A new point-of-care test for the rapid antimicrobial susceptibility assessment of uropathogens.

Bacterial resistance to antimicrobials is considered a major issue worldwide. This condition may account for treatment failure of urinary tract infections, which are among the most common infections both in community and healthcare settings. Therapy against uropathogens is generally administered empirically, possibly leading to unsuccessful therapy, recurrence and development of antibiotic resistance. The reduction in analytical time to obtain antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) results could play a key role in reducing the cost of healthcare, providing information about antibiotic efficacy and thus preventing from either exploiting new and expensive antibiotics unnecessarily or using obsolete and ineffective ones. A more rational choice among treatment options would hence lead to more effective treatment and faster resolution. In this paper we evaluated the performance of a new Point Of Care Test (POCT) for the rapid prediction of antimicrobial susceptibility in urine samples performed without the need of a laboratory or specialized technicians. 349 patients were enrolled in two open-label, monocentric, non-interventional clinical trials in partnership with an Emergency Medicine ward and the Day Hospital of two large healthcare facilities in Rome. Antibiogram was carried out on 97 patients. Results from analysis of urine samples with the POCT were compared with those from routine AST performed on culture-positive samples, displaying high accuracy (>90%) for all tested antimicrobial drugs and yielding reliable results in less than 12 hours from urine collection thus reducing analytical and management costs.

Rapid Microbiological Assessment in Raw Milk: Validation of a Rapid Alternative Method for the Assessment of Microbiological Quality in Raw Milk.

The consumption of dairy products and the dairy industry are one of the main global agri-food sectors for its size, economic importance, and level of technology. Microbiological quality of pasteurized milk or other milk products is dependent on microbiological quality of raw milk. A variety of microbiological count methods is available for monitoring the hygienic quality of raw milk. Among them, the pour plate method is the official essay for counting the number of colony-forming units in milk samples according to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) No. 4833-1:2013. The aim of the present study is the validation of the Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method, against the reference plate-count method, for the assessment of the microbiological quality of raw milk. This comparative study, performed in collaboration with the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana M. Aleandri (IZSLT), demonstrates the accuracy of this alternative method for the determination of total viable bacterial count in cow's raw milk. The results obtained with the MBS method highlight its potential as a valid tool for reliable microbiological analysis in dairy industries.

Field application of the Micro Biological Survey method for the assessment of the microbiological safety of different water sources in Tanzania.

Access to safe water is stated within human rights as essential for life, as water can be a source of severe enteric infections threatening human health, in particular children from Developing Countries. Along with reference methods, need is pressing for alternative methods to flank reference ones to improve water safety on-site monitoring and in the absence of scientific facilities or even electricity supply. The Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method has already been successfully applied to water safety assessment in Developing Countries. A total of 18 water samples were collected from different sources (rivers, dug wells, tap water) within the Rukwa Region, Tanzania, and underwent analysis for Total Coliforms following the MBS method. Globally, rivers showed more frequently contamination, followed by dug wells, tap water and tanks. Results demonstrate the need for continuous monitoring of water sources, even in difficult frameworks lacking electric supply, to help improve control over water quality, possibly using alternative methods to simplify existing protocols.

Integrating running water monitoring tools with the Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method to improve water quality assessment.

Running water habitats are among the most altered aquatic systems by human activities driving an increase in the organic components and the associated bacterial load as well. To contribute in improving the monitoring activities in running waters, here we tested the validity of the new Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method to specifically assess the bacterial load in running waters focusing on Total Viable Counts (at 22°C and 37°C) and Escherichia coli (at 44°C) in order to propose a new prognostic tool for watercourses. MBS method is an alternative colorimetric method for counting bacterial load in water and food samples that is easy to use and leads to a reliable and simple interpretation of results, being also faster and less expensive than traditional methods. Then, we compared MBS with the traditionally used reference method for the bacterial load, and with the most used biotic index for Italian watercourses based on the benthic invertebrates: the Extended Biotic Index (EBI). The last comparison was performed to validate the use of MBS in biomonitoring activities since the benthic invertebrate multi-species assemblage (and then EBI) alter own structure mainly depending on the organic component variation. During the first part of the study, the assessment of both linearity (regressions among bacterial concentrations) and accuracy (significant correlation between a measured value and a value used as reference) confirmed the validity of the MBS method. Second, the linear regressions between the three investigated microbial parameters vs. both physical-chemical descriptors and EBI, revealed the usefulness of MBS as a valid tool for routine microbiological analyses involved in rapid and easy field monitoring activities. This represents the first attempt to evaluate the river microbial status by exploiting the innovative MBS on running waters to propose it as new valuable monitoring tool in the biomonitoring field.

Field Application of the Micro Biological Survey Method for the Assessment of the Microbiological Safety of Different Water Sources in Horn of Africa and the Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Moringa Oleifera in Drinking Water Purification.

Water monitoring requires expensive instrumentations and skilled technicians. In developing Countries as Africa, the severe economic restrictions and lack of technology make water safety monitoring approaches applied in developed Countries, still not sustainable. The need to develop new methods that are suitable, affordable, and sustainable in the African context is urgent. The simple, economic and rapid Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method does not require an equipped laboratory nor special instruments and skilled technicians, but it can be very useful for routine water analysis. The aim of this work was the application of the MBS method to evaluate the microbiological safety of different water sources and the effectiveness of different drinking water treatments in the Horn of Africa. The obtained results have proved that this method could be very helpful to monitor water safety before and after various purification treatments, with the aim to control waterborne diseases especially in developing Countries, whose population is the most exposed to these diseases. In addition, it has been proved that Moringa oleifera water treatment is ineffective in decreasing bacterial load of Eritrea water samples.

Field Application of the Micro Biological Survey Method for a Simple and Effective Assessment of the Microbiological Quality of Water Sources in Developing Countries.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, "safe drinking-water must not represent any significant risk to health over a lifetime of consumption, including different sensitivities that may occur between life stages". Traditional methods of water analysis are usually complex, time consuming and require an appropriately equipped laboratory, specialized personnel and expensive instrumentation. The aim of this work was to apply an alternative method, the Micro Biological Survey (MBS), to analyse for contaminants in drinking water. Preliminary experiments were carried out to demonstrate the linearity and accuracy of the MBS method and to verify the possibility of using the evaluation of total coliforms in 1 mL of water as a sufficient parameter to roughly though accurately determine water microbiological quality. The MBS method was then tested "on field" to assess the microbiological quality of water sources in the city of Douala (Cameroon, Central Africa). Analyses were performed on both dug and drilled wells in different periods of the year. Results confirm that the MBS method appears to be a valid and accurate method to evaluate the microbiological quality of many water sources and it can be of valuable aid in developing countries.