Microorganisms

Background/ObjectivesHuman lactoferrin (hLF) is glycoprotein of commercial interest as a food ingredient for gut health. Here, we report an exploratory analysis evaluating the effects of Helaina hLF (effera(R)), produced by Komagataella phaffii, on the adult gut microbiome and fecal metabolites in comparison to bovine LF (bLF). MethodsIn a randomized, double-blind, parallel-arm, controlled trial, 66 healthy adults received either high-dose (HD) effera(R) (3.4 g/day), low-dose (LD) effera(R) (0....

Background Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are widely used as functional readouts of gut microbial activity in vivo. The growing adoption of decentralised study designs and self-collection protocols has amplified the need for reliable room-temperature storage and shipment strategies. However, SCFAs volatility and the persistence of post-collection microbial metabolism raise concerns regarding pre-analytical stability and the interpretability of measured concentrations. Methods We assessed the te...

IntroductionSequence-based typing (SBT) has been the standard molecular typing method for understanding Legionella pneumophila genetic relationships. However, genome-scale typing approaches, namely core-genome (cg) or whole-genome (wg) multilocus sequence typing (MLST), provide higher discriminatory power. To advance these capabilities, the Legionella International Typing (LIT) workgroup was established to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a novel cgMLST schema with enhanced wgMLST resolution f...

A multivariant total subclass analysis has been performed for a control cohort (n=15) and a long COVID patient cohort (n=15) measuring the IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4 and IgE response to the following 14 variants of SARS-CoV-2: Wuhan, Alpha, Delta, BA.1, BA.2, BA.5, EG.5.1, XBB.1.5, BA.2.75, CH.1.1, BA.2.12.1, BQ.1.1, JN.1, and KP.3. Significant differences (p < 0.05 and p < 0.005) between concentrations of IgG subclasses by variant were found in 24% of variants and in mean-normalised distributions. ...

ObjectivesWhether febuxostat is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk compared to allopurinol in patients with gout remains controversial, with major randomized trials reporting conflicting results. This study aims to perform a comprehensive meta-analysis using reconstructed individual participant data (IPD) to evaluate the time-varying cardiovascular and mortality risk of febuxostat versus allopurinol in gout. MethodsWe conducted a one-stage individual participant data meta-analysis...

The emergence of vaccine covered serotypes causing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) is a serious concern worldwide. We investigated the unexpected rise of serotype 4 causing IPD primarily in non-vaccinated young adults after the COVID-19 pandemic that further spread to adults [&ge;] 65 years in recent years. For this purpose, we conducted a retrospective study of serotype 4 IPD cases (n=827) reported in Spain between 2009 and 2024. Whole-genome sequencing was performed to assess clonal lineag...

BackgroundSerotype 3 (S3) has remained a major cause of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) despite its inclusion in 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). In October 2023, a 15-valent PCV (PCV15) including S3 was introduced into the Catalan universal childhood immunization program. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective pre-post surveillance study to compare pediatric IPD incidence in Catalonia during a pre-PCV15 period (October 1, 2022-September 30, 2023) and two post-PCV15 periods (Oct...

ObjectivesPneumococcal surveillance typically focuses on invasive disease (IPD), collecting limited clinical data. We used a longitudinal adult cohort of IPD and non-invasive pneumococcal disease (non-IPD) patients in three hospitals between 2006-22, to describe clinical disease, including site of infection, and serotype distribution. MethodsThe demographics of IPD and non-IPD were compared and survival analysis performed. Features of IPD in different sites were compared and serotype distributi...

BackgroundThe never-ending emergence of superbugs casts a shadow over the victorious age of antibiotics. In fact, the triumph of antibiotics was previously viewed in retrospection as our final victory over bacteria. Bacteria like Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Escherichia coli are now raising an alarming number of infections across hospitals and communities around the globe. The objective was to evaluate the implications for antimicrobial stewardship based on identifying the...

In Tijuana General Hospital, Mexico, pleural empyema (PE) was monitored through passive surveillance (2000 - 2005), active surveillance with PCR (2005 - 2018), and again through passive surveillance (2022 - 2024). The implementation of active surveillance combined with molecular diagnostics markedly improved pathogen detection and enabled assessment of the 7-valent (PCV7, 2005 - 2012) and 13-valent (PCV13, 2012 - 2018) pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. This strategy yielded precise insights into ...

BackgroundVaccination is a key measure to prevent severe influenza in adults aged [&ge;]80 years, who experience the highest burden of respiratory and cardiovascular complications. Because immunosenescence reduces the effectiveness of standard-dose vaccines (SD-IIV), enhanced formulations such as high-dose vaccines (HD-IIV) are recommended in the elderly. Real-world data on their effectiveness in adults aged [&ge;]80 years remain scarce. AimTo quantify the relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) o...

BackgroundClinical metagenomics (CMg) offers high-throughput respiratory pathogen detection with a wider range than targeted, probe-dependent diagnostics. Sequencing cost and the challenges of high host biomass in non-invasive samples are barriers to the use of CMg in high-throughput respiratory pathogen detection. MethodsWe optimised a long-read sequencing workflow to detect RNA viruses in nasopharyngeal swabs, employing pathogen enrichment and ONT sequencing. As a pre-requisite for agnostic p...

A concern in infectious disease modelling is how accurately population mixing is incorporated, as it shapes the type and frequency of contacts through which infection spreads, and consequently, estimated intervention effectiveness. Although synthesizing mixing patterns from diary-based surveys is an established framework, geographical information is poorly or sparsely captured. Here we propose a generalizable workflow to quantify geographical connectivity from job registry data covering over 8 m...

We genotyped 1189 multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates identified during 2013-2022 in Argentina, through a mixed strategy using PCR-based methods and whole-genome sequencing. Epidemiological, geographic distribution and microbiological data were integrated. Most cases belonged to a cluster (75.7%). The proportion of orphan and clustered cases varied across regions. The Euro-American lineage4 was virtually predominant. The most important clusters, M, Ra, Rb and Callao2 strains,...

Carbapenem-resistant (CR) bacteria have emerged and been spreading beyond healthcare-associated facilities into the environment. It is recognized that toilet bowl water in patient rooms of healthcare-associated facilities can be one of internal reservoirs of CR bacteria. In accordance with this idea, toilet bowl water samples were collected from patient rooms in a tertiary healthcare-associated facility in North Macedonia, and meropenem (MEM)-resistant bacterial isolates were obtained from the t...

BackgroundPreoperative biliary stenting alters biliary colonization and may reduce the effectiveness of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis in pancreatoduodenectomy. Although broader-spectrum regimens have been associated with improved infectious outcomes, their microbiological adequacy in routine clinical practice remains poorly defined. We therefore evaluated the real-world adequacy of a prolonged ampicillin-sulbactam protocol, its association with infectious outcomes and survival, and the po...

BackgroundWhile antimicrobial resistance is an increasingly urgent problem, with Escherichia coli infections representing a major priority, the development of effective vaccines has proven both challenging and largely unsuccessful. Given accumulating evidence supporting the immunosuppressive role of extracellular bacterial glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), we aimed to characterize individual susceptibility to E. coli infections based on the presence of naturally induced antibodie...

Microbial keratitis is a sight-threatening corneal infection with varying etiological agents, primarily bacteria and fungi. Assessing and contrasting the virulence factors of microorganisms isolated from a non-contact lens-associated keratitis (NCLAK) and contact lens-associated keratitis (CLAK) is the goal of the current investigation. Samples were collected from over 60 patients and analysed using standard microbiological techniques, including culture, Gram staining, KOH mount, biochemical tes...

ObjectiveThe rapid availability of phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility results is crucial for the timely detection of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms and for guiding optimized treatment strategies. Recently, novel methods have been introduced that enable direct antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) from positive blood cultures. However, their performance has not yet been systematically compared in head-to-head evaluations. This study aimed to assess the analytical performanc...

Shigellosis remains underdiagnosed due to the lack of rapid, reliable diagnostics. Although Shigella spp. is known for causing dysentery, over 50% of Shigella-associated cases are watery diarrhea. Identifying and treating these cases of watery diarrhea caused by Shigella could be lifesaving, which would require a point-of-care (POC) Shigella test. Evidence-based treatment could also reduce the overuse of antibiotics. We evaluated the feasibility and applicability of the Rapid LAMP-based Diagnost...