Bacterial contamination of saline nasal irrigations in children: An original research.

Microbiologic analysis of nasal saline irrigations (NSIs) used in hospitalized children was performed. Of 253 collected samples, 24.9% were positive, and the number of positive samples significantly increased over time (P < .001). Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently detected bacterium (28.6%). None of the 118 patients who received NSIs developed a nasosinusal infection. Colonization by cutaneous and environmental germs is frequent and develops early. Hygienic measures should be advocated to reduce contamination.

Listeria monocytogenes serotypes in human infections (Italy, 2000-2010).

BACKGROUND: In developed countries invasive listeriosis is an infection of great concern to public health to due its clinical severity and high fatality rate, despite its low incidence. In Europe, statistically significant increasing trends in listeriosis notification rates from 2005 to 2009 were noted in Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The standardized techniques based on phenotype to typing Listeria monocytogenes is the serotyping. In Europe, as elsewhere in the world, about 95% of L. monocytogenes strains isolated from clinical and food samples belongs to serovars 1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c and 4b. RESULTS: The target of this work is to draw attention to this important and atypical foodborne disease, reporting epidemiological data and serotypes distribution of 251 human L. monocytogenes isolates reported during 2000-2010 to Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety Department of Istituto Superiore di Sanità, focusing on epidemiological trend of invasive listeriosis in Lombardia, a North Italian Region. The serotypes most frequently identified are 1/2a, 4b, 1/2b (in total 92%), but the detection of uncommon serotypes is not missing (1/2c, 3a, 3b, 4d). CONCLUSIONS: In Italy the surveillance laboratory network, as well as the foodborne disease network (ENTER-NET), has revealed in the last 11 years an increase trend of listeriosis cases reported likewise with results of Notificable National Infectious Disease surveillance System. This is probably due to a real increase of listeriosis, even if there is a greater sensitivity of the network in some regions.

Genotype-based differentiation of the Cryptococcus neoformans serotypes by combined PCR-RFLP analysis of the capsule-associated genes CAP10 and CAP59.

This report describes an indirect identification method for Cryptococcus neoformans serotypes developed using combined restriction enzyme pattern analysis of two PCR-amplified portions of the capsule-associated genes CAP10 and CAP59. The method relies on the recognition of the sequence conformation of nine serotype-related polymorphic sites by the analysis of four restriction profiles. A 610 nucleotides long trait of the CAP10 gene was digested with the enzymes Sty I or Sal I and a 597 nucleotides long trait of the CAP59 gene was digested with the enzymes Sal I or EcoRV+PstI. The resulting profiles, reported as a string of four numbers, defined for each strain an intrinsically coherent allelic profile closely correlated to the serotype. We analyzed by this method 172 C. neoformans strains obtained from different sources. All the serotype A strains examined and all the strains of the B-C serotypes group were recognized by specific allelic profiles, but serotypes B and C could not be distinguished from each other. Of the serotype D strains, 84% were characterized by a unique allelic pattern, while the remaining 16% were genotypically indistinguishable from the AD serotype organisms among which differences in the ploidy number and evidence of recombination could be recognized.