The effect of sub-MICs on virulence expression depended on the antibiotic and the virulence factor. Clindamycin and linezolid consistently suppressed the expression of different virulence factors by CA-MRSA, whereas tigecycline specifically suppressed PVL expression. Daptomycin and vancomycin seem to have no significant effects at these concentrations.

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Background Mycobacterium canettii forms part of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Mycobacterium canettii infections are mainly described in the Horn of Africa. The permanent presence of French soldiers in Djibouti raises the question of the risk of being infected with M. canettii. Here, we describe M. canettii infections among French military and their families between 1998 and 2015. Methods This retrospective study relied on 3 sources of data: the reference center for mycobacteria in the Biology Department at Percy Military Hospital in Paris, the French Military Center for Epidemiology and Public Health, and the scientific literature. After an exhaustive census of the strains, we studied the epidemiological data on 20 cases among French soldiers and their families. Results Twenty cases of M. canettii infections are reported, including 5 unpublished cases. Adenitis predominates (n = 15), especially in the cervico facial area and among children; 1 case was observed 1 month after dental care in Djibouti. The pulmonary forms were less frequent (n = 6), and 3 atypical forms are described. All patients had stayed in Djibouti. Conclusions Cases of M. canettii infection among the French military consisted mainly of adenitis; disseminated forms were possible with immunodeficiency. Their evolution under specific treatments was comparable to that of tuberculosis. The presumed origin of the infection seemed to be environmental, possibly a water reservoir, and not due to human-to-human contagion.

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Molecular diagnosis on nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) is the current standard for COVID-19 diagnosis, but saliva may be an alternative specimen to facilitate access to diagnosis. We compared analytic performances, feasibility and acceptability of NPS, saliva, and oral-self sampling swab for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A prospective, multicenter study was conducted in military hospitals in France among adult outpatients attending COVID-19 diagnosis centers or hospitalized patients. For each patient, all samples were obtained and analyzed simultaneously with RT-PCR or transcription-mediated amplification method. Clinical signs, feasibility, and acceptability for each type of sample were collected. A total of 1220 patients were included, corresponding to 1205 NPS and saliva and 771 OS. Compared to NPS, the sensitivity, specificity, and kappa coefficient for tests performed on saliva were 87.8% (95% CI 83.3-92.3), 97.1% (95% CI 96.1-98.1), and 0.84 (95% CI 0.80-0.88). Analytical performances were better in symptomatic patients. Ct values were significantly lower in NPS than saliva. For OS, sensitivity was estimated to be 61.1% (95% CI 52.7-69.4) and Kappa coefficient to be 0.69 (95% CI 0.62-0.76). OS was the technique preferred by the patients (44.3%) before saliva (42.4%) and NPS (13.4%). Instructions were perceived as simple by patients (> 90%) for saliva and OS. Finally, the painful nature was estimated to be 0.9 for OS, on a scale from 0 to 10, and to be 5.3 for NPS. Performances of OS are not sufficient. Saliva is an acceptable alternative to NPS for symptomatic patient but the process required additional steps to fluidize the sample.

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In this multicentric study performed in 12 French hospitals, we reported that 26.9% (14/52) of the amoxicillin/clavulanate-resistant Proteus mirabilis isolates produced the OXA-23 carbapenemase. We found that inhibition zone diameter less than 11 mm around amoxicillin/clavulanate disc was an accurate screening cut-off to detect these OXA-23 producers. We confirmed by whole genome sequencing that these OXA-23-producers all belonged to the same lineage that has been demonstrated to disseminate OXA-23 or OXA-58 in P. mirabilis .