terms of incidence, acute leukaemias are rare diseases - in the Czech Republic, only 2-3 new acute myelogenous leukaemia cases/100 000 population are diagnosed annually and less than 1 new case of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia/100 000 residents. The causes of acute leukaemias are still poorly understood. The established risk factors are age, ionizing radiation or Downs syndrome. Moreover, a number of potential risk factors have been described to play a role in development of acute leukaemias and to multiply the risk, such as physical factors, chemicals, genetic and familial predispositions or other diseases. The presented review summarizes the knowledge of the aetiology of acute leukaemias published since 2000. It describes their epidemiological characteristics and risk factors and outlines the possibilities for their prevention.

[The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) - biology, medical relevance, possibilities for the detection and control]. / Stenice domácí (Cimex lectularius) - biologie, zdravotnický význam, moznosti detekce a hubení.

Bed bugs have become a major concern worldwide in the 21st century and are therefore intensively investigated. The new findings not only extend the knowledge of their biology, medical relevance, and causes of the resurgence, but also can be used in bed bug management. A brief overview is provided of some of the most important research results and opinions, published in the last few years in prestigious international journals.

Legionella spp. in dental unit waterlines.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the current presence of Legionella spp. in the output water of dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) and examine its mitigation by disinfection at the Institute of Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University Olomouc and University Hospital Olomouc. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The first stage of our survey involved collecting samples of DUWL output water from 50 dental chair units (DCUs), and 2 samples of the incoming potable water. In October 2015, a one-time disinfection (1 % Stabimed) of DUWLs was conducted. This was followed by collecting 10 control samples (survey stage 2). RESULTS: From the total of 50 samples (survey stage 1), 18 samples (36.0 %) tested positive for Legionella spp. Following the disinfection, nine of the ten samples no longer showed any presence of Legionella. CONCLUSION: Based on culture results, the one-time disinfection (1 % Stabimed) was effective. We are unable to comment on the duration of positive effect of disinfection on the occurrence of Legionella spp. in the outlet water. It was a one-time survey (Tab. 2, Ref. 32).

The speciation and genotyping of Cronobacter isolates from hospitalised patients.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognised all Cronobacter species as human pathogens. Among premature neonates and immunocompromised infants, these infections can be life-threatening, with clinical presentations of septicaemia, meningitis and necrotising enterocolitis. The neurological sequelae can be permanent and the mortality rate as high as 40-80%. Despite the highlighted issues of neonatal infections, the majority of Cronobacter infections are in the elderly population suffering from serious underlying disease or malignancy and include wound and urinary tract infections, osteomyelitis, bacteraemia and septicaemia. However, no age profiling studies have speciated or genotyped the Cronobacter isolates. A clinical collection of 51 Cronobacter strains from two hospitals were speciated and genotyped using 7-loci multilocus sequence typing (MLST), rpoB gene sequence analysis, O-antigen typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The isolates were predominated by C. sakazakii sequence type 4 (63%, 32/51) and C. malonaticus sequence type 7 (33%, 17/51). These had been isolated from throat and sputum samples of all age groups, as well as recal and faecal swabs. There was no apparent relatedness between the age of the patient and the Cronobacter species isolated. Despite the high clonality of Cronobacter, PFGE profiles differentiated strains across the sequence types into 15 pulsotypes. There was almost complete agreement between O-antigen typing and rpoB gene sequence analysis and MLST profiling. This study shows the value of applying MLST to bacterial population studies with strains from two patient cohorts, combined with PFGE for further discrimination of strains.

[West Nile virus transmission risk in the Czech Republic]. / Rizika sírení viru západonilské horecky v Ceské republice.

West Nile Virus (WNV) belongs to the family Flaviviridae. It is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, capable of sucking blood on birds and mammals, most often by mosquitoes of the genus Culex. In humans, the virus was first identified in 1937 in the West Nile region, Uganda, Africa. Later, the virus spread and caused more or less severe epidemics of West Nile fever in North Africa, Europe, Asia, and North and South America. During the last two decades, WNV has been on the rise and is currently ranked as one of the most prevalent arboviruses in the world. In humans, WNV infection mostly occurs as asymptomatic, but may have a more severe or even fatal course in older and weakened patients. Humans may become infected not only by mosquitoes that acquire the virus from infected birds, but also through a blood transfusion, organ transplant, breast milk and transplacental transmission, or contact with infected animals, their blood, and tissues. The first autochthonous human case of West Nile fever in the Czech Republic was reported from South Moravia in 1997. In 2013, another case of West Nile fever emerged in this country, in the Ostrava area. The issue of WNV has recently been studied from many different perspectives, as evidenced by many original and review papers. This article briefly reviews the essential knowledge about this virus and its spread.

[The prevalence of nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) among general medicine students of the Palacky University Olomouc]. / Prevalence výskytu nosního nosicství kmenu Staphylococcus aureus a meticilin rezistentních kmenu S. aureus (MRSA) u studentu vseobecného lékarství LF UP v Olomouci.

INTRODUCTION: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major agents of both healthcare- and community-associated infections. Nasal carriage of S. aureus has been reported in approximately 37% of healthy persons. OBJECTIVES: 1. To investigate the prevalence of nasal carriage of S. aureus and MRSA in healthy persons of the age group 18-26 years (general medicine students of the Palacký University Olomouc). This type of information is not available in the Czech Republic. 2. To find whether the prevalence of nasal carriage strains of S. aureus and MRSA varies over the years of studies. 3. To compare the Year 1 (baseline) and Year 5 (after a long, close contact with the indoor environment of health-care facilities) general medicine students for nasal carriage of S. aureus and MRSA strains. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The prevalence study was conducted for over 12 months in 2012 and 2013. Nasal swabs were taken from the general medicine students participating in the study. Each subject was sampled once. RESULTS: In total, 307 samples were collected: 206 samples from the Year 1 students and 101 from the Year 5 students. Sixty-one (about 32%) Year 1 students and 32 (30%) Year 5 students were positive for S. aureus. Of them, 94 (30.6%) were males and 213 (69.4%) were females. CONCLUSIONS: The observed prevalence of nasal S. aureus carriage is consistent with the literature data. No statistically significant difference in the prevalence of nasal carriage of S. aureus was found between the Year 1 and Year 5 general medicine students.

Epidemiology of Cronobacter spp. isolates from patients admitted to the Olomouc University Hospital (Czech Republic).

UNLABELLED: The data on the incidence of Cronobacter spp. was collated from hospital records for the seven-year period 2005-2011. The majority of Cronobacter spp. isolates (n = 91) were from throat swabs (61), followed by urine (5), tracheal aspirates (5), bronchoalveolar lavage (4), cannulae (4), and sputum (3) samples. This is the first study which profiles the carriage of Cronobacter spp. according to patient age, based on seven years of clinical data from 2005-2011. It reveals a high recovery (63.7% of strains, n = 91) of the organism from children, 1-14 years in age. KEYWORDS: Cronobacter spp. - meningitis - nosocomial infection.

Cronobacter spp. as emerging causes of healthcare-associated infection.

BACKGROUND: Until recently, members of the Cronobacter genus (formerly known as Enterobacter sakazakii) were a relatively unknown cause of nosocomial infections. However, their association with infant infections, particularly through the consumption of contaminated reconstituted infant formula in neonatal intensive care units, has resulted in international efforts to improve neonatal health care. AIM: To investigate current understanding of this emergent group of bacterial pathogens and the steps taken to reduce neonatal infection. METHODS: A literature review was undertaken to determine current knowledge of the Cronobacter genus with respect to recent taxonomic revisions, sources and clinical relevance. FINDINGS: The majority of severe neonatal meningitis infections are associated with one of the 10 Cronobacter spp., the clonal complex known as C. sakazakii sequence type 4. International efforts by the Food and Agriculture Organization-World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce the risk of neonatal infection by this organism have resulted in improved microbiological safety of powdered infant formula (PIF), but revised guidelines for feeding practices have been problematic. In addition, the majority of infections occur in the adult population and the sources are unknown. CONCLUSION: International improvements in the microbiological safety of PIF and advice on feeding practices have focused on improving neonatal health care following the heightened awareness of Cronobacter infections in this particular age group. These measures are also likely to reduce neonatal exposure to other opportunistic bacterial pathogens, but a number of unresolved issues remain with respect to the practicalities of feeding premature neonates safely while following WHO advice.

An outbreak of Burkholderia multivorans beyond cystic fibrosis patients.

Strains of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) are opportunistic pathogens capable of causing serious infection in cystic fibrosis patients. Recently we identified a suspected outbreak of infection with Bcc strains at the University Hospital Olomouc. Seventy-four Bcc strains were isolated from 52 patients, most of whom (N = 48) did not suffer from cystic fibrosis. Most frequently (N = 46) Burkholderia multivorans was isolated and 24 (52.2%) of these strains were clonal. Fifteen of these strains were isolated from intensive care patients, five of whom died from hospital-acquired pneumonia. B. multivorans can cause serious outbreaks of infection beyond cystic fibrosis sufferers.

Isolation of Cronobacter spp. (formerly Enterobacter sakazakii) from nostrils of healthy stable horse--short communication.

Cronobacter spp. belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae. It is a motile (peritricha) Gram-negative non-spore forming bacterium. At present, Enterobacter sakazakii is reported as a Cronobacter spp. species with 16 biogroups. It is a ubiquitous organism whose isolation used to be associated with a contaminated powdered infant formula and feed for neonates and infants. Information about the Cronobacter spp. species incidence in the environment, its potential dissemination and its vectors, is very limited. The authors have documented incidence of Cronobacter spp. in the nostril mucous membrane of a healthy stabled horse. The above points out at the absolutely insufficient and unsystematic information about the dissemination of the Cronobacter spp. strain in the environment of animals and the people who are in contact with them.