A Case of Infection with Leptospires from Three Different Serovars During a Flood in the Philippines.

Leptospirosis a significant and life-threatening zoonosis with global reach. If diagnosis and treatment are delayed, the infection may lead to fatal Weil's disease. In the Philippines, a 21-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with leptospirosis-like symptoms, including fever, myalgia, headache, anuria, jaundice, hemorrhage, skin rash, and diarrhea.

Development of a PCR method for rapid detection of Leptospira from one microliter of whole blood.

Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira. Its diagnosis is usually difficult, often resulting in delayed antimicrobial therapy and worse outcomes. Nucleic acid amplification tests of blood provide reliable Leptospira detection in acute infections, but the requirement for skilled personnel and expensive equipment still limits their widespread use, especially in low-resource settings.

First report of a fatal case of Clostridium porci bacteremia in an 8-month-old girl presenting with purpura fulminans associated with concurrent Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infection.

Objectives: Yersinia pseudotuberculosis rarely causes bacteremia, and Clostridium porci, an obligate anaerobic bacterium identified as part of the intestinal microbiota in pigs, has not been reported to cause human infection. We report an infant with VACTERL association who developed purpura fulminans. Upon transfer to our hospital, the patient went into shock.

Corrigendum to Effects of the sampling time on the vaginal microbiota in healthy pregnant women: a prospective observational study' [AJOG Global Reports Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2025, 100460].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.xagr.

Effects of the sampling time on the vaginal microbiota in healthy pregnant women: a prospective observational study.

Background: Studies using 16S rRNA gene sequencing have extensively examined the vaginal microbiota changes of pregnant women. However, no study has examined these changes considering the time of day at which vaginal fluid samples were collected from near-term pregnant women.

Objective: To describe the vaginal microbiota of Japanese near-term pregnant women with normal pregnancy outcomes and potential vaginal microbiota changes from wake-up to bedtime.

Fibrinolytic treatment using recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) for staphylococcal infective endocarditis.

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a severe illness characterized by vegetation of bacterial thrombosis. We hypothesized that adding recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) to antibiotics would contribute to good results in the treatment of IE. As an in vitro study, we injected labeled Staphylococcus aureus (S.

Effective biofilm eradication in MRSA isolates with aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme genes using high-concentration and prolonged gentamicin treatment.

Unlabelled: Bone and soft tissue infections caused by biofilm-forming bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant (MRSA), remain a significant clinical challenge. While the control of local infection is necessary, systemic treatment is also required, and biofilm eradication is a critical target for successful management. Topical antibiotic treatments, such as antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC), have been used for some time, and continuous local antibiotic perfusion therapy, a less invasive method, has been developed by our group.

Surveillance and phylogenetic analysis of a pathogenic bacterium candidate in nasal discharge from children.

"The infectious organism lurking in human airways (IOLA)" is a candidate pathogenic bacterium detected in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid specimens derived from adult patients with chronic lower respiratory tract infections. Genomic analyses of IOLA have revealed that it possesses the smallest and most AT-rich genome among human-derived bacteria. However, its biological properties remain unclear because no culture method has been established for IOLA.

Non-purulent myositis caused by direct invasion of skeletal muscle tissue by in a hamster model.

Myalgia is a common symptom of infection in humans. Autopsies have reported that muscle tissue shows degeneration and necrosis of the myofibers and infiltration of inflammatory cells composed mainly of macrophages and lymphocytes. It remains unclear whether directly infects the muscle and how the infiltrating inflammatory cells are involved in muscle fiber destruction.

Protective role of stratum corneum in percutaneous Leptospira infection in a hamster model.

Leptospira enters humans and animals through injured skin or mucous membranes by direct or indirect contact with urine excreted from infected reservoirs. Individuals with cut or scratched skin are at high risk of infection and are recommended to be protected from contact with Leptospira, but the risk of infection via skin without apparent wounds is unknown. We hypothesized that the stratum corneum of the epidermis might prevent percutaneous invasion of leptospires.

Increased copy number of 23S ribosomal RNA gene with point mutation in MRSA associated with linezolid resistance in a patient treated with long-term linezolid.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is one of the most difficult infections we have to treat. Linezolid is one of the effective treatment options for refractory MRSA infections. There are cases where we are forced to use long-term linezolid treatment for refractory MRSA infections.

Measuring the effects of respiratory protective equipment and other protectors in preventing the scattering of vocalization droplets.

This study was conducted to quantitatively examine the effects of respiratory protective equipment (respirators) and various other types of protectors in preventing the scattering of vocalization droplets. Each of 12 adult male volunteers was asked to vocalize intermittently for 1 min at a target intensity of approximately 100 dBA in an experimental room adjusted to a humidity of approximately 60-70%. The subjects vocalized while wearing respirators, other types of protectors, or no protectors at all.

Differences in the microbiota of oral rinse, lesion, and normal site samples from patients with mucosal abnormalities on the tongue.

The oral microbiota associated with mucosal diseases, including oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral potentially malignant disorders, have been extensively analyzed at the phylum and genus levels. However, the details of the oral microbiota remain unclear at the species and operational taxonomic unit (OTU) levels. We aimed to determine differences in the microbiota of oral rinse, lesion and normal site swab samples of patients with mucosal abnormalities on the tongues.

Helicobacter pylori results in lysis and death after exposure to water.

Background: Helicobacter pylori has a high infection rate, and it is possible that more than half of the world's population is infected. The route of transmission of H. pylori has not been completely elucidated yet.

Dissemination of Leptospira into the intestinal tract resulting in fecal excretion in a hamster model of subcutaneous infection with Leptospirainterrogans.

Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic Leptospira, is one of the most common zoonotic diseases in the world. It is transmitted to humans through the skin and mucous membranes by contact with water or soil contaminated with urine excreted from infected animals. In human infections, gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea have been frequently observed, but there have been no reports analyzing gastrointestinal lesions in leptospirosis, and the pathological mechanism of gastrointestinal symptoms in leptospirosis remains unclear.

Is an Environmental Bacterium That Grows in Waterlogged Soil.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with pathogenic leptospires. Consistent with recent studies by other groups, leptospires were isolated from 89 out of 110 (80.9%) soil or water samples from varied locations in the Philippines in our surveillance study, indicating that leptospires might have a life cycle that does not involve animal hosts.

Literature review to integrate information to assist workers to select masks even at workplaces without occupational health personnel.

Background: With the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of universal mask wearing to prevent infecting others when one becomes infected has prevailed among people. In general, any workplace is not exempt and workers are required to wear a mask while working at the sites.

Objectives: This study aims to integrate information to assist workers to select effective protectors for the prevention of droplet infection even at workplaces without occupational health personnel.

A machine learning model of microscopic agglutination test for diagnosis of leptospirosis.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by the pathogenic bacterium Leptospira. The Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) is widely used as the gold standard for diagnosis of leptospirosis. In this method, diluted patient serum is mixed with serotype-determined Leptospires, and the presence or absence of aggregation is determined under a dark-field microscope to calculate the antibody titer.

Correlation between renal distribution of leptospires during the acute phase and chronic renal dysfunction in a hamster model of infection with Leptospira interrogans.

Background: Leptospirosis has been described as a biphasic disease consisting of hematogenous dissemination to major organs in the acute phase and asymptomatic renal colonization in the chronic phase. Several observational studies have suggested an association between leptospirosis and chronic kidney disease (CKD). We investigated the dynamics of leptospires and histopathological changes in the kidney to understand the relationship between them, and also investigated the extent of renal dysfunction in the acute and chronic phases of leptospirosis using a hamster model.

Bacterial composition of nasal discharge in children based on highly accurate 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis.

Nasopharyngeal colonization by bacteria is a prerequisite for progression to respiratory disease and an important source of horizontal spread within communities. We aimed to perform quantitative analysis of the bacterial cells and reveal the microbiota of the nasal discharge in children at the species level based on highly accurate 16S rRNA gene sequencing. This study enrolled 40 pediatric patients with rhinorrhea.

Limitations of Ribotyping as Genotyping Method for Corynebacterium ulcerans.

We conducted molecular typing of a Corynebacterium ulcerans isolate from a woman who died in Japan in 2016. Genomic DNA modification might have affected the isolate's ribotyping profile. Multilocus sequence typing results (sequence type 337) were more accurate.

In vitro characteristics of intravaginal Lactobacilli; why is L. iners detected in abnormal vaginal microbial flora?

Purpose: Our purpose is to investigate the reasons why Lactobacillus iners is detected in abnormal vaginal microbial flora.

Methods: In this study, in vitro characteristics of four type strains (L. crispatus, L.

Acquisition of genetic mutations in Group A Streptococci at infection site and subsequent systemic dissemination of the mutants with lethal mutations in a streptococcal toxic shock syndrome mouse model.

Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) is caused mainly by Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Streptococci, GAS), and it has a fatality rate of 25%. Mutations in CsrRS and RopB, which suppress the transcription of many virulence factors, were recently found in clinical isolates from STSS patients, but it is not fully understood when and where GAS acquires the mutations in the host. To resolve this question, we used our mouse model of human STSS to recover GAS strains from injections sites, spleens and blood of moribund mice with STSS-like symptoms, and analyzed the sequence of the covR/covS genes and ropB gene that encode CsrRS and RopB.

Dynamics of microbiota during mechanical ventilation in aspiration pneumonia.

Background: The emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens is an urgent health-related problem, and the appropriate use of antibiotics is imperative. It is often difficult to identify the causative bacteria in patients with aspiration pneumonia because tracheal aspirate contains contaminants of oral bacteria. We investigated the dynamics of microbiota in mechanically ventilated patients with aspiration pneumonia to develop a treatment strategy.