Carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae in Spain in 2012.

We report the epidemiological impact of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in Spain in 2012. Of the 237 carbapenemases detected, 163 were from the OXA-48 group, 60 were from VIM-1, 8 were from KPC-2, 5 were from IMP, and 1 was from NDM-1. Interhospital spread of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae was due to a limited number of multilocus sequence types (MLST) and carbapenemase types, including ST15-VIM-1, ST11-OXA-48, ST405-OXA-48, ST101-KPC-2, and ST11-VIM-1. The number of CPE cases in Spain has increased sharply in recent years, due mainly to the emergence of OXA-48.

Prevalence and antifungal susceptibility patterns of new cryptic species inside the species complexes Candida parapsilosis and Candida glabrata among blood isolates from a Spanish tertiary hospital.

OBJECTIVES: There is scarce information on the clinical relevance and antifungal susceptibility of Candida bracarensis, Candida nivariensis, Candida orthopsilosis and Candida metapsilosis. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and in vitro antifungal susceptibility of these cryptic species among 173 blood isolates previously identified as Candida glabrata or Candida parapsilosis at the Hospital of Cruces (Barakaldo, Spain). The survey was extended to 518 clinical isolates from the culture collection of the Universidad del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV-EHU; Bilbao, Spain). METHODS: In vitro susceptibilities to 5-fluorocytosine, amphotericin B, anidulafungin, caspofungin, fluconazole, itraconazole, micafungin, posaconazole and voriconazole were tested. RESULTS: All isolates of C. glabrata were identified as C. glabrata sensu stricto. Inside the C. parapsilosis complex, 2.4% of isolates from the Hospital of Cruces and 5.8% from the UPV-EHU were C. metapsilosis or C. orthopsilosis. Of 457 isolates, 435 (95.19%) were C. parapsilosis sensu stricto, 11 (2.41%) C. metapsilosis and 11 (2.41%) C. orthopsilosis. Only seven blood isolates were C. metapsilosis (0.44%) or C. orthopsilosis (1.09%). These cryptic species were also isolated from other relevant clinical specimens. Four C. parapsilosis sensu stricto (5.6%) were susceptible dose-dependent, and one was resistant to both fluconazole and voriconazole (1.4%). Moreover, 19 isolates of C. parapsilosis sensu stricto (26.4%) were intermediately susceptible to itraconazole and higher concentrations of echinocandins were needed to inhibit this species. Most C. orthopsilosis and C. metapsilosis were susceptible to all antifungal agents tested, but one otic isolate of C. metapsilosis was resistant to fluconazole and 5-fluorocytosine. CONCLUSIONS: C. metapsilosis and C. orthopsilosis are associated with human disease and show a different antifungal susceptibility profile compared with C. parapsilosis sensu stricto.

[Antifungal agents for onychomycoses]. / Antifúngicos disponibles para el tratamiento de las micosis ungueales.

Nail fungal infections are considered one of the major dermatological problems due to their high rate of therapeutic failure, management and treatment difficulties. Long-term treatments, inadequate therapies, mycological misdiagnosis and follow-up, secondary alterations of the nail, and resistant microorganisms, are some of the causes of these complications. Although the discovery of new antifungal agents has provided some effective molecules, none of the current available drugs are totally effective. It is important to continue researching in this field to provide new antifungal agents and combined therapies.

Terbinafine susceptibility patterns for onychomycosis-causative dermatophytes and Scopulariopsis brevicaulis.

The in vitro antifungal activity of terbinafine against 521 clinical isolates of seven species of dermatophytes, including four onychomycosis-causative species, as well as five Scopulariopsis brevicaulis isolates was determined by a modified Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute microdilution method. Results showed a high antifungal activity of terbinafine against all dermatophyte isolates (geometric minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC)=0.026 microg/mL; concentration inhibiting 50% of mycological growth (MIC50)=0.03 microg/mL; and concentration inhibiting 90% of mycological growth (MIC90)=0.06 microg/mL). The geometric mean MICs against onychomycosis-causative dermatophyte species was lower (0.024 microg/mL) than the global MIC. However, the in vitro activity of terbinafine against S. brevicaulis was considerably lower (geometric mean MIC=1.38 microg/mL) in comparison with dermatophytes. The antifungal activity of itraconazole was lower than that of terbinafine against these fungi. These data confirm the high in vitro antifungal activity of terbinafine against dermatophytes, under standardised conditions.

Antifungal activity of posaconazole compared with fluconazole and amphotericin B against yeasts from oropharyngeal candidiasis and other infections.

OBJECTIVES: The in vitro antifungal activity of posaconazole was compared with that of fluconazole and amphotericin B. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A microdilution method (M27-A2) was used with 331 clinical yeast isolates. RESULTS: The geometric mean MICs of posaconazole, fluconazole and amphotericin B were 0.16, 0.91 and 0.15 mg/L, respectively. Posaconazole was markedly more active than fluconazole and was active against 9/11 fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans, and five Candida glabrata had an MIC of posaconazole of 16 mg/L. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that posaconazole is a potentially effective antifungal agent for the treatment of mycoses caused by yeasts.

[Diagnosis of human brucellosis. Role of pH in the seroagglutination test and influence of pH on the agglutinating activity of IgM, IgG and IgA antibodies]. / Diagnóstico de la brucelosis humana. Influencia del pH en la prueba de seroaglutinación y sobre la actividad aglutinante de los anticuerpos IgM, IgG e IgA.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of pH in the seroagglutination test (SAT)and Rose Bengal (RB) test, and to determine the influence of pH on the agglutinating activity of IgM, IgG and IgA antibodies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The SAT was performed at pH 7.2 or pH 5.0 in standard microtiter-type polystyrene plates using Ring Test antigen or the Brucella suspension (BRUCAPT) provided in the Brucellacapt kits. Specific antibodies against native hapten were determined by radial immunodiffusion. Additionally, IgG, IgA and IgM fractions were separated from 8 sera by absorption chromatography and their agglutinating capacity was studied at pH 7.2 and 5.0. RESULTS: We studied 72 sera from patients with clinical brucellosis taken at the time of hospitalization, 16 from persons in contact with infected animals, and 16 from healthy donors. SAT results at pH 5.0 correlated with those obtained with the Rose Bengal test. Four Rose Bengal-positive sera were found to be SAT-negative at pH 7.2 and SAT-positive at pH 5.0. SAT performed at pH 5.0 with BRUCAPT antigen yielded higher titers than tests performed at pH 7.2 or 5.0 with Ring Test antigen (p < 0.001), with highest titers in IDR-positive sera. Among the 8 IgG fractions, all but one agglutinated at pH 7.2, and in 4, IgG titers showed significant increases at pH 5.0. Three IgA fractions were SAT-negative at pH 7.2 and SAT-positive at pH 5.0; the other 5 agglutinated at both pH conditions and were DTT-sensitive. All IgA fractions but one were positive by Rose Bengal. Agglutinating activity of the IgM fraction was not affected by pH. CONCLUSION: The SAT performed with the buffer and antigen suspension included in the Brucellacapt kit (pH 5.0) is highly useful for detecting agglutinating and non-agglutinating antibodies at pH 7.2.

Comparison of in vitro antifungal activities of amphotericin B lipid complex with itraconazole against 708 clinical yeast isolates and opportunistic moulds determined by National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards methods M27-A and M38-P.

We compared the in vitro antifungal activity of amphotericin B lipid complex (ABLC) with that of itraconazole (ITZ) against 535 yeast strains and 173 opportunistic filamentous fungi by using a microdilution method (National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards M27-A and M38-P). The overall geometric mean MIC was 0.13 microg/ml and 0.177 microg/ml for ITZ and ABLC, respectively, and the MIC(50) was 0.125 microg/ml for both agents against yeast isolates. ITZ had a similar or slightly superior efficacy compared to ABLC when tested against Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida krusei, Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis. Effectiveness against C. glabrata was lower for ITZ (MIC(90) 2 microg/ml, and for ABLC, 0.5 microg/ml). For Aspergillus fumigatus, activity of ITZ was superior in comparison with ABLC (MIC(90) 1 and 16 microg/ml, respectively); MIC(90) for Aspergillus niger was 4 and 2 microg/ml for ABLC and ITZ, respectively. Scedosporium spp. showed a low susceptibility to both ABLC and ITZ. In conclusion, ABLC and ITZ are useful alternatives for the treatment of severe fungal infections. The selection of an antifungal agent should be made considering the toxicological and pharmacological properties and cost/benefit relationship and be supported by the susceptibility of the isolate.