Publications by authors named "Geoffrey W Coombs"

clade B has recently been re-classified as . Although was previously associated with food products and probiotics, the recent re-classification has prompted the need for the accurate identification of this species and re-interpretation of its disease-causing ability. Since the re-classified can currently only be identified by molecular techniques such as whole-genome sequencing, we constructed a MALDI Biotyper custom database to rapidly identify and differentiate causing bacteraemia from .

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The Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR) performs regular period-prevalence studies to monitor changes in antimicrobial resistance in selected enteric gram-negative pathogens. From 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023, a total of 57 hospitals across Australia participated in the Australian Gram-negative Surveillance Outcome Program (GnSOP). The 2023 survey tested 10,453 isolates, comprising (9,503; 90.

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From 1 January to 31 December 2023, fifty-seven institutions across Australia participated in the Australian Surveillance Outcome Program (ASSOP). The aim of ASSOP 2023 was to determine the proportion of bacteraemia (SAB) isolates in Australia that were antimicrobial resistant, with particular emphasis on methicillin resistance, and to characterise the methicillin-resistant (MRSA) molecular epidemiology. A total of 3,422 SAB episodes were reported, of which 77.

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From 1 January to 31 December 2023, fifty-six institutions across Australia participated in the Australian Enterococcal Surveillance Outcome Program (AESOP). The aim of AESOP 2023 was to determine the proportion of enterococcal bacteraemia isolates in Australia that were antimicrobial resistant, and to determine the molecular epidemiology. Of the 1,599 unique episodes of enterococcal bacteraemia investigated, 92.

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Article Synopsis
  • Rising rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) were noted in Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus spp. in Australia, with a significant number of blood stream infections (BSIs) occurring in children.
  • The Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR) analyzed 2,091 S. aureus and 534 enterococcal BSIs over nine years, revealing key trends in community vs. hospital onset infections and varying resistance levels.
  • A shift in resistance profiles was observed, especially in Enterococcus faecium, prompting the need for detailed and age-stratified reporting of AMR data.
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Background: Gram-negative bloodstream infections are associated with significant morbidity and mortality in children. Increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is reported globally, yet efforts to track pediatric AMR at a national level over time are lacking.

Methods: The Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR) surveillance program captures clinical and microbiological data of isolates detected in blood cultures across Australia.

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From 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021, thirty-eight institutions across Australia submitted data to the Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR) from patients aged < 18 years (AGAR-Kids). Over the two years, 1,679 isolates were reported from 1,611 patients. This AGAR-Kids report aims to describe the population of children and adolescents with bacteraemia reported to AGAR and the proportion of resistant isolates.

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global pandemic, however, estimating its burden is a complex process. As a result, many countries rely on global estimates to infer burden within their own setting. With a growing number of recent publications quantifying AMR burden in Australia, and an expansion of surveillance programs, enumerating AMR mortality for Australia is feasible.

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a critical global health challenge. However, the significance of AMR is not limited to humans and domestic animals but extends to wildlife and the environment. Based on the analysis of > 200 peer-reviewed papers, this review provides comprehensive and current insights into the detection of clinically significant antimicrobial resistant bacteria and resistance genes in wild mammals, birds and reptiles worldwide.

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Article Synopsis
  • The rise of sequence type (ST) 45 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been notable in the past decade, but its causes are not fully understood.
  • Research involving phylogenetic analysis of ST45 MRSA from Australia and globally identified a unique lineage with multidrug resistance, particularly in Australia and Singapore.
  • The study found that the qacA gene, acquired in the late 1990s, enhances tolerance to chlorhexidine, indicating that both antimicrobial resistance and qacA are key to the establishment of ST45 MRSA.
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Objectives: Daptomycin is one of the few last-line antimicrobials available for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. An increasing number of daptomycin non-susceptible S. aureus infections has been reported worldwide, including Australia.

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SUMMARYEnterococci are a diverse group of Gram-positive bacteria that are typically found as commensals in humans, animals, and the environment. Occasionally, they may cause clinically relevant diseases such as endocarditis, septicemia, urinary tract infections, and wound infections. The majority of clinical infections in humans are caused by two species: and .

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In 2010 a single isolate of a trimethoprim-resistant multilocus sequence type 5, Panton-Valentine leucocidin-positive, community-associated methicillin-resistant (PVL-positive ST5 CA-MRSA), colloquially named WA121, was identified in northern Western Australia (WA). WA121 now accounts for ~14 % of all WA MRSA infections. To gain an understanding of the genetic composition and phylogenomic structure of WA121 isolates we sequenced the genomes of 155 WA121 isolates collected 2010-2021 and present a detailed genomic description.

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From 1 January to 31 December 2022, fifty-five institutions across Australia participated in the Australian Enterococcal Surveillance Outcome Program (AESOP). The aim of AESOP 2022 was to determine the proportion of enterococcal bacteraemia isolates in Australia that were antimicrobial resistant, and to characterise the molecular epidemiology of the Enterococcus faecium isolates. Of the 1,535 unique episodes of enterococcal bacteraemia investigated, 92.

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The Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR) performs regular period-prevalence studies to monitor changes in antimicrobial resistance in selected enteric gram-negative pathogens. The 2022 survey was the tenth year to focus on blood stream infections caused by Enterobacterales, and the eighth year where Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter species were included. Fifty-five hospitals Australia-wide participated in 2022.

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From 1 January to 31 December 2022, fifty-five institutions across Australia participated in the Australian Staphylococcus aureus Surveillance Outcome Program (ASSOP). The aim of ASSOP 2022 was to determine the proportion of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) isolates in Australia that were antimicrobial resistant, with particular emphasis on susceptibility to methicillin and on characterisation of the molecular epidemiology of the methicillin-resistant isolates. A total of 3,214 SAB episodes were reported, of which 77.

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global public health threat, particularly affecting patients in resource-poor settings. Comprehensive surveillance programmes are essential to reducing the high mortality and morbidity associated with AMR and are integral to informing treatment decisions and guidelines, appraising the effectiveness of intervention strategies, and directing development of new antibacterial agents. Various surveillance programmes exist worldwide, including those administered by government bodies or funded by the pharmaceutical industry.

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Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health challenge requiring a global response to which Australia has issued a National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy. The necessity for continued-development of new effective antimicrobials is required to tackle this immediate health threat is clear, but current market conditions may undervalue antimicrobials. We aimed to estimate the health-economic benefits of reducing AMR levels for drug-resistant gram-negative pathogens in Australia, to inform health policy decision-making.

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Hyperammonemia syndrome (HS) is a life-threatening condition occurring in solid organ transplant patients, affecting primarily lung recipients, and is associated with and/or spp infection. The organ donor was a young man who died of hypoxic brain injury and had urethral discharge antemortem. The donor and 4 solid organ transplant recipients had infection with and/or spp.

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Vancomycin variable enterococci (VVE) are van-positive enterococci with a vancomycin-susceptible phenotype (VVE-S) that can convert to a resistant phenotype (VVE-R) and be selected for during vancomycin exposure. VVE-R outbreaks have been reported in Canada and Scandinavian countries. The aim of this study was to examine the presence of VVE in whole genome sequenced (WGS) Australian bacteremia Enterococcus faecium (Efm) isolates collected through the Australian Group on Antimicrobial resistance (AGAR) network.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study addresses the uncertainty regarding the best treatment for penicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (PSSA) infections and concerns about testing reliability for detecting some resistant strains.
  • Researchers sent PSSA isolates to 34 labs across multiple countries to evaluate the performance of two different susceptibility testing methods (CLSI and EUCAST) using blaZ PCR as a reference.
  • Results showed that the EUCAST method had better accuracy and lower error rates compared to the CLSI method, highlighting the need to consider that most clinically relevant PSSA isolates do not have genetic elements indicating resistance, making treatment decisions complex.
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In Australia, gonococcal isolates are monitored for antimicrobial susceptibilities. In Western Australia (WA), gonorrhoea notification rates increased by 63 % between 2013 and 2016, with the steepest increase occurring between 2015 and 2016, before stabilizing at this higher baseline between 2017 and 2020. This increased prevalence was associated with antimicrobial-susceptible (AMS) lineages.

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From 1 January to 31 December 2021, forty-eight institutions around Australia participated in the Australian Staphylococcus aureus Surveillance Outcome Programme (ASSOP). The aim of ASSOP 2021 was to determine the proportion of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) isolates in Australia that were antimicrobial resistant, with particular emphasis on susceptibility to methicillin and on characterisation of the molecular epidemiology of the methicillin-resistant isolates. A total of 2,928 SAB episodes were reported, of which 78.

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