Article
Infectious Diseases
Kendall Souder, Emma J. Beatty, Siena C. McGovern, Michael Whaby, Emily Young, Jacob Pancake, Daron Weekley, Justin Rice, Donald A. Primerano, James Denvir, Joseph Horzempa, Deanna M. Schmitt
Summary: The phenoxazine dye resazurin displays bactericidal activity against Francisella tularensis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, with one derivative significantly reducing vaginal colonization by the latter in a mouse model. Through whole genome sequencing, mutations in genes dipA and pilD were identified in resazurin-resistant F. tularensis strains. Complementation of these genes partially restored sensitivity to resazurin, indicating their novel roles in susceptibility.
Article
Management
Richard M. Wood, Ian M. Hall
Summary: Francisella tularensis is a virulent bacterium that can multiply rapidly by hijacking the host immune response. This study models the biological mechanisms of host infection using CTMC and DES, investigating the efficacy of various medication strategies. Results suggest that timely administration of antibiotics can reduce mortality rates.
JOURNAL OF THE OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Sara Doina Schutz, Nicole Liechti, Ekkehardt Altpeter, Anton Labutin, Tsering Wutrich, Kristina Maria Schmidt, Michael Buettcher, Michel Moser, Remy Bruggmann, Matthias Wittwer
Summary: This study aims to characterize the genetic diversity of Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica (Fth) in Switzerland and describe the phylogeographic relationship of isolates using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. The findings provide insight into the epidemiology of tularemia in Switzerland by combining human surveillance data, antimicrobial resistance tests, and whole genome sequencing. The results show that the Fth population in Switzerland belongs to major clade B.6, specifically subclades B.45 and B.46, with no resistance to clinically recommended antibiotics.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Heer H. Mehta, Xinhao Song, Yousif Shamoo
Summary: In vitro experimental evolution is a valuable tool to identify genetic changes responsible for antimicrobial resistance. However, the in vivo context contributes to the success of evolutionary trajectories, particularly in intracellular niches. This study conducted ex vivo evolution to identify antibiotic resistance in Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica within macrophages, and found differences in mutational profiles between different environments. The results demonstrate the significance of host mediated stress during resistance evolution.
ACS INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Rachel L. Markley, Katherine H. Restori, Bhuvana Katkere, Sarah E. Sumner, McKayla J. Nicol, Anastasia Tyryshkina, Shaneice K. Nettleford, David R. Williamson, David E. Place, Kalyan K. Dewan, Ashley E. Shay, Bradley A. Carlson, Santhosh Girirajan, K. Sandeep Prabhu, Girish S. Kirimanjeswara
Summary: This study showed that F. tularensis lacks the ability to utilize selenium effectively, while mice deficient in selenium are more susceptible to bacterial infections and have shorter survival times. Host selenoproteins found in macrophages were able to restrict bacterial replication, indicating a potential key role in combating bacterial infections.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sherry L. Kurtz, Roberto De Pascalis, Anda Meierovics, Karen L. Elkins
Summary: The research found that mice deficient in CCR2 have significantly lower survival rates during primary infection with intracellular pathogens, but this defect is not readily attributed to the activities of known CCR2 ligands. However, in the absence of CCR2, mice vaccinated with low doses of intracellular bacteria generated optimal T cell responses to control bacterial replication. This suggests that fully protective adaptive immune memory responses can be generated in the absence of CCR2.
Article
Microbiology
Ondraya M. Frick, Virginia A. Livingston, Chris A. Whitehouse, Sarah L. Norris, Derron A. Alves, Paul R. Facemire, Douglas S. Reed, Aysegul Nalca
Summary: The study showed that cynomolgus macaques infected with aerosolized F. tularensis exhibited similar symptoms and disease progression as seen in humans, indicating that these macaques are a reliable animal model for testing medical countermeasures against aerosolized F. tularensis.
Article
Microbiology
Charles Jakielaszek, Jamese J. Hilliard, Frank Mannino, Mohammad Hossain, Lian Qian, Cindy Fishman, Ying-Liang Chou, Lisa Henning, Joseph Novak, Samandra Demons, Jeremy Hershfield, Karen O'Dwyer
Summary: Gepotidacin was evaluated as a potential treatment for pneumonic tularemia and showed 100% survival rate in animal experiments.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Brooke L. Deatherage Kaiser, Dawn N. Birdsell, Janine R. Hutchison, Johanna Thelaus, Sarah C. Jenson, Voahangy Andrianaivoarimanana, Mona Bystroem, Kerstin Myrtennaes, Ryelan F. McDonough, Roxanne D. Nottingham, Jason W. Sahl, Herbert P. Schweizer, Minoarisoa Rajerison, Mats Forsman, David S. Wunschel, David M. Wagner
Summary: Antimicrobial resistance is a growing concern, and we studied the proteins associated with Yersinia pestis and Francisella tularensis strains to identify potential protein signatures for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We found that protein expression was significantly influenced by AMR, even in the absence of antibiotics in growth media. Additionally, the abundance of specific proteins involved in metabolic pathways and biological functions was altered in AMR strains, regardless of species or resistance mechanism. These features could be used to develop novel approaches for identifying AMR phenotypes.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Lydia M. Roberts, Tara D. Wehrly, Ian Leighton, Patrick Hanley, Jamie Lovaglio, Brian J. Smith, Catharine M. Bosio
Summary: Pulmonary infections trigger tissue-resident and circulating T cell responses, which are crucial for vaccine development. The relative contribution of tissue-resident and circulating T cells in Francisella tularensis infection is not fully understood, hindering the design of effective vaccines. This study elucidates the role of circulating T cells in host defense using a parabiotic mouse model.
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Shahar Rotem, Ohad Shifman, Moshe Aftalion, David Gur, Tamar Aminov, Ronit Aloni-Grinstein
Summary: The rapid antibiotic susceptibility test method MAPt, which can be performed directly on whole blood samples, offers advantages by omitting time-consuming steps, determining minimal inhibitory concentration quickly, and improving rapid diagnosis and treatment of pathogens.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Sonia Martinez-Martinez, Elias-Fernando Rodriguez-Ferri, David Rodriguez-Lazaro, Marta Hernandez, Jose-Ignacio Gomez-Campillo, Maria del Carmen Martinez-Nistal, Maria-Isabel Fernandez-Natal, Maria-Jose Garcia-Iglesias, Olga Minguez-Gonzalez, Cesar-Bernardo Gutierrez-Martin
Summary: A collection of 177 Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica clinical isolates from tularemia outbreaks in northwestern Spain showed many multi-resistance profiles, especially among isolates from humans. However, human isolates were susceptible to gentamicin and tobramycin, while animal isolates also showed high susceptibility to these two aminoglycosides. Ciprofloxacin was effective against over 92% of both animal and human isolates.
Article
Microbiology
Beth A. Bachert, Joshua B. Richardson, Kevin D. Mlynek, Christopher P. Klimko, Ronald G. Toothman, David P. Fetterer, Andrea E. Luquette, Kitty Chase, Jessica L. Storrs, Ashley K. Rogers, Christopher K. Cote, David A. Rozak, Joel A. Bozue
Summary: Researchers have characterized a panel of virulent F. tularensis strains for vaccine testing, finding high genomic similarity but also unique mutations and unexpected diversity within some strains. These findings indicate the effectiveness of the strains as challenge strains for future vaccine development efforts.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Anna Vilaro, Elena Novell, Vicens Enrique-Tarancon, Jordi Balielles, Lourdes Migura-Garcia, Lorenzo Fraile
Summary: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing is important for antimicrobial stewardship, but limited resources often restrict the number of drugs that can be tested for each antimicrobial family. This study examined the minimal inhibitory concentration for various bacterial strains collected in Spain, and found that there were generally no significant associations between MIC patterns for different antimicrobial families. However, some drug-bug combinations showed high correlation, indicating that MIC values from one representative drug could be indicative of the whole antimicrobial family.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Marco Bottinelli, Michele Gastaldelli, Micaela Picchi, Arianna Dall'Ora, Lorena Cristovao Borges, Ana Sofia Ramirez, Andrea Matucci, Salvatore Catania
Summary: The susceptibility of Mycoplasma gallisepticum to commonly used drugs has changed over a ten-year period, with a comeback to susceptibility observed for certain drugs.
Article
Microbiology
Aurelie Hennebique, Fabienne Gas, Helene Batina, Cecilia De Araujo, Karine Bizet, Max Maurin
Summary: The Biotoxis qPCR detection kit showed good performance in detecting Francisella tularensis in various biological and environmental samples, with potential crossamplification of F. tularensis subsp. novicida to be considered. This plate format assay could be useful for testing a large number of clinical or environmental specimens, especially in the context of natural or intentional tularemia outbreaks.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Maellys Kevin, Guillaume Girault, Yvan Caspar, Moulay Ali Cherfa, Christiane Mendy, Max Maurin, Claire Ponsart, Nora Madani
Summary: Tularemia in Europe is predominantly caused by Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica, affecting wildlife animals and humans sporadically. The classification of this species depends on canonical single nucleotide polymorphisms (canSNPs), with four main clades identified. Phylogeographic studies have shown that clade B.6 is predominant in Western Europe, while B.12 is predominant in Eastern and Central Europe. High-resolution melting (HRM) primers were designed for screening 109 canSNPs to analyze molecular epidemiology and track F. tularensis subsp. holarctica in Western Europe.
INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Katayoun Kazemzadeh, Mahmoud Hajj Chehade, Gautier Hourdoir, Camille Dorothee Brunet, Yvan Caspar, Laurent Loiseau, Frederic Barras, Fabien Pierrel, Ludovic Pelosi
Summary: The study identified UQ(8) as the major quinone in Francisella novicida and showed that UQ is essential for the bacterial growth in respiratory medium. The results suggest that selective inhibitors of bacterial UQ biosynthesis could be valuable for controlling the pathogenicity of Francisella.
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Camille D. Brunet, Aurelie Hennebique, Julien Peyroux, Isabelle Pelloux, Yvan Caspar, Max Maurin
Summary: The incidence of tularemia doubled in western France in 2018, with a high prevalence of Francisella species DNA, including the tularemia agent, detected in the studied aquatic environment. This suggests a potential role of the aquatic environment in the endemicity of tularemia in this region.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jean-Pierre Alcaraz, Laurence Le Coq, Jeremie Pourchez, Dominique Thomas, Sandrine Chazelet, Isabelle Boudry, Maud Barbado, Sophie Silvent, Claire Dessale, Fabienne Antoine, Catherine Guimier-Pingault, Laurent Cortella, Sophie Rouif, Nathalie Bardin-Monnier, Augustin Charvet, Olivier Dufaud, Lara Leclerc, Yoann Montigaud, Coralie Laurent, Paul Verhoeven, Aurelie Joubert, Ala Bouhanguel, Yves Andres, Joel Gaffe, Donald K. Martin, Christophe Huet, Sandrine Boisset, Max Maurin, Pascal Rumeau, Frederic Charlot, Emmanuel Richaud, Alexandre Moreau-Gaudry, Vincent Bonneterre, Philippe Cinquin, Caroline Landelle
Summary: The French consortium was established to address the mask shortage during the Covid-19 pandemic by finding ways to reuse medical masks. Their workflow provided a successful method for safely reusing medical masks, contributing to waste management and providing better protection than cloth masks.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Fanny Andry, Marion Le Marechal, Isabelle Pierre, Christine Recule, Yvan Caspar, Caroline Landelle, Olivier Epaulard, Patricia Pavese
Summary: Microbiological diagnosis of bloodstream infection (BSI) is typically made several hours after blood culture sampling, which may lead to delayed diagnosis and affect the clinical outcome of patients. This study evaluated the clinical outcome of patients diagnosed with BSI after discharge and found that a significant proportion of patients required readmission to the hospital.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Djahida Souna, Mourad Drissi, Iyad Almahmoud, Max Maurin
Summary: This study evaluated beta-lactam resistance in Enterobacter cloacae complex strains isolated from Algerian hospitals, with the majority identified as Enterobacter hormaechei species, particularly the subspecies E. hormaechei subsp. xiangfangensis. All strains exhibited resistance to multiple antibiotics and were found to produce ESBLs, primarily from the CTX-M-1 group, notably CTX-M-15. The identification and management of multidrug-resistant ECC strains, particularly those carrying CTX-M ESBLs, pose a significant public health challenge in Algeria.
MICROBIAL DRUG RESISTANCE
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Laura Gomez, Diane Boegler, Chloe Epiard, Layli Alin, Julie Arata-Bardet, Yvan Caspar, Thierry Debillon, Francoise Stanke-Labesque, Elodie Gautier-Veyret
Summary: This study implemented an individualized vancomycin dose-optimization protocol and found that it improved vancomycin exposure in neonates and led to improved biological and clinical outcomes.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Chloe Wackenheim, Marion Le Marechal, Helene Pluchart, Gaetan Gavazzi, Myriam Blanc, Yvan Caspar, Patricia Pavese
Summary: In this study, we investigated the efficacy and tolerance of dalbavancin among elderly patients in Grenoble-Alpes 32 university hospital. The results showed that dalbavancin had a significant effectiveness and safety profile in the management of deep and complex infections in elderly patients, with a clinical cure rate of 79%.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Editorial Material
Immunology
Max Maurin
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Zakaria Abdellahoum, Amira Nebbak, Ismail Lafri, Amel Kaced, Mustapha Mounir Bouhenna, Khaldoun Bachari, Ali Boumegoura, Rym Agred, Rima Hind Boudchicha, Mustapha Adnane Smadi, Max Maurin, Idir Bitam
Summary: Vector-borne diseases pose a real threat globally, especially due to the lack of vaccines and cures for some diseases. The geographical location of Algeria makes it a high-risk area for emerging and re-emerging diseases such as dengue and malaria. Rapid and continuous surveillance of mosquito vectors is essential to prevent these threats.
VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY- REGIONAL STUDIES AND REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Julien Peyroux, Iyad Almahmoudh, Emelise Prebe-Coquerel, Thomas Girard, Max Maurin, Yvan Caspar
Summary: The ScanSation 100 device is an incubator that allows real-time detection of bacterial colony growth and color categorization. This study evaluated its performance for the early detection of carbapenemase-producing bacteria and extended-spectrum beta-Lactamase-producing bacteria and found that real-time screening can greatly accelerate the detection process and enable timely infection control measures.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Letter
Immunology
Aurelie Hennebique, Yvan Caspar, Max Maurin, Sandrine Boisset, Isabelle Pelloux, Maria Pilar Gallego-Hernanz, Christophe Burucoa, France Cazenave-Roblot, Chloe Plouzeau, Blandine Rammaert
Summary: We report a case of human cutaneous infection with bacteremia caused by a Francisella species recently identified from seawater and fishes in an immunocompromised patient in France.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Letter
Infectious Diseases
A. Zeggay, R. Anxionnat, C. Chirouze, P. Plesiat, K. Jeannot, Y. Caspar, A. Potron
INFECTIOUS DISEASES NOW
(2021)