Search

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rare illness in eastern Canada. We present three cases of HPS among military personnel in Quebec. The three cases shared a common exposure to mouse excreta while engaged in military training in Alberta, a western province of Canada.

BACKGROUND: Organisms expressing Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) are found in several regions worldwide but are rarely detected in Canada. The first outbreak of KPC-expressing strains of Enterobacteriaceae clinical isolates in a university-affiliated hospital intensive care unit (ICU) in Canada is described.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is intricately linked to the health of the gastrointestinal tract and its indigenous microbiota. In this study, we assessed whether fecal excretion of host DNA is associated with CDI development. Assuming that shedding of epithelial cell increases in the inflamed intestine, we used human DNA excretion as a marker of intestinal insult. Whole-genome shotgun sequencing was employed to quantify host DNA excretion and evaluate bacterial content in fecal samples collected from patients with incipient CDI, hospitalized controls, and healthy subjects. Human DNA excretion was significantly increased in patients admitted to the hospital for a gastrointestinal ailment, as well as prior to an episode of CDI. In multivariable analyses, human read abundance was independently associated with CDI development. Host DNA proportions were negatively correlated with intestinal microbiota diversity. Enterococcus and Escherichia were enriched in patients excreting high quantities of human DNA, while Ruminococcus and Odoribacter were depleted. These findings suggest that intestinal inflammation can occur prior to CDI development and may influence patient susceptibility to CDI. The quantification of human DNA in feces could serve as a simple and noninvasive approach to assess bowel inflammation and identify patients at risk of CDI.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the usefulness of four serological tests in confirming cure of H pylori infection before the previously reported six-month post-treatment delay.

Objective: To report in vitro susceptibilities of penicillin-susceptible and penicillin-intermediate Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates to cephalosporins, vancomycin and teicoplanin.

The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of penicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, cefoxitin, ceftriaxone and spectinomycin were determined for 300 consecutive strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae collected from physicians’ offices in Ontario. Only four isolates were found to produce beta-lactamase. Of the remaining 296 isolates, five (1.7%) had penicillin MICs greater than or equal to 1 mg/L, 78 (26.3%) had tetracycline MICs greater than or equal to 1 mg/L, 13 (4.4%) had cefoxitin MICs greater than or equal to 1 mg/L and 43 (14.5%) had erythromycin MICs greater than or equal to 1 mg/L. Two isolates (0.7%) had high level tetracycline resistance with MICs greater than or equal to 16 mg/L. All N gonorrhoeae isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone and to spectinomycin.