Diagnostic challenges within the Bacillus cereus-group: finding the beast without teeth

Muigg, Veronika; Cuénod, Aline; Purushothaman, Srinithi; Siegemund, Martin; Wittwer, Matthias; Pflüger, Valentin; Schmidt, Kristina Maria; Weisser, Maja; Ritz, Nicole; Widmer, Andreas F.; Goldenberger, Daniel; Hinić, Vladimira; Roloff, Tim; Søgaard, Kirstine Kobberøe; Egli, Adrian; Seth-Smith, Helena M. B.

doi:10.1016/j.nmni.2022.101040

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…S2). The result was unable to identify the species beyond a Bacillus group identification, which is a well-known limitation of this technology for highly related species ( 15 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A simple undergraduate laboratory exercise for teaching the role of sentinel-level clinical microbiology testing in biological threat identification

Cox,

Askew

2023

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

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Undergraduate students in the biomedical sciences are mostly unaware of how clinical microbiology laboratories handle suspected agents of bioterrorism or emerging infectious diseases. The Public Health Security Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 requires the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to maintain a list of microbes that pose serious biological threats to human health and safety, including Tier 1 agents with the potential for use in bioterrorism. The Laboratory Response Network (LRN), founded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Association of Public Health Laboratories, coordinates the response of sentinel, reference, and national laboratories to these biothreats. The sentinel laboratories, which comprise most hospital-based and commercial laboratories, are the first to encounter a suspicious agent. For this reason, the LRN has published a series of testing guidelines to assist the sentinel laboratories in deciding whether a microbial isolate should be considered potentially hazardous and thus sent to a reference or national laboratory for further characterization. Here, we describe a simple laboratory exercise that teaches sentinel-level testing requirements in the context of an applied setting of a potential outbreak of anthrax that would require a sentinel laboratory to recognize a potential threat, attempt to rule it out, and refer to a national laboratory for identification.

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“…S2). The result was unable to identify the species beyond a Bacillus group identification, which is a well-known limitation of this technology for highly related species ( 15 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A simple undergraduate laboratory exercise for teaching the role of sentinel-level clinical microbiology testing in biological threat identification

Cox,

Askew

2023

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

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“…Using methods commonly employed in clinical microbiology, such as matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), it is impossible to distinguish between members within the Bcg [ 1 ]. With the increasing availability of sequencing data, the nomenclature based on genomic data has become increasingly complex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating environmental transmission to resolve a Bacillus cereus group outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit using core genome multilocus sequence typing

Tönnies,

Heep,

Herrmann

et al. 2024

Antimicrob Resist Infect Control

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Background We analyzed an outbreak of Bacillus cereus group (Bcg) at a single-center neonatal intensive care unit level IV by conducting comprehensive sampling of both patients and the environment. Methods Between 06/2020 and 10/2021, all Bcg isolates identified by both regular colonization screening and additional sampling of the environment were subjected to whole-genome sequencing, followed by in vitro extraction of MLST ST, resistance genes and virulence factors. Using publicly available genome sequences, we defined an ad hoc core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) scheme comprising 2759 target genes for Bcg typing, which we applied to the detected isolates. We have compared the results with a stable cgMLST that was published in the meantime and completed the investigation with a SNP analysis. Results We analyzed 28 Bcg isolates from patient and environmental samples using MLST and cgMLST. This revealed multiple sequence types, with ST127 being the most common (n = 13). Both cgMLST schemes grouped ten of the 13 ST127 isolates into a cluster, including two invasive isolates from two different patients and several environmental samples. SNP analysis postulated a screen from a ventilation machine as a possible reservoir. Conclusion In sensitive settings such as neonatal intensive care units, considering the environment in outbreak analyses is crucial, especially when investigating potential transmission routes through shared devices. When dealing with widespread bacteria such as Bcg, high-resolution typing techniques are necessary. In this study, we successfully resolved an outbreak of Bcg infections using a custom cgMLST scheme combined with a SNP analysis.

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Validation List no. 216. Valid publication of new names and new combinations effectively published outside the IJSEM

Oren,

Göker

2024

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology

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Diagnostic challenges within the Bacillus cereus-group: finding the beast without teeth

Cited by 4 publications

References 34 publications

A simple undergraduate laboratory exercise for teaching the role of sentinel-level clinical microbiology testing in biological threat identification

A simple undergraduate laboratory exercise for teaching the role of sentinel-level clinical microbiology testing in biological threat identification

Investigating environmental transmission to resolve a Bacillus cereus group outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit using core genome multilocus sequence typing

Validation List no. 216. Valid publication of new names and new combinations effectively published outside the IJSEM

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