Filarial nematode (order: Spirurida) surveillance in urban habitats,in the city of Pécs (Hungary)

Parasitology Research - As part of the seasonal mosquito control activities in the city of Pécs (Baranya County, Hungary), a total of 1123 adult female mosquitoes belonging to 18 species...     

Diagnosis of pneumonia due to Pneumocystis by subsegmental pulmonary lavage via the fiberoptic bronchoscope.

To assess the accuracy of pulmonary lavage in diagnosing pneumonia due to Pneumocystis, we used animals as a model and then prospectively studied 33 immunosuppressed adults with diffuse pulmonary infiltrates. In rats treated with cortisone, Pneumocystis organisms could be found in the effluent from lavage as early as in sections of pulmonary tissue, and the effluent from lavage remained diagnostic throughout the ten weeks of observation. Subsegmental lavage in adult patients was performed through the wedged fiberoptic bronchoscope. Pneumocystis organisms were demonstrated in seven patients by lavage, and no false-negative results were recorded. Pneumocystis organisms were readily identified among the sheets of alveolar macrophages seen in smears of the effluent from lavage that were stained with methenamine silver. Subsegmental lavage via the fiberoptic bronchoscope is an accurate and safe technique for establishing the diagnosis of pneumonia due to Pneumocystis in patients whose respiratory embarrassment or thrombocytopenia makes biopsy of the lung hazardous.     

A potential role of aminoglycoside resistance in endemic occurrence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains in lower airways of mechanically ventilated patients

Altogether, 98 Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from a 5-bed intensive care unit were fingerprinted with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and tested for aminoglycoside resistance genes aac(6′)-Ib, aac(3″)-IIa, ant(2″)-Ia, armA, rmtA, and rmtB and integrons and virulence genes/operons phzI, phzII, phzM, phzS, apr, lasB, plcH, plcN, pilA, algD, toxA, exoS, exoT, exoY, and exoU. Two major clusters were identified (49 and 19 isolates), harbouring aac(6′)-Ib, bla_PSE-1, and ant(3″)-Ia genes or ant(2″)-Ia gene, respectively, on a class I integron. Most virulence genes except for exoU and pilA were found. Only 1 isolate of the minor cluster (8 isolates) and 1 of the 22 sporadic isolates carried integrons (without gene cassettes); virulence profile was highly variable. Comparing the resistance and virulence patterns of endemic and sporadic isolates suggests that integron-borne aminoglycoside resistance is more closely associated with the frequency than virulence. Consequently, aminoglycoside usage may have played a role in maintenance of the endemic clones.