Characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from healthy carrier chickens

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has long been recognized as an important pathogen in human medicine leading to hospital and community-acquired infections. However, it is now also considered a growing problem in veterinary medicine, although causing little or no disease. Although MRSA has already been detected in livestock including poultry, little is known about the epidemiology of MRSA in broiler and layer chickens. We therefore investigated 372 poultry farms in Belgium. We also compared the isolation method recommended by the European Food Safety Authority using two enrichment steps with an isolation method using only one enrichment step. Isolated MRSA was characterized by means of antimicrobial resistance profiling, spa typing, multi-locus sequence typing, and SCCmec typing. MRSA prevalence was 0.8% using the double broth enrichment method, while using the single broth enrichment method it was 1.8%. Five MRSA strains belonged to the livestock-associated (LA) MRSA ST398 (four with spa type t011 and one with t899), and three to the hospital-acquired MRSA ST239 spa type t037. The ST239 strains carried SCCmec type III while those belonging to ST398 carried SCCmec type IV or V. All isolates showed additional resistance to erythromycin and tetracycline apart from the expected resistance to cefoxitin and penicillin. All strains were susceptible to linezolid, mupirocin and vancomycin. In conclusion, a higher sensitivity for the isolation of LA-MRSA was obtained using only one enrichment step. While the typical LA-MRSA ST398 was present at low prevalence in poultry, human-associated strains have also been found.     

1324 prison suicides in 10 countries in South America: incidence,relative risks,and ecological factors

Purpose

Although suicide rates of prison populations and incidence factors have been reported for high-income countries, data from low- and middle-income regions are lacking. The purpose of the study was to estimate suicide rates among prison populations in South America, to examine prison-related factors, and to compare suicide rates between prison and general populations.

Methods

In this observational study, we collected the numbers of suicides in prison, rates of prison occupancy, and incarceration rates from primary sources in South America between 2000 and 2017. We compared suicide rates among prisoners with incidence rates in the general populations by calculating incidence rate ratios. We assessed the effect of gender, year, incarceration rates and occupancy on suicide rates in the prison populations using regression analyses.

Results

There were 1324 suicides reported during 4,437,591 person years of imprisonment between 2000 and 2017 in 10 South American countries. The mean suicide rate was 40 (95% CI 16–65) per 100,000 person years for male and female genders combined. The pooled incidence rate ratio of suicide between prison and general populations was 3.9 (95% CI 3.1–5.1) for both genders combined, 2.4 (95% CI 1.9–3.1) for men and a higher ratio in women (13.5, 95% CI 6.9–26.9). High occupancies of prisons were associated with lower incidence of suicide (β = − 58, 95% CI − 108.5 to − 7.1).

Conclusions

Suicides during imprisonment in South America are an important public health problem. Suicide prevention strategies need to target prison populations.

     

Limitations of peritoneal lavage with antiseptics in prevention of recurrent colorectal cancer caused by tumor-cell seeding

PURPOSE: Exfoliated or soiled free malignant cells have serious consequences in patients undergoing gastrointestinal cancer surgery. The present study evaluates the toxicity and efficacy of cytotoxic agents in the prevention of cell seeding and tumor growth in the peritoneal cavity in an experimental model. METHODS: Mtln3 adenocarcinoma cell viability was testedin vitro using the trypan blue exclusion test after incubation with povidone-iodine or chlorhexidine.In vivo, Fischer rats were inoculated with 10⁵ or 10⁶ cells followed by peritoneal lavage with physiological saline, chlorhexidine 0.02 percent, providone-iodine low molecular weight 1 percent or povidone-iodine high molecular weight 1 and 2 percent in different quantities and incubation times. RESULTS: Chlorhexidine 0.02 percent and povidone-iodine low molecular weight 1 percent or high molecular weight 2 percent, killed over 98 percent of 10⁵ or 10⁶ tumor cellsin vitro. Povidone-iodine low molecular weight 1 percent and high molecular weight 2 percent were toxic and lethal when 5 ml were applied in the peritoneal cavity three times for five minutes. Chlorhexidine 0.02 percent applied after inoculation of 10⁵ or 10⁶ cells, reduced the tumor development only to 70 and 80 percent. Application of 5 ml povidone-iodine 1 percent low molecular weightor high molecular weight, three times for one and five minutes, after inoculation of 10⁶ cells did not change the tumor take. However, inhibition of Mtln3 cells to form metastases was observed. When povidone-iodine low molecular weight 1 percent was used three times for one minute after 10⁵ tumor cells were soiled, no toxicity was observed and the tumor take was reduced to 30 percent (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Povidone-iodine toxicity proved to be a major issuein vivo. However, povidone-iodine low molecular weight 1 percent was safe when used for short periods and very effective when a limited number of tumor cells was inoculated. The use of cytotoxic agents to prevent recurrent disease caused by tumor cell seeding in patients seems to make sense only when the inoculum size of exfoliated or soiled cancer cells is limited.     

Brassinosteroids inhibit pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immune signaling independent of the receptor kinase BAK1

Plants and animals use innate immunity as a first defense against pathogens, a costly yet necessary tradeoff between growth and immunity. In Arabidopsis, the regulatory leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (LRR-RLK) BAK1 combines with the LRR-RLKs FLS2 and EFR in pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI) and the LRR-RLK BRI1 in brassinosteroid (BR)-mediated growth. Therefore, a potential tradeoff between these pathways mediated by BAK1 is often postulated. Here, we show a unidirectional inhibition of FLS2-mediated immune signaling by BR perception. Unexpectedly, this effect occurred downstream or independently of complex formation with BAK1 and associated downstream phosphorylation. Thus, BAK1 is not rate-limiting in these pathways. BRs also inhibited signaling triggered by the BAK1-independent recognition of the fungal PAMP chitin. Our results suggest a general mechanism operative in plants in which BR-mediated growth directly antagonizes innate immune signaling.