Multiplex PCR analysis of clusters of unexplained viral respiratory tract infection in Cambodia.

BACKGROUND: Fevers of unknown origin constitute a substantial disease burden in Southeast Asia. In majority of the cases, the cause of acute febrile illness is not identified. METHODS: We used MassTag PCR, a multiplex assay platform, to test for the presence of 15 viral respiratory agents from 85 patients with unexplained respiratory illness representing six disease clusters that occurred in Cambodia between 2009 and 2012. RESULTS: We detected a virus in 37 (44%) of the cases. Human rhinovirus, the virus detected most frequently, was found in both children and adults. The viruses most frequently detected in children and adults, respectively, were respiratory syncytial virus and enterovirus 68. Sequence analysis indicated that two distinct clades of enterovirus 68 were circulating during this time period. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of enterovirus 68 in Cambodia and contributes to the appreciation of this virus as an important respiratory pathogen.

Serotype Distribution of Clinical Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolates before the Introduction of the 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Cambodia.

Childhood vaccination with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) was introduced in Cambodia in January 2015. Baseline data regarding circulating serotypes are scarce. All microbiology laboratories in Cambodia were contacted for identification of stored isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae from clinical specimens taken before the introduction of PCV13. Available isolates were serotyped using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction method. Among 166 identified isolates available for serotyping from patients with pneumococcal disease, 4% were isolated from upper respiratory samples and 80% were from lower respiratory samples, and 16% were invasive isolates. PCV13 serotypes accounted for 60% (95% confidence interval [CI] 52-67) of all isolates; 56% (95% CI 48-64) of noninvasive and 77% (95% CI 57-89) of invasive isolates. Antibiotic resistance was more common among PCV13 serotypes. This study of clinical S. pneumoniae isolates supports the potential for high reduction in pneumococcal disease burden and may serve as baseline data for future monitoring of S. pneumoniae serotypes circulation after implementation of PCV13 childhood vaccination in Cambodia.

Screening for bacterial-fungal associations in a south-eastern US salt marsh using pre-established fungal monocultures.

Both bacteria and fungi play critical roles in decomposition processes in many natural environments, yet only rarely have they been studied as an integrated community. We examined whether physical associations exist between individual bacterial and fungal species that co-occur on decaying smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, in a south-eastern US salt marsh. Fungal-pervaded decaying Spartina was used as "bait" for potential bacterial associates. The bundles (infiltrated with one of three dominant fungal members of the decomposer assemblage, or an autoclaved control) were placed in a salt marsh and collected biweekly for 6 weeks during the first experiment (late summer 2002), and weekly for 3 weeks during the second experiment (early summer 2003). Terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of 16S rRNA genes was used to track colonization by bacterial taxa in association with the established fungal species. T-RFLP analysis of 18S-to-28S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions was used to monitor changes in fungal communities once bundles had been placed in the field. Results from both years were nearly identical, and showed that invasion by fungi other than the bait species was slow, resulting in a virtual fungal monoculture for several weeks into the experiments. Surprisingly, bacterial communities were unaffected by the identity of the fungal bait. Regardless of the fungal species, and even in the absence of prior fungal colonization, bacterial 16S rRNA profiles were remarkably similar. These results suggest that few species-specific associations, either positive or negative, exist between bacterial and fungal members of the Spartina decomposer community during initial colonization.

Antimicrobial resistance genotypes and phenotypes from multidrug-resistant bacterial wound infection isolates in Cambodia.

This study aimed to identify the molecular determinants responsible for antibiotic resistance among human wound isolates in Cambodia. Staphylococcus spp. (n=10) and a variety of Gram-negative isolates (n=21) were taken from a larger collection of wound isolates collected during 2011-2013 and were analysed for the presence of >230 resistance determinants using a broad-spectrum DNA microarray. These isolates were chosen to represent the species most commonly found in wound isolates referred during this time and to include some of the most resistant strains. Resistance determinants detected among the staphylococci included blaZ (90%), mecA (100%), erm(B) (70%), erm(C) (20%), tet(38) (90%), tet(K) (40%), tet(Lp) (10%), tet(M) (20%), lnu(A)/lin(A) and lnu(B)/lin(B) (10% each), msr(A)/msr(B)/msr(SA) (10%), norA (80%) and dfrA (10%). Eleven different ß-lactamase genes were detected among the Gram-negative bacteria, including genes encoding the TEM (48%), CTX-M-1 (48%), CTX-M-9 (5%), SHV (5%) and VEB (10%) families of broad-spectrum and extended-spectrum ß-lactamase enzymes, as well as the carbapenemase gene blaOXA-23. Forty additional genes were also detected in the Gram-negative isolates conferring resistance to aminoglycosides (11 genes), phenicols (5 genes), macrolides [4 genes, including mph(A)/mph(K) (10%)], lincosamides [lnu(F)/lin(F), lnu(G)/lin(G)], tetracycline (4 genes), rifampicin [arr (29%)], quaternary amines [qacEΔ1 (43%)], quinolones [qnrS (14%) and qnrB (5%)], sulfonamides [sul1 (29%), sul2 (38%) and sul3 (10%)], streptothricin (sat2) and trimethoprim (6 genes). The results obtained here provide a snapshot of the broad variety of resistance determinants currently circulating within Cambodia.

Drug resistance in bacteria isolated from patients presenting with wounds at a non-profit Surgical Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 2011-2013.

BACKGROUND: Emerging antibiotic resistance amongst clinically significant bacteria is a public health issue of increasing significance worldwide, but it is relatively uncharacterized in Cambodia. In this study we performed standard bacterial cultures on samples from wounds at a Non-Governmental-Organization (NGO) Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Testing was performed to elucidate pathogenic bacteria causing wound infections and the antibiotic resistance profiles of bacterial isolates. All testing was performed at the Naval Medical Research Unit, No.2 (NAMRU-2) main laboratory in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. METHODS: Between 2011-2013, a total of 251 specimens were collected from patients at the NGO hospital and analyzed for bacterial infection by standard bacterial cultures techniques. Specimens were all from wounds and anonymous. No specific clinical information accompanied the submitted specimens. Antibiotic susceptibility testing, and phenotypic testing for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) were performed and reported based on CLSI guidelines. Further genetic testing for CTX-M, TEM and SHV ESBLs was accomplished using PCR. RESULTS: One-hundred and seventy-six specimens were positive following bacterial culture (70 %). Staphlycoccus aureus was the most frequently isolated bacteria. Antibiotic drug resistance testing revealed that 52.5 % of Staphlycoccus aureus isolates were oxacillin resistant. For Escherichia coli isolates, 63.9 % were ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin resistant and 96 % were ESBL producers. Resistance to meropenem and imipenem was observed in one of three Acinetobacter spp isolates. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first of its kind detailing the antibiotic resistance profiles of pathogenic bacteria causing wound infections at a single surgical hospital in Cambodia. The reported findings of this study demonstrate significant antibiotic resistance in bacteria from injured patients and should serve to guide treatment modalities in Cambodia.

Misting and nitrogen fertilization of shoots of a saltmarsh grass: effects upon fungal decay of leaf blades.

We conducted a 12-week field manipulation experiment in which we raised the nitrogen availability (ammonium sulfate fertilization to roots) and/or water potential (freshwater misting) of decaying leaf blades of a saltmarsh grass (smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora) in triplicate 11-m2 plots, and compared the manipulated plots to unmanipulated, control plots. The ascomycetous fungi that dominate cordgrass leaf decomposition processes under natural conditions exhibited a boosting (>2-fold) of living standing crop (ergosterol content) by misting at the 1 st week after tagging of senescent leaves, but afterwards, living-fungal standing crop on misted blades was equivalent to that on control blades, confirming prior evidence that Spartina fungi are well adapted to natural, irregular wetting. Misting also caused 2-fold sharper temporal declines than control in instantaneous rates of fungal production (ergosterol synthesis), 5-fold declines in density of sexual reproductive structures that were not shown by controls, and 2-fold higher rates of loss of plant organic mass. Extra nitrogen gave a long-term boost to living-fungal standing crop (about 2-fold at 12 weeks), which was also reflected in rates of fungal production at 4 weeks, suggesting that saltmarsh fungal production is nitrogen-limited. Although bacterial and green-microalgal crops were boosted by manipulations of nitrogen and/or water, their maximal crops remained ≤0.3 or 2% (bacteria or green microalgae, respectively) of contemporaneous living-fungal crop. The fungal carbon-productivity values obtained, in conjunction with rates of loss of plant carbon, hinted that fungal yield can be high (>50%), and that it is boosted by high availability of nitrogen. We speculate that one partial cause of high fungal yield could be subsidy of fungal growth by dissolved organic carbon from outside decomposing leaves.

Water potential of standing-dead shoots of an intertidal grass.

Dead stems and leaves of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel.) undergo substantial fungal decay in the standing position. We conducted a series of experiments to determine the probable range of water availabilities that cordgrass-fungal decomposers experience; we determined the effects of duration of wetting and drying, site on shoots, leaching of osmotica, and stage of decomposition on water potential (ψ) of cordgrass shoots. Dried pieces of cordgrass shoots took up water rapidly when submerged, rising from values which were probably less than -150 megapascals (MPa) water potential to about -3.5 (soaked in seawater) or -1.5 (soaked in tapwater) within 5 min. Air-drying resulted in a return to low ψ (<-7.5 MPa) within an hour. Literature reports show that most litter and wood-decomposing fungi which have been tested cannot grow at ψ more negative than -6 MPa. The more lignified stems showed a more negative matric ψ than leaves at water contents greater than 25% fresh weight. As leaves decomposed in the marsh, their ψ increased (from -1.7 to -0.5 MPa, under standard conditions of 30 min freshwater soaking and 30 min air-drying), similar to what other investigators have found for wheat and forest litter. The water content at which cordgrass leaves reached -6 MPa was about 23% fresh weight, within the range (15-32%) found for wheat straw and forest litter.

Etiologies and resistance profiles of bacterial community-acquired pneumonia in Cambodian and neighboring countries' health care settings: a systematic review (1995 to 2012).

OBJECTIVES: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Etiological data for Cambodia is scarce. We aimed to describe the main etiological agents causing CAP, and their resistance patterns in Cambodia and the greater Mekong region. METHODS: A review of bacterial etiologies of CAP and antimicrobial resistance in Cambodia and neighboring countries was conducted via: (1) a systematic review of published literature in all NCBI databases using Pubmed, Google scholar, EMBASE, the World Health Organization and the Cambodian Ministry of Health libraries; (2) a review of unpublished data from Cambodia provided by national and international stakeholders working at different tiers of the healthcare system. RESULTS: Twenty three articles and five data sources reported etiologies for 5919 CAP patients diagnosed between May 1995 and December 2012, including 1421 (24.0%), 3571 (60.3%) and 927 (15.7%) from Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, respectively. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were the most common pathogens ranking among the five most prevalent in 12 and 10 studies, respectively. Gram-negative bacteria such as Burkholderia pseudomallei and Klebsiella pneumoniae were also frequently diagnosed, particularly in bacteremic CAP in Thai adults and Cambodian children. In Thailand and Vietnam, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae were frequently identified in settings using indirect laboratory testing. CONCLUSIONS: Based on this analysis, CAP data in Cambodia seems to present etiological and resistance profiles comparable to those of neighboring countries. Findings have been shared with the national authorities upon the revision of the national therapeutic guidelines and were disseminated using a specially created website.

Fungal farming in a snail.

Mutualisms between fungi and fungus-growing animals are model systems for studying coevolution and complex interactions between species. Fungal growing behavior has enabled cultivating animals to rise to major ecological importance, but evolution of farming symbioses is thought to be restricted to three terrestrial insect lineages. Surveys along 2,000 km of North America's Atlantic coast documented that the marine snail Littoraria irrorata grazes fungus-infected wounds on live marsh grass throughout its range. Field experiments demonstrate a facultative, farming mutualism between Littoraria and intertidal fungi. Snails graze live grass primarily not to feed but to prepare substrate for fungal growth and consume invasive fungi. Fungal removal experiments show that snails and fungi act synergistically to suppress marsh grass production. These results provide a case of fungus farming in the marine environment and outside the class Insecta and reveal a previously undemonstrated ecological mechanism (i.e., facilitation of fungal invasion) by which grazers can exert top-down control of marine plant production.

Mgr, a novel global regulator in Staphylococcus aureus.

The virulence determinants of Staphylococcus aureus are coordinately controlled by several unlinked chromosomal loci. Here, we report the identification of CYL5614, derived from strain Becker, with a mutation that affects the expression of type 8 capsular polysaccharide (CP8), nuclease, alpha-toxin, coagulase, protease, and protein A. This novel locus, named mgr, was linked by transposon Tn917 and mapped by three-factorial transduction crosses. The region containing the mgr locus was cloned and sequenced. Deletion mutagenesis and genetic complementation showed that the locus consisted of one gene, mgrA. Interestingly, mgrA-null mutants exhibited a phenotype opposite to that of CYL5614. This was due to a T-to-C mutation upstream of mgrA that resulted in a four- to eightfold increase in mgrA transcription in strain CYL5614. Thus, these results indicate that mgrA is an activator of CP8 and nuclease but a repressor of alpha-toxin, coagulase, protease, and protein A. In addition, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses showed that the mgr locus profoundly affected extracellular protein production, suggesting that the locus may regulate many other genes as well. The translated MgrA protein has a region of significant homology, which includes the helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif, with the Escherichia coli MarR family of transcriptional regulators. Northern slot blot analyses suggested that mgr affected CP8, alpha-toxin, nuclease, and protein A at the transcriptional level.

Role of microbes in the smectite-to-illite reaction.

Temperature, pressure, and time have been thought to control the smectite-to-illite (S-I) reaction, an important diagenetic process used for petroleum exploration. We demonstrated that microorganisms can promote the S-I reaction by dissolving smectite through reduction of structural Fe(III) at room temperature and 1 atmosphere within 14 days. This reaction typically requires conditions of 300 degrees to 350 degrees C, 100 megapascals, and 4 to 5 months in the absence of microbial activity. These results challenge the conventional concept of the S-I reaction and of reaction kinetic models.

Dynamics of bacterial and fungal communities on decaying salt marsh grass.

Both bacteria and fungi play critical roles in decomposition processes in many natural environments, yet only rarely have they been studied as an integrated microbial community. Here we describe the bacterial and fungal assemblages associated with two decomposition stages of Spartina alterniflora detritus in a productive southeastern U.S. salt marsh. 16S rRNA genes and 18S-to-28S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions were used to target the bacterial and ascomycete fungal communities, respectively, based on DNA sequence analysis of isolates and environmental clones and by using community fingerprinting based on terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. Seven major bacterial taxa (six affiliated with the alpha-Proteobacteria and one with the Cytophagales) and four major fungal taxa were identified over five sample dates spanning 13 months. Fungal terminal restriction fragments (T-RFs) were informative at the species level; however, bacterial T-RFs frequently comprised a number of related genera. Amplicon abundances indicated that the salt marsh saprophyte communities have little-to-moderate variability spatially or with decomposition stage, but considerable variability temporally. However, the temporal variability could not be readily explained by either successional shifts or simple relationships with environmental factors. Significant correlations in abundance (both positive and negative) were found among dominant fungal and bacterial taxa that possibly indicate ecological interactions between decomposer organisms. Most associations involved one of four microbial taxa: two groups of bacteria affiliated with the alpha-Proteobacteria and two ascomycete fungi (Phaeosphaeria spartinicola and environmental isolate "4clt").