Molecular Epidemiology of New Delhi Metallo-ß-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli in Food-Producing Animals in China.

We conducted a molecular surveillance study for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) colonization in food-producing animals in China that included primarily swine and poultry for three consecutive years. A total of 2,771 samples from food-producing animals and their surrounding environments were collected from different regions in China from 2015 to 2017. Enrichment cultures supplemented with meropenem were used to isolate carbapenem non-susceptible isolates and these were subsequently identified by MALDI-TOF MS. Resistance phenotypes and genotypes were confirmed using antimicrobial susceptibility testing and molecular biological techniques. Genomic characteristics of the carbapenemase-producing isolates were investigated using whole genome sequencing (WGS) and bioinformatic analysis. In total, 88 NDM-positive Enterobacteriaceae were identified from 2,771 samples and 96.6% were Escherichia coli. The New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase (NDM)-positive E. coli displayed a diversity of sequence types (ST), and ST48 and ST165 were the most prevalent. Three variants of bla NDM (bla NDM-1, bla NDM-4, and bla NDM-5) were detected and WGS indicated that bla NDM-5 predominated and was carried primarily on IncX3 plasmids. All these isolates were also multiply-drug resistant. These results revealed that food-producing animals in China are an important reservoir for NDM-positive E. coli and pose a potential threat to public health.

Diagnostic value of automated 3D ultrasound for incisional hernia.

The automated volume scanning system (AVSS) has been applied in breast diseases, but its use in incisional hernias has not been reported. In this study, conventional handheld B-mode ultrasound (HHUS) and AVSS examined a total of 122 hernia defects in 78 patients. The results from two modalities were then compared with surgical findings for the purpose of assessing the diagnostic value of AVSS. Statistics showed that surgeries identified 38 small, 23 medium and 17 large incisional hernias. The results of AVSS completely agreed with surgical findings; however, HHUS misidentified nine large hernias as medium and seven medium hernias as large. AVSS proved to be more accurate than HHUS in measuring the length and width of the hernia. It also outperformed HHUS in both detecting the incisional hernias (91.8% vs. 78.7%, p = 0.00) and determining hernia contents (89.3% vs. 68.0%, p = 0.00). Moreover, the coronal images AVSS obtained clearly displayed the shapes of the hernias, with 46 being regular and 32 irregular. Overall, AVSS can be used as a promising diagnostic modality for incisional hernias.