Molecular characterization of a clinical Haemophilus parainfluenzae isolate with cefotaxime resistance and decreased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones.

We report an H. parainfluenzae clinical isolate resistant to cefotaxime and with decreased susceptibility to ciprofloxacin recovered from a patient with cystic fibrosis. The isolate had elevated MICs of ampicillin (256mg/L), amoxicillin-clavulanate (8mg/L), cefuroxime (8mg/L) and cefotaxime (4mg/L), and showed a ß-lactamase-producing amoxicillin-clavulanic acid-resistant (BLPACR) phenotype. A blaTEM-1 plus five amino acid substitutions in the PBP3 were found: Ser385Thr, Val511Ala, Ile519Val, Asn526Lys and Asp551Leu. MIC of ciprofloxacin was 0.5mg/L, and substitutions in gyrA (Ser84Tyr) and parC (Ser84Phe) genes were detected.

[Pancreatic pseudocyst infection caused by Haemophilus parainfluenzae. Report of one case]. / Infección de pseudoquiste pancreático por Haemophilus parainfluenzae. Caso clínico.

We report a 48-year-old male admitted to hospital due to a severe alcoholic pancreatitis. At four weeks of evolution of the acute episode, an abdominal CAT scan showed a fluid collection of 20 cm diameter located in the pancreatic tail and 2 small collections in the head. The patient received several antimicrobials and during the seventh week of evolution, while receiving vancomycin, presented fever. A fine needle aspiration of the cyst revealed the presence of Haemophilus parainfluenzae biotype VIII. The patient was treated with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and a laparoscopic cysto-gastrostomy, with a good clinical response.

Infección de pseudoquiste pancreático por Haemophilus parainfluenzae: Caso clínico / Pancreatic pseudocyst infection caused by Haemophilus parainfluenzae: Report of one case

We report a 48-year-old male admitted to hospital due to a severe alcoholic pancreatitis. At four weeks of evolution of the acute episode, an abdominal CAT scan showed a fluid collection of 20 cm diameter located in the pancreatic tail and 2 small collections in the head. The patient received several antimicrobials and during the seventh week of evolution, while receiving vancomycin, presented fever. A fine needle aspiration of the cyst revealed the presence of Haemophilus parainfluenzae biotype VIII. The patient was treated with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and a laparoscopic cysto-gastrostomy, with a good clinical response.

Molecular characterization of a pre-Columbian mummy and in situ coprolite.

The history of Homo sapiens dispersal around the world and inherent interpopulation contacts and conflicts has given rise to several transitions in his relationships with the natural world, with the final result of changes in the patterns of infectious disease (McMichael [2001] Ecosystem Health 7:107-115). Of particular interest, in this context, is the contact between Amerindians and Europeans that started at the end of the 15th century, and the resulting exchange of microbes. We successfully recovered ancient DNA from a pre-Columbian mummy from Cuzco (Peru), radiocarbon-dated to 980-1170 AD, for which consistent mtDNA amplifications and sequences were obtained. The analysis of mtDNA revealed that the mummy's haplogroup was characteristic of Native American populations. We also investigated a sample of feces directly isolated from the intestines of the mummy, using a polymerase chain reaction system designed to detect the broadest spectrum of bacterial DNAs. The analysis of results, following a criterion of "paleoecological consistency" (Rollo and Marota [1998] Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. [Biol.] 354: 111-119), demonstrated that some vestiges of the original microbial flora of the feces were preserved. In particular, we were able to identify the DNA of Haemophylus parainfluenzae, thus suggesting that this recently recognized pathogen was present in precontact Native Americans.