A Simple and Rapid Low-Cost Procedure for Detection of Vancomycin-Resistance Genes in Enterococci Reveals an Outbreak of Vancomycin-Variable Enterococcus faecium.

The detection of resistance to vancomycin in enterococci cultured from patients is important for the treatment of individual patients and for the prevention of hospital transmission. Phenotypic antimicrobial resistance tests may fail to detect potential vancomycin-resistant enterococci. We have developed and tested a PCR based procedure for routine screening for vancomycin-resistance genes in clinical samples with enterococci. Primary cultures from diagnostic samples reported with growth of Enterococcus faecium or E. facalis were tested for vanA and vanB genes by real-time PCR without the isolation of specific bacteria. Up to ten samples were pooled and tested in each real-time PCR reaction, with subsequent individual testing of cultures from positive pools. In a one-month test period in 2017 vanA gene was detected in one out of 340 urine samples with vancomycin-susceptible enterococci reported from diagnostic culture. A second test period in 2018 included 357 urine samples, and vanA gene was detected in samples from eight patients. Subsequently, all urine samples reported with growth of E. faecium during a period of one year were tested. Fifty-eight individuals were identified with enterococci, carrying the vanA gene not previously detected. Routine molecular testing of primary culture material from patient samples may improve the detection of hospitalized patients carrying E. faecium with resistance genes to vancomycin.

Schistosomiasis-induced squamous cell bladder carcinoma in an HIV-infected patient.

The burden of Schistosoma haematobium-associated bladder cancer is very high in Africa; nevertheless the disease can pose considerable diagnostic challenges in low prevalence countries. We present the case of a 40-year-old HIV co-infected woman, originally from Mozambique, who had persisting haematuria for more than a year. Investigations revealed invasive S. haematobium-associated squamous cell bladder cancer. If her origin had been taken into account, the diagnosis might have been made earlier. Awareness of the disease prevalence among HIV co-infected patients from endemic areas and timely screening of such patients is important for the early diagnosis of schistosomiasis and related complications, such as S. haematobium-associated squamous cell bladder cancer.