Epidemiology of Streptococcus pyogenes upper respiratory tract infections in Poland (2003-2017).

Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus, GAS) is a major human pathogen and causes every year over 600 millions upper respiratory tract onfections worldwide. Untreated or repeated infections may lead to post-infectional sequelae such as rheumatic heart disease, a major cause of GAS-mediated mortality. There is no comprehensive, longitudinal analysis of the M type distribution of upper respiratory tract strains isolated in Poland. Single reports describe rather their antibiotic resistance patterns or focus on the invasive isolates. Our goal was to analyse the clonal structure of the upper respiratory tract GAS isolated over multiple years in Poland. Our analysis revealed a clonal structure similar to the ones observed in high-income countries, with M1, M12, M89, M28, and M77 serotypes constituting over 80% of GAS strains. The M77 serotype is a major carrier of erythromycin resistance and is more often correlated with upper respiratory tract infections than other serotypes.

A decade of invasive meningococcal disease surveillance in Poland.

BACKGROUND: Neisseria meningitidis is a leading etiologic agent of severe invasive disease. The objective of the study was to characterise invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) epidemiology in Poland during the last decade, based on laboratory confirmed cases. METHODS: The study encompassed all invasive meningococci collected between 2002 and 2011 in the National Reference Centre for Bacterial Meningitis. The isolates were re-identified and characterised by susceptibility testing, MLST analysis, porA and fetA sequencing. A PCR technique was used for meningococcal identification directly from clinical materials. RESULTS: In the period studied, 1936 cases of IMD were confirmed, including 75.6% identified by culture. Seven IMD outbreaks, affecting mostly adolescents, were reported; all were caused by serogroup C meningococci of ST-11. The highest incidence was observed among children under one year of age (15.71/100,000 in 2011). The general case fatality rate in the years 2010-2011 was 10.0%. Meningococci of serogroup B, C, Y and W-135 were responsible for 48.8%, 36.6%, 1.2% and 1.2% of cases, respectively. All isolates were susceptible to third generation cephalosporins, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, and 84.2% were susceptible to penicillin. MLST analysis (2009-2011) revealed that among serogroup B isolates the most represented were clonal complexes (CC) ST-32CC, ST-18CC, ST-41/44CC, ST-213CC and ST-269CC, and among serogroup C: ST-103CC, ST-41/44CC and ST-11CC. CONCLUSIONS: The detection of IMD in Poland has changed over time, but observed increase in the incidence of the disease was mostly attributed to changes in the surveillance system including an expanded case definition and inclusion of data from non-culture diagnostics.

[Peritonitis in the course of peritoneal dialisis caused by Haemophilus influenzae with BLNAR phenotype]. / Dializacyjne zapalenie otrzewnej wywolane przez Haemophilus influenzae o fenotypie BLNAR.

Most common bacterial species causing peritonitis in the course of peritoneal dialysis (PDP) are coagulase-negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus and streptococci. Haemophilus influenzae is rarely associated with PDP. Hereby we present the first known case of APD-associated peritonitis caused by non-type able H. influenzae (NTHi) presenting the beta-lactamase negative, ampicillin-resistant (BLNAR) phenotype. An 18 year old boy who had been treated with the APD for 12 months due to SLE was admitted in good general condition with diagnosis of PDP. Standard diagnostic and therapeutical procedures were initiated. Dialysis fluid was turbid with cytosis of 435 WBC/ml. From dialysis fluid pure culture of Gram-negative coccobacillus was isolated. The isolate was identified as a BLNAR phenotype. The same bacterium was isolated from nasal swab. Blood cultures were negative. After evaluation of antimicrobial susceptibility the treatment was changed for the oral ciprofloxacin. The treatment was successful. Control tests 2 days later revealed cytosis of 15 WBC/mm3 and control cultures of peritoneal fluid were negative. After two weeks of treatment the patient was discharged in a good condition. Haemophilus influenzae is a bacterium frequently colonizing the nasopharyngeal cavity. A PCR-based method allowed to classify isolates as NTHi. Infection was probably of the respiratory origin as the isolates (from peritoneal fluid and nasal swab) were undistinguishable. There are only few reports describing this species as an ethiologic agent of peritonitis. This case prove that Haemophilus species should be taken into account as a possible aethiologic agent of PDP, especially in patients on immunosupression with carrier state of H. influenzae in the upper respiratory tract. This kind of microorganism requires specific conditions during its growing in vitro. Identification of its sensitivity to antibiotics is essential in order to detect strains of BLNAR phenotype, as it is a crucial part of an effective antibiotic therapy.

Automated peritoneal dialysis-associated peritonitis due to Haemophilus influenzae showing the BLNAR phenotype.

A rare case of peritonitis due to beta-lactamase-negative, ampicillin-resistant Haemophilus influenzae is described in an 18-year-old male undergoing automated peritoneal dialysis. The infection was probably of respiratory origin. Two strains of H. influenzae cultured from peritoneal fluid and a nasal swab were indistinguishable by molecular methods. The patient was successfully treated with oral ciprofloxacin. The authors suggest that this species should be taken into account as the etiologic agent of peritoneal dialysis-associated peritonitis. Targeted antimicrobial therapy should be based on local antibiotic resistance patterns.

[Invasive pneumococcal disease in the Malopolska region of Poland, in the year 2002-2008. Is introduction of mass vaccination with conjugated pneumococcal vaccine justified?]. / Inwazyjna choroba pneumokokowa w malopolsce w latach 2000-2008. Czy wprowadzenie powszechnych szczepien z zastosowaniem skoniugowanej szczepionki pneumokokowej jest zasadne?

UNLABELLED: According to the WHO pneumococcal infections are the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in children. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to establish the prevalence of pneumococcal isolates belonging to serotypes covered by 7-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine (7vPCV) isolated from invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in the Malopolska region of Poland in the years 2000-2008. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective clinical and microbiological analysis was performed on invasive, laboratory confirmed pneumococcal cases in the Malopolska region, between 2000-2008. RESULTS: During the study period there were 28 cases of IPD in children under 15 years of age in the Malopolska region. Most of the cases were diagnosed as meningitis, there were also cases of bacteraemic pneumonia and sepsis. The most common serotypes found during the study were: 14, 19F, 6B and 23F. Pneumococcal 7vPCV vaccine coverage among all cases was 78.0% and among children under 5 it was 94.0%. Nine isolates (32.1%) showed decreased susceptibility to penicillin. There were three fatal cases (CFR=10.7%) due to isolates of serotypes 19F, 23 F and 6B. In the six cases of meningitis, serious and lasting sequels were observed. All complicated and fatal cases as well as the cases caused by isolates with decreased susceptibility to penicillin were caused by serotypes covered by 7vPCV. CONCLUSIONS: The most serious cases of invasive pneumococcal infections in Malopolska region were caused by isolates of serotypes covered by 7-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine. The results of this study prove the advantages of wide usage of the pneumococcal vaccine in the Polish population children.

Target gene sequencing to characterize the penicillin G susceptibility of Neisseria meningitidis.

Clinical isolates of Neisseria meningitidis with reduced susceptibility to penicillin G (intermediate isolates, Pen(I)) harbor alterations in the penA gene encoding the penicillin binding protein 2 (PBP2). A 402-bp DNA fragment in the 3' half of penA was sequenced from a collection of 1,670 meningococcal clinical isolates from 22 countries that spanned 60 years. Phenotyping, genotyping, and the determination of MICs of penicillin G were also performed. A total of 139 different penA alleles were detected with 38 alleles that were highly related, clustered together in maximum-likelihood analysis and corresponded to the penicillin G-susceptible isolates. The remaining 101 penA alleles were highly diverse, corresponded to different genotypes or phenotypes, and accounted for 38% of isolates, but no clonal expansion was detected. Analysis of the altered alleles that were represented by at least five isolates showed high correlation with the Pen(I) phenotype. The deduced amino acid sequence of the corresponding PBP2 comprised five amino acid residues that were always altered. This correlation was not complete for rare alleles, suggesting that other mechanisms may also be involved in conferring reduced susceptibility to penicillin. Evidence of mosaic structures through events of interspecies recombination was also detected in altered alleles. A new website was created based on the data from this work (http://neisseria.org/nm/typing/penA). These data argue for the use of penA sequencing to identify isolates with reduced susceptibility to penicillin G and as a tool to improve typing of meningococcal isolates, as well as to analyze DNA exchange among Neisseria species.

Invasive meningococcal disease associated with a very high case fatality rate in the North-West of Poland.

The aim of the study was to investigate invasive meningococcal disease in the North-West of Poland, associated with a case fatality rate of 42.9%, where among the first 11 cases, eight had fatal outcome. All fatal cases were diagnosed as fulminant meningococcal severe sepsis with Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that the high case fatality rate was not associated with the dissemination of one epidemic clone. However, six cases, all with good outcomes, were caused by C:2b:(P1.2,P1.5) isolates of the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type belonging to ST8 complex/Cluster A4.

Characteristics of Haemophilus influenzae type b responsible for meningitis in Poland from 1997 to 2004.

Two hundred forty-five H. influenzae isolates responsible for meningitis in Poland from 1997 to 2004 were studied. Among these, 233 (95.1%) belonged to serotype b (Hib), 2 belonged to serotype f, and 10 were noncapsulated. The relatedness of all isolates was evaluated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and selected representatives were evaluated by multilocus sequence typing. Resistance to ampicillin was identified in 34 (14.6%) of the Hib isolates and was associated with the production of beta-lactamase only. Except for four isolates nonsusceptible to chloramphenicol, all isolates were susceptible to cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin, and rifampin. The PFGE analysis divided the Hib isolates into five PFGE types; however, all of them were possibly related. The most common PFGE type, with 25 subtypes, was characteristic for 97.4% of the isolates. The most prevalent PFGE subtype found in our study was also the most common among the Hib isolates responsible for invasive disease in Italy and the Czech Republic and was found among isolates causing lower respiratory tract infections in Poland. The most prevalent sequence types (STs) in the studied group were ST6 and ST92. Four new STs were found: ST188, ST189, ST190, and ST268. Results of this study support the evidence that the genetic structure of encapsulated H. influenzae is clonal. The continuing high number of meningitis cases due to Hib in Poland underlines the need for mass vaccination against Hib in Poland.