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Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 1A strains are frequently isolated from the environment, foods, and animals, and also from humans with yersiniosis. There are controversial reports on the pathogenicity of biotype 1A strains. In this study, 811 fecal samples from asymptomatic humans from Switzerland were studied for the presence of Y. enterocolitica. Nine (1.1%) of the 811 samples were positive for Y. enterocolitica 1A. These strains were compared with 12 Y. enterocolitica 1A strains from Swiss patients with diarrhea isolated in the same year. Almost all (20/21) Y. enterocolitica 1A strains carried the ystB gene, seven strains carried the hreP gene, and none carried the ail, ystA, myfA, yadA, or virF genes. Most (17/21) Y. enterocolitica 1A strains belonged to two major clusters, A and B, by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Strains of cluster B were only isolated from humans with diarrhea; however, ystB and hreP genes were detected in strains from both clinical and non-clinical samples and from strains of clusters A and B. Using ribotyping, six restriction patterns among biotype 1A strains were obtained with HindIII enzyme. The most common ribotype (RT I) was found in strains isolated from humans with and without diarrhea. All biotype 1A strains had a unique NotI profile by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), showing a very high genetic diversity. In this study, Y. enterocolitica 1A strains from clinical and non-clinical samples could not be clearly differentiated from each other. More research is needed in order to prove that biotype 1A strains are a primary cause for human yersiniosis and not only a secondary finding.

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are the predominant cause of bovine intra-mammary infections. They can lead to chronic infections and were reported to significantly increase milk somatic cell counts. The goal of our study was to determine the species distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of CNS in bovine mastitis milk samples in Switzerland. Between March 2011 and February 2012, a total of 120 CNS were isolated from mastitis milk samples from 117 different animals at 77 farms. The isolates were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization - time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and subsequently tested for sensitivity to various antibiotic agents by disk diffusion. Antimicrobial agents were selected mainly based on their relevance to the treatment of bovine mastitis in Switzerland. MALDI-TOF MS assigned the 120 isolates to 12 different staphylococcal species - S. chromogenes (33 %), S. xylosus (28 %), S. sciuri (13 %), S. haemolyticus (9 %), S. epidermidis (4 %), S. simulans (4 %), S. warneri (3 %), S. equorum (2 %), S. hyicus (2 %), S. cohnii (1 %), S. succinus (1 %), and S. fleuretti (1 %). Resistance rates in CNS were high, with 39% of isolates exhibiting resistance to ampicillin and penicillin, 6% of isolates being resistant to amoxicillin with clavulanic acid, ceftiofur, cephalothin, and cefoxitin, and 5 % being resistant to erythromycin. In rare cases resistance to gentamicin (2 %), kanamycin (2 %), and kanamycin-cefalexin (1 %) was detected.

Neospora caninum was detected by means of PCR in the brain of 4 out of 20 aborted fetuses in a flock of 117 sheep exhibiting a persistent abortion problem, and N. caninum tissue cysts were furthermore found in encephalitic lesions in one of the PCR-positive fetuses. Toxoplasma gondii was detected as aborting agent in another 3 out of 20 fetuses. Antibodies to N. caninum (by indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT)) were found in 10.3% of 117 ewes and antibodies for T. gondii were found in 97.4% of 117 ewes. Other organisms associated with abortion were Chlamydia psittaci in three fetuses and Pasteurella multocida in one fetus. This is the first report of N. caninum associated abortion in naturally infected sheep.

Although neuropathy has long been recognized as a complication of diabetes, the impact of this condition has not been adequately established. The prevalence of diabetic neuropathy is virtually unknown because the published studies differ considerably with regard to definition, method of assessment, and patient selection. Furthermore, the determination of prevalence has been hampered by the fact that there is no generally accepted classification of the variety of manifestations of diabetic neuropathy. The introduction of new sensitive diagnostic methods aids in the detection of less severe stages of neuropathy, as compared with clinically based assessment, and renders the disease more prevalent. The prevalence of diabetic neuropathy in the few reported population-based studies was approximately 30%. We have evaluated the prevalence of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in a group of approximately 1000 diabetic patients randomly included from 21 hospitals in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The results of this study and those of a prospective study on the natural history of neural dysfunction during the first 5 years after diagnosis of type 1 diabetes will be presented.