Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis in a population of Italian and immigrant outpatients.

Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis are associated with non-gonococcal urethritis, increased risk of recurrent miscarriage, infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease. Migration flows from other countries change the local epidemiological profile of infectious diseases of patients treated by general practitioners and hospital doctors. Few studies have evaluated this ever-changing issue in the Italian population. The aim of this study was to assess possible differences in prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of U. urealyticum and M. hominis in a population of 433 Italian and immigrant outpatients by means of the commercially available MYCOFAST(®) Screening EvolutioN 3 Kit. Prevalence of positive samples was 44.5% in Italian patients and 53.4% in immigrants. Samples positive for U. urealyticum and total isolates were more frequent in African patients: U. urealyticum, 51.5% vs 33.3%; Yates-corrected chi-square=3.98; p=0.046; total isolates, 54.5% vs 34.3%; Yates-corrected chi-square=4.45; p=0.035. Among samples positive for U. urealyticum, 66.4% were resistant to ciprofloxacin, whereas 27.6% to ofloxacin. In M. hominis isolates, 66.7% were resistant to both azythromycin and roxythromycin. Our study showed how prevalence of genital mycoplasmas and antibiotic resistance profiles change in relation to the country of origin. Therefore, surveillance is critical for the early cure and prevention of the occurrence of resistant strains.

Aeromonas veronii biovar veronii septicaemia and acute suppurative cholangitis in a patient with hepatitis B.

Gram-negative bacilli of the genus Aeromonas are widespread in aquatic environments and can be responsible for human infections. Although Aeromonas extraintestinal and systemic infections have been reported with growing frequency in recent years, Aeromonas septicaemia remains an uncommon finding, often associated with serious underlying disease and predominantly related to the species Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria and Aeromonas caviae. Here, a case of A. veronii biovar veronii septicaemia and acute suppurative cholangitis is reported in a patient with chronic hepatitis B.

Fungal colonization on stoneworks. Interaction fungi-powdered stone samples.

The microbial activity plays an important role in the biodegradative processes implied in stonework decay. In natural environments it is not possible to separate the damage produced by microorganisms from damage caused by physical and chemical agents. In vitro assays carried out with microbes isolated from weathered stones are required in order to understand the biological mechanisms involved in stone deterioration. We have described, as commented in the text, how fungal colonization observed on scaglia may be the result of the fine grain size of rock, whereas inhibition of growth on marble may depend on the surface characteristics of calcite grains after grinding. The extent of microbial growth clearly depends on the quantity of cations released in solution. However, fungal growth may, in turn, induce a decrease in pH, thus promoting mineral chemical attack. These observation points to selective action of fungal species in promoting weathering well evidenced by the presence of different extents of cations released in suspension from the same sample. Detailed studies are in progress in order to go into this question.