Severe Group A Streptococcus Infection among Children, France, 2022-2024.

Group A Streptococcus infections have increased in Europe since September 2022. The French Pediatric Intensive Care and French Pediatric Infectious Diseases expert groups conducted a retrospective and prospective study of children who had severe group A Streptococcus infections during September 1, 2022-April 1, 2024, across 34 hospitals in France. A total of 402 pediatric patients (median age 4 [interquartile range 2-7.

Immune response and clinical severity are shaped by skin-adapted in chronically infected patients.

Despite the well-described association of skin lesions with , the distinct ability of clinical isolates to influence the local and systemic inflammatory response in a patient-specific manner is insufficiently characterized. In this study, we analyzed clinical recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), which is characterized by wounds chronically colonized with , to explore the relationship between inflammatory immune response and strain diversity. Children with RDEB (moderate phenotype,  = 5; severe phenotype,  = 10) and controls ( = 18) were enrolled in the study.

Changes in Clinical and Microbiological Characteristics of Acute Mastoiditis in Children: A Comparative Study Between 2001-2008 and 2021-2024.

Objective: To analyze the changes over the last 2 decades in clinical presentation, initial management, bacterial etiology, and rates of complications of acute mastoiditis (AM) in children.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective study including all children diagnosed with AM between 2021 and 2024 in a French tertiary care center. Age at diagnosis, first-line surgical and medical treatment modalities, complications and bacteriological findings were collected.

Severe Group A Streptococcus Infections in Children During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Interrupted Time-series Analysis in Paris, France, 2018-2023.

Background: An unexpected surge in severe Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections occurred during 2022-2023. We assessed changes in the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of severe GAS infections during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We analyzed severe GAS infections in children admitted to a university hospital in Paris, France (2018-2023).

Use of gastrointestinal syndromic multiplex molecular assays and detection of pathotypes in pediatric wards.

pathotypes are enteric pathogens detected in gastrointestinal multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR), with controversial clinical relevance. Our study aimed to describe clinical features and therapeutic decisions associated with detections in gastrointestinal mPCR. Children with positive mPCR for enteroaggregative (EAEC) enteropathogenic (EPEC) enterotoxigenic (ETEC), Shiga toxin-producing (STEC), and enteroinvasive (EIEC)/ identified in two pediatric hospitals over 18 months (2020-2021) were included.

Airway Mycobiota-Microbiota During Pulmonary Exacerbation of Cystic Fibrosis Patients: A Culture and Targeted Sequencing Study.

Background: The airways of patients with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) harbour complex fungal and bacterial microbiota involved in pulmonary exacerbations (PEx) and requiring antimicrobial treatment. Descriptive studies analysing bacterial and fungal microbiota concomitantly are scarce, especially using both culture and high-throughput-sequencing (HTS).

Objectives: We analysed bacterial-fungal microbiota and inter-kingdom correlations in two French CF centres according to clinical parameters and antimicrobial choices.

Pediatric intracranial empyema complicating otogenic and sinogenic infection.

Objective: To describe and compare clinical and microbiological features, surgical and medical management, and outcomes of children with otogenic and sinogenic intracranial empyema (IE) in an institution with an established multidisciplinary protocol. To use the study findings to inform and update the institutional algorithm.

Methods: Retrospective analysis was carried out on the electronic healthcare records of all children with oto-sinogenic IE admitted in a 5-year period.

Performance of clinical metagenomics in France: a prospective observational study.

Background: Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) allows untargeted identification of a broad range of pathogens, including rare or novel microorganisms. Despite the recognition of mNGS as a valuable diagnostic tool for infections, the most relevant indications for this innovative strategy remain poorly defined. We aimed to assess the determinants of positivity and clinical utility of mNGS.

Mycobacterium canettii Tuberculosis Lymphadenopathy in a 3-Year-old Child.

A 3-year-old male originating from Djibouti presented with a cervical mass evolving for 2 months. Tuberculous lymphadenopathy was suspected based on biopsy results, and he improved quickly on standard antituberculous quadritherapy. Subsequently some features of the mycobacterium that grew in culture were unusual.

Recurrent Cellulitis Revealing Helicobacter cinaedi in Patient on Ibrutinib Therapy, France.

Helicobacter cinaedi bacteremia caused recurring multifocal cellulitis in a patient in France who had chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with ibrutinib. Diagnosis required extended blood culture incubation and sequencing of the entire 16S ribosomal RNA gene from single bacterial colonies. Clinicians should consider H.

Contribution of PCR to Differential Diagnosis between Patients with Whipple Disease and Tropheryma whipplei Carriers.

Differentiation between Whipple disease (WD) patients and patients carrying Tropheryma whipplei but suffering from disease other than WD ("carriers") remains complex. We aimed to evaluate T. whipplei PCR among patients with WD and carriers in a large cohort at our referral clinical microbiology laboratory.

Circovirus Hepatitis Infection in Heart-Lung Transplant Patient, France.

In March 2022, a 61-year-old woman in France who had received a heart-lung transplant sought treatment with chronic hepatitis mainly characterized by increased liver enzymes. After ruling out common etiologies, we used metagenomic next-generation sequencing to analyze a liver biopsy sample and identified an unknown species of circovirus, tentatively named human circovirus 1 (HCirV-1). We found no other viral or bacterial sequences.

IgA Serological Response for the Diagnosis of Mycobacterium abscessus Infections in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

The immunoglobulin A (IgA) status of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, presenting with or without a non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection, has to date not been fully elucidated toward two antigenic preparations previously described. We have chosen to determine the clinical values of an IgA ELISA for the diagnosis of NTM and/or Mycobacterium abscessus infections in CF patients. One hundred and 73 sera from CF patients, comprising 33 patients with M.

Lung-Adapted Staphylococcus aureus Isolates With Dysfunctional Agr System Trigger a Proinflammatory Response.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus dominates the lung microbiota of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and persistent clones are able to establish chronic infection for years, having a direct deleterious impact on lung function. However, in this context, the exact contribution of S. aureus to the decline in respiratory function in children with CF is not elucidated.

Serological biomarkers for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium abscessus infections in cystic fibrosis patients.

Background: Culture conditions sometimes make it difficult to detect non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), particularly Mycobacterium abscessus, an emerging cystic fibrosis (CF) pathogen. The diagnosis of NTM positive cases not detected by classical culture methods might benefit from the development of a serological assay.

Methods: As part of a diagnostic accuracy study, a total of 173 sera CF-patients, including 33 patients with M.

High-Resolution Typing of Based on Core Genome Multilocus Sequence Typing To Investigate the Hospital Spread of Multidrug-Resistant Clones.

is a pathogen emerging worldwide as a leading cause of health care-associated infections. A standardized high-resolution typing method to document transmission and dissemination of multidrug-resistant strains is needed. Our aim was to provide a core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) scheme for to improve the international surveillance of We defined a cgMLST scheme based on 699 core genes and used it to investigate the population structure of the species and the genetic relatedness of isolates recovered from infants hospitalized in several wards of a French hospital.

Early Bacterial Infections After Pediatric Liver Transplantation in the Era of Multidrug-resistant Bacteria: Nine-year Single-center Retrospective Experience.

Background: Early bacterial infection is a major and severe complication after liver transplantation (LT). The rise of antimicrobial resistance, especially extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE), is a growing concern for these patients. This study aimed to assess the epidemiology of early bacterial infections in a pediatric population, including those caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, and to identify risk factors for infection.