Molecular analysis of community-acquired methicillin-susceptible and resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from bacteraemic and osteomyelitis infections in children from Tunisia.

Thirty-six children (27 boys, nine girls) that fulfilled CDC criteria for community-acquired infections were diagnosed with bacteraemia and/or osteomyelitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus during an 18-month period (2006-2008). Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by an agar dilution method. SCCmec type, carriage of pvl genes, agr type and spa-typing were determined using specific PCR protocols. Clonal relatedness was examined by pulsed field gel electrophoresis-SmaI and mutilocus sequence typing techniques. From the 36 isolates, eight (22%) corresponded to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) -t044/042-CC80/CC5-IVc-pvl(+) -agrIII/II. The highest genetic diversity was observed among the 28 community-acquired methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (CA-MSSA) isolates: 22 spa-variants that also grouped by multilocus sequence typing in CC1, CC5, CC6, CC8, CC30, CC80, CC97 and the singletons ST464, ST1467, ST1468 and ST1469. The pvl genes were detected in all eight CA-MRSA isolates and in eight CA-MSSA isolates (28%), being significantly more frequent among isolates causing osteoarticular infection (11 of 12, 92%) than in the bacteraemic isolates (six of 24, 25%). Based on patients' age, three groups were considered: newborns, infants and children. Bacteraemia was diagnosed in all newborns and infants, whereas in 42% of the children group osteomyelitis was the unique presentation. In most cases, the portal of entry was either the skin or unknown. In general, favourable outcome was observed, except in four cases-three of whom had severe complications and one died. In summary, we analysed the epidemiological and genetic background of community-acquired staphylococcal strains causing bacteraemic and/or osteomyelitis infections in children from Tunisia, describing three new sequence types and one novel spa type.

[Iatrogenic meningitis after diagnosis lumbar puncture: 3 cases reports in the paediatric Children's Hospital of Tunis]. / Méningite bactérienne iatrogène après ponction lombaire de diagnostic: à propos de trois cas observés à l'hôpital d'enfants de Tunis.

We have collected cases of iatrogenic meningitis managed in the Children's Hospital of Tunis, between January 1998 and December 2006. Clinical information about each patient were collected, all bacterial samples were investigated in the microbiology laboratory of the hospital. Bacterial isolates were identified according to conventional criteria. In the interval under study, we recorded three cases of iatrogenic meningitis after lumbar puncture. Two cases occurred in newborn admitted for suspicion of neonatal infection and one in a 2-month-old infant admitted for exploration of hyperpyretic convulsion. In all patients, the initial cerebrospinal fluid was normal. All patients developed symptoms of acute meningitis within 72 hours after lumbar puncture; the second cerebrospinal fluid was, then, typical for purulent meningitis. The causal agents isolated in the three cases were Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, and Serratia marcescens, all resistant to beta-lactams by extended spectrum beta-lactamase production. The use of quinolones was required in all cases. Different complications were recorded: hydrocephalus and brain abscess in one case, respiratory and hemodynamic failure managed in the intensive care unit in the second, and brain hygroma in the third case. This study shows high morbidity of iatrogenic meningitis. Simple aseptic precautions undertaken before the procedure of lumbar puncture can prevent such cases. The urgent need for increasing the awareness among medical personnel in hospitals of developing countries cannot be overemphasized.