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Dermatophytes can invade the stratum corneum of the skin and other keratinized tissues and are responsible for a broad diversity of diseases of skin, nails and hair. Although the standard identification of dermatophytoses depends on macroscopic and microscopic characterization of the colonies grown on special media, there are a number of limitations owing to intraspecies morphological variability, atypical morphology or interspecies morphological similarity which entails improvement in the identification methods. Matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a novel method which proved to be effective for rapid and reliable identification of dermatophytes grown in cultures when compared to conventional methods. We evaluated the performance of Bruker MALDI-TOF MS System (Bruker Daltonics, Germany) for identification of clinically relevant dermatophytes. In order to increase the identification capacity of the system, we created supplemental spectral database entries using ten reference dermatophyte strains (ten species in two genera). The utility of the generated database was then challenged using a total of 126 dermatophytes (115 clinical isolates and 11 additional reference strains). The results were evaluated by both manufacturer-recommended and lowered cutoff scores. MALDI-TOF MS provided correct identification in 122 (96.8 %) and 113 (89.7 %) of the isolates with the lowered scores and using the supplemented database, respectively, versus 65 (51.6 %) and 17 (13.5 %) correct identifications obtained by the unmodified database and recommended scores at the genus and species levels, respectively. Our results support the potential utility of MALDI-TOF MS as a routine tool for accurate and reliable identification of dermatophytes.

Objective To report isolation of Leishmania major strains obtained from 18 Turkish autochthonous cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) patients infected with L. major between 2011 and 2014. Methods Initial diagnosis relied on microscopy and culture in enriched medium, prepared by adding specific amounts of liver extract, protein and lipid sources to NNN medium. Promastigotes were then transferred to RPMI medium including 10% of foetal calf serum for mass culture. Species‐specific real‐time PCR targeting ITS1 region of Leishmania spp. was performed using both lesion aspiration samples and cultured promastigotes. Two of 18 isolates were identified by isoenzyme analysis in the Leishmaniasis Reference Center in Montpellier, France. Each isolate was inoculated into the footpads of six mice to observe the pathogenicity of L. major. Developing lesions were observed, and the thickening of footpads was measured weekly. Results Melting curve analyses of 18 isolates showed a peak concordant with L. major, and two of them were confirmed by isoenzyme analyses as L. major zymodeme MON103. In the mouse model, acute lesions seen on day 21 were accepted as an indication of heavy infection. Severe impairments were observed on all mouse footpads over 3 weeks, which even progressed to extremity amputation. Conclusion Cutaneous leishmaniasis‐causing L. major was recently identified in Adana province in southern Turkey, with PCR. Our study shows that such CL cases are not limited to Adana but currently present from western to Southeastern Anatolia, and along the Mediterranean coast. The role of small mammals, the main reservoirs of L. major in Anatolia, needs to be elucidated, as do the underlying factors that cause severe clinical manifestations in L. major infections in Turkey, contrary to the infections in neighbouring countries.

We identified Dobrava-Belgrade virus infection in Turkey (from a strain related to hantavirus strains from nearby countries) in a patient who had severe symptoms leading to panhypopituitarism, but no known risk for hantavirus. Our findings emphasize the need for increased awareness of hantaviruses in the region and assessment of symptomatic persons without known risk factors for infection.

Background: Increasing reports of carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections are of serious concern. Reliable susceptibility testing results remains a critical issue for the clinical outcome. Automated systems are increasingly used for species identification and susceptibility testing. This study was organized to evaluate the accuracies of three widely used automated susceptibility testing methods for testing the imipenem susceptibilities of A. baumannii isolates, by comparing to the validated test methods.