Aeromonas were isolated from 27 (6.6%) of 408 patients admitted with acute gastroenteritis in two hospitals at Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Isolates were classified as A. hydrophila (51.8%), A. caviae (40.8%), and A. veronii biotype sobria (7.4%). The highest prevalence of Aeromonas associated infections occurred in lactants and children. Virulence genes (aerA -aerolysin/hemolysin, ahpA -serine-protease, satAglycerophospholipid-cholesterol acyltransferase, lipA -lipase, and ahyB -elastase) and virulence factors (hemolytic, proteolitic, lipolitic activities, and biofilm formation) were identified in most A. hydrophila and A. veronii biotype sobria isolates, with lower frequencies on A. caviae. All Aeromonas isolates were resistant to ampicillin, ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, cephalotin, and cephazolin, and most of them (>70%) exhibited resistance to imipenem, carbenicillin, amoxillin/sulbactan, and piperacillin. Multiple-resistance, more than four antibiotics, was evidenced in 29.6% of the isolates. The most efficient antibiotics were the quinolones (ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin), and the aminoglycosides (amikacin and netilmicin).

Introduction: Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a source of neonatal infection, colonizes the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts of pregnant women. Routine screening for maternal GBS in late pregnancy and consequent intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis have reduced the incidence of early-onset GBS neonatal infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of PCR, compared to culture (gold standard), in GBS colonization screening of pregnant women, and to establish the prevalence of GBS colonization among this population. Methods: Vaginal introitus and perianal samples were collected from 204 pregnant women, between the 35 th and 37 th weeks of pregnancy, at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit of the University of Caxias do Sul General Hospital between June 2008 and September 2009. All samples were cultured after enrichment in a selective medium and then assayed by culture and PCR methods. Results: The culture and PCR methods yielded detection rates of vaginal/perianal GBS colonization of 22.5% and 26%, respectively (sensitivity 100%; specificity 95.6%; positive and negative predictive values 86.8% and 100%, respectively). A higher prevalence of GBS colonization was detected in the combined vaginal and perianal samples by both culture and PCR assay analyses. Conclusions: PCR is a faster and more efficient method for GBS screening, allowing for optimal identification of women who should receive intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent newborn infection.

ESBL-producing E. coli, and especially K. pneumoniae are essentially a nosocomial problem, and their dissemination to the community is relatively limited. The great genetic variability observed among ESBL-producing bacteria indicates polyclonal spread and high transference of ESBL genes between bacteria in the hospital environment. This information is of paramount importance for nosocomial infection control.

BACKGROUND In high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries, there are few data on the performance of new molecular commercialised assays developed locally.OBJECTIVE To evaluate the performance of a new molecular commercialised assay for TB diagnosis (Detect-TB) in three laboratories.METHODS A total of 302 sputum samples from an equal number of patients with presumptive diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) were submitted for routine smear microscopy, culture, and Detect-TB assay at three different sites in Brazil (the cities of Caxias do Sul, São Paulo and Canoas).FINDINGS Seventy four (24.7%) TB cases were diagnosed (65 bacteriologically confirmed). When compared to smear microscopy/culture results, the overall sensitivity and specificity of Detect-TB assay was 84.6% (CI 95%; 73.7-91.6) and 93.1% (CI 95%; 89.1-95.8), respectively. When compared to bacteriological and clinical diagnostic criteria, the sensitivity and specificity of Detect-TB assay was 74.3% (CI 95%; 63.3-82.9) and 92.9% (CI 95%; 88.7-95.6), respectively. Among the three sites - Caxias do Sul, São Paulo and Canoas - the sensitivity and specificity were respectively 94.7% and 97.8%; 71.4% and 93.9%, 82.1% and 88.9%.MAIN CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the Detect-TB assay could be applied routinely in reference laboratories across different regions in Brazil.

Background Diagnosis of the etiologic agent of endoprosthesis infections is essential to enable treatment, since these infections constitute important complications of endovascular procedures. Sonication of explanted tissue and materials is a technique that can be used to facilitate detection of biofilm-producing bacteria. Objectives To evaluate infection of pigs' aortas after implantation of nitinol stents coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) or Dacron, previously infected with biofilm-producing Staphylococcus epidermidis. Intimal thickening and the inflammatory response in the aortic wall were also evaluated. Methods 11 ePTFE-coated nitinol stents and 10 Dacron stents infected with S. epidermidis strains were implanted in the infrarenal aorta of 21 8-week-old pigs. After 2 weeks, the aorta containing the stents was removed. A vortex mixer and ultrasound were used to homogenize the samples and remove the biofilm. Subsequently, the number of colony-forming units was counted. Results There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the number of colony-forming units or of inflammation in the arterial wall. With the exception of one specimen from the Dacron group, all aortic stent cultures were positive for S. epidermidis. Conclusions There were no significant differences in the inflammatory response or infection rate between ePTFE and Dacron-coated stents actively infected with biofilm-producing S. epidermidis. Intimal thickening and the inflammatory response to infection of endoprostheses were similar. These results suggest that the two most widely used stent lining materials have a similar infection rate.

A biossegurança é extremamente importante em serviços de saúde e beleza. A Vigilância Sanitária propõe que salões de beleza utilizem um procedimento operacional padrão (POP) para higienização de escovas de cabelo, porém a falta dessa aplicação pode acarretar infecções cruzadas. Nesses estabelecimentos existem materiais termossensíveis, que não podem ser submetidos a autoclave, por isso o ozônio é uma alternativa de esterilização a baixa temperatura. Presente na nossa microbiota normal, o S. aureus pode acarretar desde doenças simples até mais graves. Da mesma forma o M. canis é um dermatófito zoofílico conhecido por causar tinhas do couro cabeludo. O presente estudo foi realizado em escovas de cabelo e culturas contaminadas com os microorganismos descritos acima, avaliando o efeito do ozônio no controle microbiano. Em placas na avaliação de M. canis, observou-se redução parcial do crescimento em 30 minutos e inibição total em 60 minutos. Já com S. aureus, essa inibição ocorreu em ambos os tempos. Na avaliação em escovas de cabelo, os resultados atingidos foram importantes, porém não satisfatórios quanto à esterilização. Corroborando com estudos já existentes, conclui-se que o uso do ozônio pode ser indicado para inúmeras áreas de concentração como médica, odontológica, veterinária e, inclusive, estética. Palavras-chaves: Ozônio. Microsporum. Staphylococcus aureus. Couro cabeludo.

Given the global panorama of demands in the health area, the development of biomaterials becomes irreducible for the maintenance and/or improvement in the quality of life of the human being. Aiming to reduce the impacts related to infections in the healing processes of the dermal structure, the present work proposes the development of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based membranes with the incorporated polyhexamethylenebiguanide (PHMB) antimicrobial agent. In the present study, the antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films incorporated with 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5% (w/w) of polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) were evaluated, aiming the development of a protective biomaterial that avoids cutaneous infections from the autochthonous and allochthonous microbiota. The disk diffusion of PHMB-loaded PDMS has shown the growth inhibition of Escherichia coli (ATCC 9637), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27953), Acinetobacter baumannii (ATCC 19606), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 12228), Streptococcus pyogenes (ATCC 19615), Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633) and also yeast-like fungi Candida albicans, all microorganisms found on the epidermal surface. Likewise, the present study demonstrated low cytotoxicity of the PHMB-loaded PDMS on HaCaT and L929 cells at lower concentrations (0.1% w/w), indicating the possibility of using the developed material as a dressing for wounds, burns, and post-surgical procedures.