Introduction: Infections involving methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remain a serious threat to hospitalized patients worldwide. MRSA is characterized by recalcitrance to antimicrobial therapy, which is a function not only of widespread antimicrobial resistance, but also the capacity to form biofilms. The present study evaluated the presence of genes encoding adhesion factors and the biofilmforming capacity in MRSA. Methodology: In this study, 53 isolates of MRSA, recovered from December 2010 to May 2014 in a mother and child hospital, CHU Mohamed VI in Marrakech, Morocco, were screened for the presence of bap and ica genes associated with biofilm formation, and for bbp, cna, ebpS, eno, fib, fnbA, fnbB, clfA, and clfB genes that encode microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules (MSCRAMMs). The biofilm formation assay was performed in 96-well microtiter polystyrene plates. The presence of genes was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: An association was found between icaD gene detection and biofilm formation; 100% of the strains harbored icaD and produced biofilm. None of the isolates harbored bap or bbp. Furthermore, 96.23% isolates were positive for fnbA, 60.37% for eno, 43.39% for clfA and clfB, 11.32% for cna, 9.34% for ebpS, 5.66% for fib, and 1.89% for fnbA. Conclusions: Our findings showed that the MRSA carriage in Marrakech children was high. The genetic variations of adhesion genes require further investigation.

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Background. Leptospirosis is an anthropozoonotic reemerging neglected infectious disease underreported in most developing countries. A cross-sectional study was performed between 17 and 23 February 2014 to estimate the seroprevalence of leptospirosis among high-risk populations in Casablanca (Morocco). Methods. A total of 490 human serum samples (97.6% males) were collected in 3 high-risk occupational sites including the biggest meat slaughterhouse (n = 208), a poultry market (n = 121), and the fish market (n = 161). A total of 125 human blood samples were also collected from the general population and used in this study as a control group. To detect the presence of anti-Leptospira, sera were screened with in-house IgG and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Positive samples were tested by Microscopic Agglutination Technique (MAT) using a panel of 24 serovar cultures and cut point of 1 : 25. Results. Seroprevalence of leptospirosis among the control group was 10.4% (13/125). A high seropositivity among the overall seroprevalence of 24.1% (118/490) was observed in the high-risk groups of which 7.3% (36/490), 13.7% (67/490), and 3.1% (15/490) were for anti-Leptospira IgM, IgG, and both IgG and IgM antibodies, respectively. Most of the positive individuals were occupationally involved in poultry (37.2%), followed by the market fish (26.1%) and the meat slaughterhouse (14.9%) workers. Among all ELISA-positive serum samples, 20.3% (n = 24) had positive MAT responses, of which the Icterohaemorrhagiae (n = 7) is the most common infecting serogroup followed by Javanica (4), Australis (2), and Sejroe, Mini, and Panama (one in each). In the remaining 8 MAT-positive sera, MAT showed equal titers against more than one serogroup. Conclusion. Individuals engaged in risk activities are often exposed to leptospiral infection. Therefore, control and prevention policies toward these populations are necessary.

Structure D 2000Synthesis and Crystal Structure of the New Quaternary Thiophosphate KPbPS 4 .-The title compound is synthesized by reaction of Pb in an in situ formed melt of K2S3, P2S5, and S (773 K, evacuated glass tube, 6 d). KPbPS4 is isotypic with KEuPS4 and crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma with Z = 4 (single crystal XRD). The structure consists of [PbPS4 anionic layers separated by the K + cations. The layers consist of parallel zigzag chains of PbS 6 trigonal prisms which are connected via PS4 tetrahedra. -(BELKYAL*, I.; EL AZHARI, M.; WU, Y.-D.; BENSCH, W.; HESSE, K.-F.; DEPMEIER, W.; Solid State Sci. 8 (2006) 1, 59-63; Dep. Chim., Fac. Sci. Tech., Univ. Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco; Eng.) -Schramke 14-004