- Volume 7, Issue 3, 2025

Context . Campylobacter jejuni is responsible for 80% of the cases of human foodborne bacterial enteric infections worldwide. However, limited data on its genetic diversity exist, especially using the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR). The study aimed to determine the genetic diversity of C. jejuni strains isolated from infant diarrhoeal faeces at the Omar Bongo Ondimba Regional Health Center of Makokou (CHROBOM), Gabon.

Materials and methods. A total of 58 strains of C. jejuni from patients with gastroenteritis were used in this study. The ERIC-PCR method was used to characterize genetic diversity. The binomial manual method via the online analysis system (http://insilico.ehu.es/dice_upgma/) was used to establish the dendrogram and calculate the discriminatory power of the Simpson diversity index (D).

Results. The genotyping of C. jejuni isolates by the ERIC-PCR method revealed a discriminatory index D=0.8451, dividing the 58 isolates into 10 clusters, with 33 genotypic profiles, including 22 non-repeated profiles and 11 repeated profiles. These results indicate a rather polymorphic diversity of C. jejuni in the Makokou region of Gabon.

Conclusion. The high discriminatory diversity index obtained in this study demonstrates the polymorphic richness within C. jejuni strains as revealed by the ERIC-PCR method.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis and other members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), is a significant concern for livestock and public health in Ethiopia. This study aimed to isolate and genetically characterize the causative agents of bTB in cattle from four abattoirs in the Wolaita zone of Ethiopia. A total of 2,251 cattle were examined post-mortem, and suspect tuberculous lesions were identified in 122 animals. From these animals, 180 tissue samples were collected and processed for bacteriological culture and genetic analysis, including the Loopamp™ commercial loop-mediated isothermal amplification kit, PCR targeting RD4 and RD9 loci and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Bacteriological culture using mycobacteria growth indicator tube and Lowenstein–Jensen media ultimately identified 18 culture-positive samples, with WGS confirming M. bovis in lesions from four animals and M. tuberculosis in lesions from one animal. The M. bovis and M. tuberculosis isolates showed genetic similarity to previously identified MTBC lineages in Ethiopia. The presence of M. tuberculosis in cattle raises concerns about human-to-animal transmission. Additionally, non-tuberculous mycobacteria were isolated from lesions from multiple animals. Our study genetically characterized bacteria from suspect tuberculous lesions and provides the research community with new genome data for Ethiopian isolates of M. bovis and M. tuberculosis.

Background. Orthopaedic oncological pelvic reconstructions have an elevated risk of infection with Gram-negative bacteria. This study evaluates the bactericidal ability of a novel antimicrobial blue light (ABL)-emitting optical fibre on antibiotic-sensitive Escherichi coli (AS-Ec) and ESBL-producing E. coli (ESBL-Ec).

Methods. Time-to-kill assays used a 10 ml NaCl solution with a starting inoculum of 1×105 c.f.u. ml−1 for AS-Ec or ESBL-Ec; assays were repeated at least three times per strain. Experimental tubes had either one optical fibre [20.1 mW mm−1; low power (LP)] or two optical fibres [40.3 mW mm−1; high power (HP)], which delivered five wavelengths of ABL over 60 min. Control tubes had no optical fibres. Fifty microlitres of samples taken from each tube at 0, 10, 20, 30 and 60 min were streaked onto agar plates and incubated. c.f.u. ml−1 was determined. Bactericidal reduction was defined as a 99.9% (≥3 log10) reduction in c.f.u. ml−1. One-way ANOVA was conducted.

Results. Bactericidal effects were seen for AS-Ec under both LP-ABL and HP-ABL with a log10c.f.u. ml−1±sd difference of 3.44±0.35 (P=0.043) and 3.74±0.21 (P=0.048) at 30 and 20 min, respectively. For ESBL-Ec, while there was a significant reduction in bacterial colony formation, the bactericidal threshold was not reached with a log10c.f.u. ml−1±sd difference of only 1.02±0.41 (P=0.034) and 2.53±0.22 (P=0.037) at 60 min for LP-ABL and HP-ABL, respectively.

Conclusions. A novel ABL-emitting optical fibre exhibited bactericidal effects in AS-Ec and a clinically meaningful reduction of ESBL-Ec, providing a promising avenue for the use of ABL as a potential therapy for Gram-negative infections.

Background. A one hour delay in initiating appropriate antimicrobial treatment increases the mortality rate of patients with bloodstream infections by 2%. This highlights the risk associated with manual blood culture methods, as they tend to have long turnaround time, with an initial incubation period of 18–24 h, leading to delays in obtaining diagnostic results. This study examined the impact of incubation time on blood culture results and analysed the patterns of the pathogens causing bloodstream infections (BSIs) among children attending Sekou Toure Regional Referral Hospital (SRRH), Mwanza, Tanzania

Methodology. A hospital-based, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at SRRH from May to July 2024. The conventional blood culture method, using in-house prepared brain heart infusion broth with slight modifications on the initial time of the blind subculture (at 8, 24 and 120 h) was done to isolate the pathogens causing BSIs. Descriptive data analysis was performed using STATA software version 15.

Results. The study enrolled 302 children with clinical diagnosis of BSIs. Of these, 160 (53%) were male, with a median age of 6 years interquartile range [IQR] 1–7 years. Fever was the predominant clinical sign reported in 259 (85.8%) children. Microbiologically confirmed BSIs were detected in 90 (29.8%) children. Among them, 51.1% (46/90) were detected through blind subculture after 8 h of initial incubation. An additional 31 (34.4%) and 13 (14.4%) were detected after 24 h and 120 h of incubation, respectively. The most frequently isolated pathogens were Klebsiella pneumoniae (25.6%, 23/90) and Staphylococcus aureus (24.4%, 22/90). Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) formed the majority (71.1%, 64/90) of the isolated pathogens, with 62.5% (40/64) showing resistance to third-generation cephalosporin (3GC). Additionally, 45.5% (10/22) of the S. aureus strains were methicillin-resistant S. aureus.

Conclusion. Blind subculture after 8 h of initial incubation correctly detected more than half of the children with microbiologically confirmed BSIs. Incorporating blind subculture on MacConkey agar supplemented with 2 µg ml−1 cefotaxime (MCA-C) after 8 h of incubation resulted in the correct treatment of half of the children with BSIs caused by GNB within 24 h. In areas with high prevalence of 3GC resistance, blind subculture within 8 h should include MCA-C for appropriate treatment within 24 h.

Background. Aerococcus urinae was initially considered a commensal of the urinary tract, but there is now increasing evidence for its involvement in urinary tract and systemic infections. A. urinae endocarditis has a non-negligible mortality rate and occurs mainly in patients with underlying conditions or the presence of extraneous material.

Case presentation. This report handles the case of a 65-year-old male with cardiac antecedents, who was admitted to the cardiology department after a syncope of unknown origin and diagnosed with severe mixed aortic valve disease and mitral valve sclerosis through the means of transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE). During hospitalization, the patient progressively deteriorated with the development of shortness of breath and an inflammatory syndrome. Both the urine and blood cultures showed growth of A. urinae. Treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam was started empirically. Repeated TEE showed evidence of endocarditis with vegetation and perforation of the mitral valve that required an emergency surgery with mitral valve repair. After surgery, gentamicin and penicillin G were administered for 48 h, followed by combined ceftriaxone/penicillin G treatment for 6 weeks. At first, flucloxacillin was also associated as the culture of the valve was negative. Finally, the 16S rRNA gene PCR on the valve tissue confirmed the A. urinae endocarditis.

Conclusion. A. urinae is an underestimated cause of serious infections such as endocarditis. Urinary tract infections mainly in older men can be an entry point for this type of invasive infection.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a common commensal and opportunistic canine pathogen with emerging pathogenicity in humans. We describe the first case of invasive S. pseudintermedius infection causing aortitis and mycotic aneurysm in an 83-year-old patient, treated successfully with flucloxacillin. This case highlights the potential for S. pseudintermedius to cause serious endovascular infection in humans.