For effective CP infusion in MERS, donor plasma with a neutralization activity of a PRNT titre ≥1:80 should be used. ELISA IgG could substitute for the neutralization test in resource-limited situations.

Antimicrobial resistance in

Acinetobacter spp., P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and K. pneumoniae are the most frequent isolates from adults with HAP or VAP in Asian countries. These isolates are highly resistant to major antimicrobial agents, which could limit the therapeutic options in the clinical practice. Discordant initial empirical antimicrobial therapy significantly increases the likelihood of pneumonia-related mortality.

Cases of bacteremia caused by AmpC-type-␤-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were retrospectively studied to determine the epidemiologic features and clinical outcomes of bloodstream infections. Among 389 blood isolates recovered from 1998 to 2002, 65 isolates (16.7%) were found to be extended-spectrum ␤-lactamase (ESBL) or AmpC ␤-lactamase producers. The ␤-lactamases from 61 of the 65 isolates were characterized; 28 of 61 isolates produced AmpC-type enzymes (14 isolates each produced DHA-1 and CMY-1-like enzymes), 32 isolates produced TEM or SHV-related ESBLs, and 1 isolate produced a CTX-M-14-like enzyme. To compare the clinical features and outcomes of bloodstream infections caused by AmpC producers with those caused by TEM-or SHV-related ESBL producers, 27 patients infected with isolates producing AmpC-type enzymes (AmpC group) and 25 patients infected with isolates producing TEM-or SHV-related enzymes (ESBL group) were analyzed. There was no significant difference between the AmpC and the ESBL groups in terms of risk factors. When the initial response was assessed at 72 h after antimicrobial therapy, the treatment failure rate for the AmpC group was 51.9% (14 of 27 patients) and the 7-and 30-day mortality rates were 14.8 and 29.6%, respectively, which were similar to those for the ESBL group. When the mortality rate for the patients who received extended-spectrum cephalosporins as definitive treatment was assessed, all four patients in the DHA-1 group and one of three patients in the CMY-1-like group died. In summary, the prevalence of AmpC enzyme-producing K. pneumoniae was high at the Seoul National University Hospital, and the clinical features and outcomes for the patients infected with AmpC-producing organisms were similar to those for the patients infected with TEM-or SHV-related ESBL producers.

Our data indicate that subgroup identification of A. baumannii may aid selection of appropriate antimicrobial agents for the treatment of Acinetobacter infections.

For successful control of MERS outbreak, MERS-CoV infected patients with ≥ two predictive factors should be intensively managed from the initial presentation.

We conducted this study to compare clinical features, outcomes, and clinical implication of antimicrobial resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteremia acquired as community vs. nosocomial infection. A total of 377 patients with K. pneumoniae bacteremia (191 community-acquired and 186 nosocomial) were retrospectively analyzed. Neoplastic diseases (hematologic malignancy and solid tumor, 56%) were the most commonly associated conditions in patients with nosocomial bacteremia, whereas chronic liver disease (35%) and diabetes mellitus (20%) were the most commonly associated conditions in patients with community-acquired bacteremia. Bacteremic liver abscess occurred almost exclusively in patients with community-acquired infection. The overall 30-day mortality was 24% (91/377), and the mortality of nosocomial bacteremia was significantly higher than that of community-acquired bacteremia (32% vs. 16%, p<0.001). Of all community-acquired and nosocomial isolates, 4% and 33%, respectively, were extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistant, and 4% and 21%, respectively, were ciprofloxacin (CIP)-resistant. In nosocomial infections, prior uses of ESC and CIP were found to be independent risk factors for ESC and CIP resistance, respectively. Significant differences were identified between community-acquired and nosocomial K. pneumoniae bacteremia, and the mortality of nosocomial infections was more than twice than that of community-acquired infections. Antimicrobial resistance was a widespread nosocomial problem and also identified in community-acquired infections.

Monomers derived from glucose and galactose, which contain an endocyclic alkene (in the sugar ring) and a terminal alkyne, underwent a cascade polymerization to prepare new polymers with the ringopened sugar incorporated into the polymer backbone. Polymerizations were well-controlled, as demonstrated by a linear increase in molecular weight with monomer-toinitiator ratio and generally narrow molecular weight dispersity values. The living nature of the polymerization was supported by the preparation of a block copolymer from two different sugar-based monomers. The resulting polymers were also fully degradable. They underwent fast and complete depolymerization to small molecules under acidic conditions.