Article
Infectious Diseases
Alyssa R. Golden, James A. Karlowsky, Andrew Walkty, Melanie R. Baxter, Andrew J. Denisuik, Melissa McCracken, Michael R. Mulvey, Heather J. Adam, Denice Bay, George G. Zhanel
Summary: The study demonstrated that genotypic resistance profile inferred from WGS can accurately predict phenotypic resistance for ESBL-producing E. coli, with the highest predictive accuracy observed for ciprofloxacin. However, major error and/or very major error rates were >= 3% for some antibiotics.
JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL CHEMOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Andrew J. Walkty, James A. Karlowsky, Melanie R. Baxter, Philippe R. S. Lagace-Wiens, Heather J. Adam, George G. Zhanel
Summary: Introduction This study evaluated the in vitro activity of sulopenem against bacterial pathogens isolated from the urine of Canadian patients. The results showed that sulopenem exhibited excellent activity against Enterobacterales, particularly against Escherichia coli, but had poor activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis.
JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
James A. Karlowsky, Melanie R. Baxter, Andrew J. Walkty, Philippe R. S. Lagace-Wiens, Denice Bay, Heather J. Adam, George G. Zhanel
Summary: This study found that fosfomycin has in vitro activity against common Gram-positive and Gram-negative urinary pathogens. However, further study is needed before applying the existing breakpoints to pathogens not specified by standard methods.
JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Alyssa R. Golden, Heather J. Adam, Melanie Baxter, Irene Martin, Walter Demczuk, Michael R. Mulvey, James A. Karlowsky, George G. Zhanel
Summary: This study characterized invasive and respiratory Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates collected from Canadian hospitals pre and post-PCV13 implementation, particularly focusing on serotypes 22F and 33F using whole genome sequencing. The results showed emergence of new drug-resistant serotypes and different performance of vaccine serotypes at different time points.
Review
Microbiology
Elisabeta Elena Popa, Elena Loredana Ungureanu, Mihaela Geicu-Cristea, Amalia Carmen Mitelut, Mihaela Cristina Draghici, Paul Alexandru Popescu, Mona Elena Popa
Summary: Foodborne pathogens pose a significant threat to global public health in the food industry. Various methods have been studied for inhibiting pathogens in food, including the development of innovative packaging materials and the use of emerging technologies. This study evaluated trends in technology for food processing and novel packaging materials in inhibiting pathogenic microorganisms. Technologies such as high-voltage atmospheric cold plasma, high-pressure processing, microwaves, radio frequency heating, and ultrasound have proven effective in reducing pathogenic microbial loads. Additionally, novel packaging materials incorporating antimicrobial agents have shown efficiency in inhibiting a wide range of microorganisms.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fleurdeliz Maglangit, Yi Yu, Hai Deng
Summary: Pathogenic bacteria pose threats but also provide potential for pharmaceuticals. Discovering new antibiotics and exploiting pathogenic bacteria could lead to a new era of antibiotic discovery.
NATURAL PRODUCT REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Infectious Diseases
Esther Imperlini, Federica Massaro, Francesco Buonocore
Summary: The introduction of antibiotics revolutionized the treatment of microbial infections, but growing antibiotic resistance poses a major concern. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) show promise as alternatives to conventional antibiotics, as they have low risk of resistance development. However, there are challenges in their clinical impact, and research efforts are focused on improving their activity and reducing toxicity. Nanoparticles (NPs) have been developed for AMP delivery, including lipid NPs, polymeric NPs, mesoporous silica, and gold NPs, to enhance solubility, protect against degradation, reduce toxicity, and potentiate their action against pathogens.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Alyssa R. Golden, Melanie Baxter, Heather J. Adam, Irene Martin, Walter Demczuk, Michael R. Mulvey, James A. Karlowsky, George G. Zhanel
Summary: A study in Canada from 2007 to 2020 found that the proportion of PCV-15 and PPSV-23 serotypes in invasive isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae was significantly higher than that in respiratory isolates, especially in blood isolates.
JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
M. Cantero, E. Jimenez, L. M. Parra, I. Salcedo-Leal, R. M. Orti-Lucas, A. Asensio, EPINE Study Grp
Summary: This study evaluated the consumption of antimicrobials in Spanish hospitals from 2012 to 2021. The prevalence of antimicrobial use remained stable, but there was a slight increase in the percentage of systemic use and parenteral administration. Some improvements were observed in medical prophylaxis and documentation of the reason for use, while the percentage of surgical prophylaxis prescribed for more than 24 hours decreased.
JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL INFECTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Xinghong Zhao, Yanli Xu, Jakob H. Viel, Oscar P. Kuipers
Summary: In this study, a new class of antimicrobial peptides were developed using class-II lanthipeptide synthetase CinM, which showed bactericidal activity against relevant pathogenic bacteria through the addition of lipid tails. Additionally, the peptides exhibited a potential mode of action by disrupting bacterial membranes and lysing bacterial cells, while also showing low hemolytic activity.
ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Sultan Ali, Abdullah F. F. Alsayeqh
Summary: The importance of meat-borne pathogens to global disease transmission and food safety is significant, with bacteria being the main pathogens. Consuming contaminated meat or meat products can lead to various diseases.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Camila M. Passos, Jacqueline B. Sales, Emanuella G. Maia, Thais C. M. Caldeira, Roberta D. Rodrigues, Natasha Figueiredo, Rafael M. Claro
Summary: This study aimed to analyze changes in the prevalence of cervical cancer and breast cancer screening among women in the Brazilian capitals and Federal District over the past decade. The results showed a significant increase in breast cancer screening, but lower coverage rates were observed among women with low schooling and from less developed regions.
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Hilary A. Phelps, Michael Kuhn, Yanran Lu, Sandip Vibhute, Jeffrey L. Watts, Mark J. Mitton-Fry
Summary: Multidrug-resistant bacteria not only affect human health, but also infect companion animals and livestock. Novel Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitors (NBTIs) have shown excellent activity against Gram-positive bacteria and are promising new antibacterial agents. In this study, we evaluate the antibacterial activity of these NBTIs against various important veterinary pathogens and demonstrate outstanding in vitro activity, especially against staphylococci.
VETERINARY MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Jeonghoon Kim, Ruwini Rupasinghe, Avishai Halev, Chao Huang, Shahbaz Rezaei, Maria. J. J. Clavijo, Rebecca. C. C. Robbins, Beatriz Martinez-Lopez, Xin Liu
Summary: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major health and economic challenge. To predict the future AMR burden of bacterial pathogens, we utilized machine learning and collected data from over 600 farms in the United States. Our study found that the Seasonal Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model outperformed other baseline models. This research provides valuable tools for predicting AMR burden in bacterial pathogens.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tyler Pollock, Subramanian Karthikeyan, Mike Walker, Kate Werry, Annie St-Amand
Summary: Ten years of nationally representative biomonitoring data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) between 2007 and 2017 indicate a decrease in concentrations for many priority chemicals in the Canadian population, such as DEHP, PFOS, PFOA, DMP, lead, and BPA. However, concentrations of two pyrethroid pesticide metabolites are increasing. Continued collection of national biomonitoring data is necessary to monitor exposure trends over time.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Alyssa R. Golden, Heather J. Adam, Melanie Baxter, Andrew Walkty, Philippe Lagace-Wiens, James A. Karlowsky, George G. Zhanel
DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2020)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
George G. Zhanel, Jenine Esquivel, Sheryl Zelenitsky, Courtney K. Lawrence, Heather J. Adam, Alyssa Golden, Rachel Hink, Liam Berry, Frank Schweizer, Michael A. Zhanel, Denice Bay, Philippe R. S. Lagace-Wiens, Andrew J. Walkty, Joseph P. Lynch, James A. Karlowsky
Editorial Material
Medicine, General & Internal
Carl Boodman, Philippe Lagace-Wiens, Jared Bullard
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL
(2020)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Christiaan H. Righolt, Geng Zhang, Gregory W. Hammond, Philippe Lagace-Wiens, Salaheddin M. Mahmud
INFECTION CONTROL AND HOSPITAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Microbiology
James A. Karlowsky, Philippe R. S. Lagace-Wiens, Nancy M. Laing, Melanie R. Baxter, Heather J. Adam, George G. Zhanel
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Editorial Material
Medicine, General & Internal
Carl Boodman, Terence Wuerz, Philippe Lagace-Wiens
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL
(2020)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
George G. Zhanel, Christina Deng, Sheryl Zelenitsky, Courtney K. Lawrence, Heather J. Adam, Alyssa Golden, Liam Berry, Frank Schweizer, Michael A. Zhanel, Neal Irfan, Denice Bay, Philippe Lagace-Wiens, Andrew Walkty, Lionel Mandell, Joseph P. Lynch, James A. Karlowsky
Summary: Lefamulin is a novel oral and intravenous pleuromutilin developed for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, with a unique mechanism of action and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. It has been approved by FDA, EMA, and Health Canada for the treatment of CABP.
Article
Immunology
Carl Boodman, Catherine Smith, Ken von Kuster, Philippe Lagace-Wiens, Terence Wuerz
Summary: The ongoing epidemic of intravenous opioid and methamphetamine use in North America is associated with an increased risk of bacteremia from environmental organisms. This study reports a case of Mycobacterium mucogenicum bacteremia and soft tissue infection in a person who uses tap water to inject drugs.
OPEN FORUM INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Editorial Material
Medicine, General & Internal
Carl Boodman, Terence Wuerz, Philippe Lagace-Wiens
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Rachel K. Hink, Heather J. Adam, Alyssa R. Golden, Melanie Baxter, Irene Martin, Kimberly A. Nichol, Walter Demczuk, Michael R. Mulvey, James A. Karlowsky, George G. Zhanel
Summary: The study evaluated the coverage of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae by pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV)-10 and PCV-13 in Canada. The results showed that PCV-13 provided significantly greater coverage of S. pneumoniae serotypes and MDR isolates compared to PCV-10.
DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
George G. Zhanel, Justin Kosar, Melanie Baxter, Rita Dhami, Sergio Borgia, Neal Irfan, Kelly S. MacDonald, Gordon Dow, Philippe Lagace-Wiens, Maxime Dube, Marco Bergevin, Carlo Tascini, Yoav Keynan, Andrew Walkty, James Karlowsky
Summary: Ceftobiprole is used in Canada as a directed therapy for treating severe infections caused by MRSA, often in combination with daptomycin or vancomycin. Treatment duration is typically over 10 days, with high rates of microbiological and clinical success and a good safety profile.
JOURNAL OF GLOBAL ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
David C. Alexander, Robert M. Taylor, Irene Martin, Heather Adam, Philippe Lagace-Wiens, Peter Pieroni, James A. Karlowsky, Paul Van Caeseele
Summary: This study compared the performance of microscopy, culture, and the Hologic Aptima Combo 2 (AC2) assay for detecting Neisseria gonorrhoeae in joint fluid specimens. The results showed that AC2 was more sensitive than culture for diagnosing gonococcal arthritis.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Alyssa R. Golden, Brigitte Lefebvre, Genevieve Deceuninck, Nicholas Brousseau, Philippe De Wals, Caroline Quach, Walter H. B. Demczuk, Irene Martin
Summary: This study aimed to determine the clonal composition of serotype 19A isolates collected from children <5 years in the Canadian province of Québec from 2016 to 2021. The results showed three common clones of serotype 19A: CC199, CC320, and ST695. ST695 was the most common clone collected in Québec, while CC320 was more common in other Canadian jurisdictions. Continued genomic surveillance is important to track the prevalence and clonal distribution of serotype 19A in Québec and to monitor its spread to other regions.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Courtney K. Lawrence, Chris Sathianathan, Mauro Verrelli, Philippe Lagace-Wiens, Robert Ariano, Grace Badejo, Michelle L. Boyce, J. Christine Davis, Sheryl A. Zelenitsky
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL PHARMACY
(2020)