Staphylococcus capitis: insights into epidemiology, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance of a clinically relevant bacterial species.

SUMMARYStaphylococcus capitis is divided into two subspecies, S. capitis subsp. ureolyticus (renamed urealyticus in 1992; ATCC 49326) and S. capitis subsp. capitis (ATCC 27840), and fits with the archetype of clinically relevant coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). S. capitis is a commensal bacterium of the skin in humans, which must be considered an opportunistic pathogen of interest particularly as soon as it is identified in a clinically relevant specimen from an immunocompromised patient. Several studies have highlighted the potential determinants underlying S. capitis pathogenicity, resistance profiles, and virulence factors. In addition, mobile genetic element acquisitions and mutations contribute to S. capitis genome adaptation to its environment. Over the past decades, antibiotic resistance has been identified for S. capitis in almost all the families of the currently available antibiotics and is related to the emergence of multidrug-resistant clones of high clinical significance. The present review summarizes the current knowledge concerning the taxonomic position of S. capitis among staphylococci, the involvement of this species in human colonization and diseases, the virulence factors supporting its pathogenicity, and the phenotypic and genomic antimicrobial resistance profiles of this species.

Staphylococcus succinus Infective Endocarditis, France.

Infective endocarditis is a rare condition in humans and is associated with high illness and death rates. We describe a case of infective endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus succinus bacteria in France. We used several techniques for susceptibility testing for this case to determine the oxacillin profile.

Staphylococcus aureus: No ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games!

Athletes are vulnerable to Staphylococcus aureus infections due to skin-to-skin contact and skin abrasions during training and competitions involving sharied sport equipment or toiletries, which promote the spread of the bacteria between athletes and within sport teams. This results not only in higher prevalence of S.aureus carriage among athletes compared to the general population, but also in outbreaks of infections, particularly skin infections, within sports teams. To limit the spread of S. aureus among athletes, a decolonization protocol can be applied when clustered cases of S. aureus infections occur, especially if Panton-Valentine leukocidin-producing strains are implicated. Finally, to avoid exposing athletes to S.aureus transmission/colonization, it is recommended to establish strict and clearly formulated individual and collective hygiene rules and to regularly disinfect shared sports equipment.

Risk factors for dairy cows mastitis in Algeria, antibiotic resistance and molecular typing of the causative Staphylococcus aureus.

Adoption of a rational management in dairy farms would improve the milk quality and farmers' income. In the current study, we aimed to describe bovine mastitis in 32 dairy herds, identify the main cow- and herd-associated risk factors, and analyze both epidemiological along with molecular characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus infecting udders. Based on Californian Mastitis Test and clinical examination, the prevalence of mastitis in cows was 52.25% (116/222), of which 6.3% was clinical mastitis and 45.94% was subclinical mastitis. Overall, 218 (24.54%) quarters suffered from mastitis, whose 29.81% (65/218) infected with S. aureus. Mastitis was lowest in mid-lactation with OR = 0.371 with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.141-0.976, and in cows separated from their calves (OR = 0.164, 95% CI 0.056-0.477) than suckler cows. Similar results were obtained from S. aureus related mastitis. To assess the genetic lineages of S. aureus isolates, we determined clonal complexes (CC) using DNA microarray hybridization profiles and performed spa typing. The strains were assigned to nine clonal complexes, and 19 spa types; with CC97 (44.77%), and CC22 (40.29%) were the most predominant lineages and t223 (40.29%), t7136 (10.44%), t359 (8.95%) and t267 (5.97%) were the most common spa types. A total of 88.05% (n = 59) isolates were resistant to at least one tested antibiotic while only 4.47% were multi-drug resistant strains. Higher rates of resistance were observed for penicillin (86.5%) and tetracycline (14.9%) respectively. Our results show the need for adoption of feasible mastitis program with special emphasis on sub-clinical mastitis and associated risk factors.

ONCO-FAIR Project: Improving Data Interoperability in Oncology Chemotherapy Treatments for Data Reuse.

The ONCO-FAIR project's initial experimentation aims to enhance data interoperability in oncology chemotherapy treatments, adhering to the FAIR principles. This study focuses on integrating the HL7 FHIR standard to address interoperability challenges within chemotherapy data exchange. Collaborating with healthcare institutions in Rennes, the research team assessed the limitations of current standards such as PN13, mCODE, and OSIRIS, leading to the customization of twelve FHIR resources complemented by two chemotherapy-specific extensions. The methodological approach follows the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) framework, organizing the process into four key stages to ensure the effectiveness and relevance of health data reuse for research. This framework facilitated the identification of chemotherapy-specific needs, the evaluation of existing standards, and data modeling through a FHIR implementation guide. The article underscores the importance of upstream interoperability for aligning chemotherapy software with clinical data warehouse infrastructure, showcasing the proposed solution's capability to overcome interoperability barriers and promote data reuse in line with FAIR principles. Furthermore, it discusses future directions, including extending this approach to other oncology data categories and enhancing downstream interoperability with health data sharing platforms.

Optimized decision algorithm for the microbiological diagnosis of osteoarticular infections in adults using synovial fluid samples: a prospective study in two French hospitals including 423 samples of synovial fluid.

No consensus exists about the techniques to use for microbiological diagnosis of bone and joint infections (BJIs). The objective herein was to define an algorithm to optimize BJI diagnosis in adults using various bacteriological methods on synovial fluid samples. This prospective multi-center study included 423 synovial fluids collected from adult patients with suspected BJIs. Culture (using five solid media, an enrichment broth, and blood culture bottles), universal 16S rRNA PCR followed by Sanger sequencing, and seven specific bacterial PCRs were systematically performed. Combinations of methods were compared to arrive at the optimized algorithm. Among 423 synovial fluids, 242 infections were diagnosed (57.2 %): 213 mono- and 29 poly-microbial for a total of 284 bacteria (staphylococci at 54.6 %, streptococci-enterococci at 16.5 %, Gram-negative bacilli at 15.5 %, anaerobic species at 8.8 %). Comparing culture techniques, blood culture bottles had the highest sensitivity (67.6 % for pediatric and 63.9 % for anaerobic bottles) but are not sufficient alone and require being combined with solid media. The 16S rDNA PCR detected only 52.3 % of the bacteria, whereas specific PCRs had a higher sensitivity (Staphylococcus spp. at 66.2 %, S. aureus at 85.2 %, Streptococcus spp. at 91.2 %). Based on these results, an algorithm was proposed associating three solid media; inoculation into blood culture bottles; and 16S, Staphylococcus spp., and Streptococcus spp. PCRs, which would have detected 90.5 % of bacteria in the present cohort versus 79.2 % using all culture techniques on synovial fluid. This prospective study shows that a combination of culture and molecular methods on synovial fluids allows the optimization of bacterial detection.

A prospective multicentre evaluation of BioFire® Joint Infection Panel for the rapid microbiological documentation of acute arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the performance of the rapid syndromic BioFire® Joint Infection Panel (BF-JIP) to detect bacterial and fungal pathogens, as well as antibiotic resistance genes, directly in synovial fluid specimens collected from patients with acute arthritis. METHODS: The study was conducted in six French bacteriological laboratories. To assess the performances of BF-JIP, results were compared with those of synovial fluid 14-day culture and, in case of discrepancy, with those of complementary molecular methods and intraoperative samples. A total of 308 synovial fluid specimens were tested after collection from 308 adults and children presenting with clinical and biological suspicion of acute arthritis; patients presenting with acute periprosthetic joint infection were included according to the European Bone and Joint Infection Society 2021 criteria. RESULTS: Only one specimen failed (no result). On the basis of the consolidated data, the BF-JIP was concordant with the 14-day culture in 280 (91.2%) of the 307 specimens finally included in the study. The positive percentage agreement was 84.9% (95% CI, 78.8-89.8%) and the negative percentage agreement was 100% (95% CI, 97.2-100%). The positive predictive value was extremely high (100%; 95% CI, 97.6-100%), whereas the negative predictive value was lower (82.6%; 95% CI, 75.7-88.2%), partially explained by the missing target species in the panel. DISCUSSION: The BF-JIP showed high performances to detect pathogens involved in acute arthritis.

Potential value of a rapid syndromic multiplex PCR for the diagnosis of native and prosthetic joint infections: a real-world evidence study.

Introduction: The BIOFIRE Joint Infection (JI) Panel is a diagnostic tool that uses multiplex-PCR testing to detect microorganisms in synovial fluid specimens from patients suspected of having septic arthritis (SA) on native joints or prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). Methods: A study was conducted across 34 clinical sites in 19 European and Middle Eastern countries from March 2021 to June 2022 to assess the effectiveness of the BIOFIRE JI Panel. Results: A total of 1527 samples were collected from patients suspected of SA or PJI, with an overall agreement of 88.4 % and 85 % respectively between the JI Panel and synovial fluid cultures (SFCs). The JI Panel detected more positive samples and microorganisms than SFC, with a notable difference on Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus species, Enterococcus faecalis, Kingella kingae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and anaerobic bacteria. The study found that the BIOFIRE JI Panel has a high utility in the real-world clinical setting for suspected SA and PJI, providing diagnostic results in approximately 1 h. The user experience was positive, implying a potential benefit of rapidity of results' turnover in optimising patient management strategies. Conclusion: The study suggests that the BIOFIRE JI Panel could potentially optimise patient management and antimicrobial therapy, thus highlighting its importance in the clinical setting.