Enterococcus montenegrensis sp. nov., isolated from artisanal Montenegrin dry sausage.

A novel, Gram-positive, facultative anaerobe, coccoid and non-motile bacterium, designated as CoE-012-22T was isolated from dried beef sausage (the original name in Montenegro is Govedji Kulen) manufactured in the municipality of Rozaje (Montenegro) in 2021. Cells of this strain were oxidase- and catalase-negative. Growth occurred at 4-50 °C, at pH 5.0-8.0 and with 0-6.5 % (w/v) NaCl in diverse growth media. MALDI-TOF analysis identified the strain as Enterococcus canintestini (log score 2). Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and whole genome sequences assigned the strain to the genus Enterococcus. The closest relatives were E. canintestini DSM 21207T and E. dispar ATCC 51266T with 16S rRNA gene sequence pairwise similarities of 99.34 and 98.59 %, respectively. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between isolate CoE-012-22T and other enterococci species were below the thresholds for species delineation thresholds (95.0 % ANI; 70.0 % dDDH) with maximum identities of 84.13 % (ANIb), 86.43 % (ANIm) and 28.4 % (dDDH) to E. saigonensis JCM 31193T and 70.97 % (ANIb), 88.99 % (ANIm) and 32.4 % (dDDH) to E. malodoratus ATCC 43197T. Two unknown Enterococcus isolates, Enterococcus sp. MJM12 and Enterococcus SMC-9, showed identities of 99.87 and 99.94 % (16S rRNA), 98.57 and 98.65 % (ANIb), 98.93 and 99.02 % (ANIm), and 89.8 and 90.0 % (dDDH) to strain CoE-012-22T and can therefore be regarded as the same species. Based on the characterization results, strain CoE-012-22T was considered to represent a novel species, for which the name Enterococcus montenegrensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CoE-012-22T (=DSM 115843T=NCIMB 15468T).

Complete genome sequence of Bordetella parapertussis strain 400431-b, isolated from a protracted course of whooping cough in Austria, 2023.

Here, we report the complete genome of Bordetella parapertussis strain 400431-b isolated from a nasopharyngeal swab from a 4-year-old patient presenting with a protracted course of whooping cough, vaccinated with three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-hepatitis B-poliomyelitis-Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine.

Association of Phylogenomic Relatedness among Neisseria gonorrhoeae Strains with Antimicrobial Resistance, Austria, 2016-2020.

We investigated genomic determinants of antimicrobial resistance in 1,318 Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains isolated in Austria during 2016-2020. Sequence type (ST) 9363 and ST11422 isolates had high rates of azithromycin resistance, and ST7363 isolates correlated with cephalosporin resistance. These results underline the benefit of genomic surveillance for antimicrobial resistance monitoring.

Rifampicin Resistance Associated with rpoB Mutations in Neisseria gonorrhoeae Clinical Strains Isolated in Austria, 2016 to 2020.

Due to increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, alternative treatments should be considered. To assess rifampicin's potential as a gonorrhea treatment, we used rpoB mutations to estimate rifampicin resistance in Austrian N. gonorrhoeae isolates. We found 30% of resistant isolates clustering in three main phylogenomic branches. Rifampicin resistance was associated with resistance to other antibiotics. Therefore, rifampicin cannot be recommended as an alternative gonorrhea treatment in Austria, even in combination therapy. IMPORTANCE Gonorrhea, caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, is one of the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infections. It is treated with antibiotics, but an increasing number of N. gonorrhoeae strains are resistant to currently used treatments. In this study, we explored the potential of rifampicin, another antibiotic, as a treatment option for gonorrhea. However, around 30% of Austrian N. gonorrhoeae strains investigated were already resistant to rifampicin, which would limit its benefit as a gonorrhea treatment.

Draft Genome Sequences of Interpatient and Intrapatient Epidemiologically Linked Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of gonorrhea and was identified by the World Health Organization as an urgent public health threat due to emerging antibiotic resistance. Here, we report 13 draft genome sequences of N. gonorrhoeae isolates derived from two epidemiologically linked cases from Austria.

Classifying spa types in complexes improves interpretation of typing results for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

A total of 382 isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus originating from three Austrian regions and one adjacent Italian region (Vienna, Lower Austria, North Tyrol, and South Tyrol) were typed by DNA sequence analysis of the variable repeat region of the protein A gene (spa typing). The strain collection consisted of arbitrarily chosen isolates originating from clinical specimens taken in the years 2003 to 2005 at 17 hospitals. The most common spa types found were t001 (28.8% of all isolates), t190 (27.0%), t008 (14.1%), and t041 (11.3%). The 42 remaining spa types accounted for