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Introduction: The assessment of the clonal spread of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in nosocomial and communityacquired infections through characterization of the isolates is critical for tracking the evolution of the epidemics, implementing effective control measures, and preventing future outbreaks of MRSA. In this context, it is aimed with this study to determine the clonal relationships between the S. aureus isolates obtained from the patients receiving treatment in the intensive-care units of a state hospital in Turkey. Methodology: A total of 80 MRSA isolates obtained from the patients receiving treatment in three different intensive-care units were analyzed for their antibiotic susceptibilities, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles, and multilocus sequence types. Results: The dendrogram of the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles revealed two major pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pulsotypes: A and B, which were further divided into two (A1 and A2) and four (B1-B4) subgroups, respectively. Multilocus sequence typeanalysis indicated that all isolates belonged to a single MRSA clone, sequence type 239. No significant difference was found between the antibiotic sensitivity profiles of strains isolated from different intensive-care units. All of the strains were sensitive to linezolid and vancomycin. Conclusions: It was concluded that the MRSA strains isolated from the patients receiving treatment at the intensive-care units of the hospital constituted two major pulse-field types and belonged to the ST239 lineage, one of the most extensively distributed MRSA lineages throughout the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and clonal typing of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)- producing Escherichia coli in healthy broilers in Turkey. Three hundred broiler cloacal samples were collected from various broiler slaughterhouses and inoculated on Levine agar plates supplemented with 2 μg/mL cefotaxime. Suspected strains were identified using a BBL Crystal Enteric/Nonfermenter ID Kit (Becton Dickinson, USA) and ESBL production was confirmed using an ESBL phenotypic confirmatory test. ESBL types were analyzed using PCR and sequencing. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed with XbaI for the clonal typing of ESBL-producing E. coli isolates. While 33 phenotypic ESBL-producing E. coli isolates were identified, eight of them had only the blaTEM-1. Twenty-five ESBL-producing isolates were detected. This research is the first on the investigation and detection of ESBL-producing E. coli isolates from broilers in Turkey. In this study, 8.3% ESBL-producing E. coli were isolated from the cloacal samples of broilers collected from slaughterhouses in Turkey. CTX-M-15 (80%) was the most frequently isolated ESBL type. Using PFGE analysis, it was determined that these isolates had clonal similarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the performance of the VITEK mass spectrometry (MS) (bioMérieux, France) system for the identification of Klebsiella spp. isolated from different sources. Moreover, while assessing the ability of the VITEK 2 automated expert system (AES) to recognize antimicrobial resistance patterns, the researchers have extended the study to compare VITEK 2 with the routine antimicrobial susceptibility testing method. Materials and methods: This study tested 51 Klebsiella spp. isolates that were isolated from environmental examples and clinical examples. Results of conventional methods and the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) MS were compared. Then, any differing results were compared against a reference 16S rRNA gene sequence, and when indicated, a recA sequencing analysis was done. Results: VITEK MS correctly identified 100% of the Klebsiella spp. isolates. There were two K. oxytoca isolates incorrectly identified to the species level with conventional methods according to the 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. In addition, a VITEK 2 AST-N261 card was used for the detection of extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL). Using the VITEK 2 AES, ESBL positivity was found at the rate of 16.3% whereas this rate was 4.08% using the disk diffusion method. Conclusion: MALDI-TOF MS is a rapid and accurate method for the identification of Klebsiella spp. Moreover, the bioMérieux AES provides a useful laboratory tool for the interpretation of susceptibility results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacillus cereus is an aerobic and facultatively anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium, and it is found naturally in soil and poses a risk factor for the contamination of food and foodstuffs including cereals, vegetables, spices, ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, meats, milk, and dairy products. This study determined the prevalence of B. cereus in raw poultry meat, raw cow's milk, cheese, spices, and RTE foods in Hatay province. The study also analysed the psychrotrophic properties, toxigenic characteristics, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles of the isolates. The levels of contamination with B. cereus determined for cheese, raw milk, RTE foods, spices, and raw poultry meat were 16.6%, 34.2%, 42.8%, 49%, and 55.5%, respectively. B. cereus was isolated from 84 (42%) of the 200 samples analysed and the 84 isolates were verified by PCR analysis targeting the haemolysin gene specific for B. cereus. Of the total isolates, 64 (76.1%) were psychrotrophic. The toxin gene profiling of B. cereus isolates was determined by amplifying the four genes nhe, hbl, cytK, and ces. The nhe and cytK genes were most frequently detected in the isolates, while the hbl and ces genes were not found. In addition, a high genetic relationship between the isolates was detected at a 92% similarity level by PFGE analysis. In conclusion, the occurrence of both psychrotrophic and toxigenic B. cereus strains in this study indicated a potential risk for food spoilage and food poisoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Francisella tularensis DNA extractions and isolates from the environment and humans were genetically characterized to elucidate environmental sources that cause human tularemia in Turkey. Extensive genetic diversity consistent with genotypes from human outbreaks was identified in environmental samples and confirmed water as a source of human tularemia in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Q fever is a widespread zoonotic disease that is caused by obligate intracellular bacteria, Coxiella burnetii. This study was planned to determine the prevalence of C. burnetii in cows', goats', and ewes' bulk milk (BM) samples using PCR and to confirm positive results by DNA sequencing. A total of 150 BM samples (50 samples of each cows', goats', and ewes' milk) collected from 15 randomly selected dairy farms in Hatay province were analyzed. The BM samples were taken between January 2012 and July 2013. Bacterial DNA was extracted directly from milk samples. Nine of the BM samples (6 %) were PCR positive; five from cows' BM, two from ewes' BM, and two from goats' BM. Bacterial DNA was detected in 3 of 15 (20 %) dairy farms. Positive results were confirmed by DNA sequencing. The sequencing results of Coxiella DNA extracted from cows', goats', and ewes' milk samples were consistent with the reference strain with 100 %, 99.7 %, 99.8 % homology, respectively. BM samples were found to be contaminated with C. burnetii; therefore, taking hygienic measures is necessary for food safety and public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, which is able to form a biofilm, has mostly been related to catheters when it is the agent in hospital infections; these infections generally present as bacteremia and pneumonia, which may progress with complications and result in death. Methodology: The study included 153 S. maltophilia strains isolated from clinical samples sent to our hospital laboratory between 1 January 2014 and 30 June 2018. The bacteria were identified and their antibiotic sensitivity was determined using the VITEK-2 automated system. PFGE (Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis): The strains isolated from 34 patient clinical samples and from 1 patient bedcover were taken for PFGE examination. Results: The TMP/SXT and levofloxacin sensitivity of 153 S. maltophilia strains was examined. TMP/SXT resistance was determined to be 39% and levofloxacin resistance at 5%. Among 35 S. maltophilia strains, seven genotypes were identified using the PFGE method. While three strains showed a specific genotype profile, the other 32 were determined to consist of four clusters. The cluster rate was therefore 91.4% (32/35). Conclusions: There was a clonal relationship between the vast majority of the 35 S. maltophilia isolates, which suggests that there was a crosscontamination problem in the hospital. One strain (#4) was identified by dendrogram analysis showed a high rate of similarity to the other strains and was determined to be the common source of the cross-contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]