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Introduction. Application of next-generation sequencing technology generated a massive amount of information on the gut microbiome composition used to understand its role in the healthy state and in various diseases. We aimed to provide information on the gut microbiota composition of Romanian subjects diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, an immune-mediated arthropathy linked to a genetic predisposition and gut dysbiosis.

Toscana phlebovirus (TOSV; genus Phlebovirus, family Phenuiviridae) is transmitted by sand flies. Three genetic lineages (A, B, and C) with different geographic distribution have been described to date. TOSV is [...]

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen with a worldwide distribution. Climate change and human activities have driven the expansion of WNV into new territories in Europe during the last two decades. Romania is endemic for WNV circulation since at least 1996 when the presence of lineage 1 was documented during an unprecedented outbreak. Lineage 2 was first identified in this country during a second significant human outbreak in 2010. Its continuous circulation is marked by clade replacement, and even co-circulation of different strains of the same clade was observed until 2016. The present study aims to fill the information gap regarding the WNV strains that were circulating in Romania between 2017 and 2023, providing chiefly viral sequences obtained from mosquito samples collected in the Bucharest metropolitan area, complemented by human and bird viral sequences. WNV was detected mainly in Culex pipiens mosquitoes, the vectors of this virus in the region, but also in the invasive Aedes albopictus mosquito species. Lineage 2 WNV was identified in mosquito samples collected between 2017 and 2023, as well as in human sera from patients in southern and central Romania during the outbreaks of 2017 and 2018. Both 2a and 2b sub-lineages were identified, with evidence of multiple clusters and sub-clusters within sub-lineage 2a, highlighting the complex and dynamic circulation of WNV in Romania, as a consequence of distinct introduction events from neighboring countries followed by in situ evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The zoonotic Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) group is unanimously regarded as exceptionally hazardous for humans. This study aimed to provide a genomic perspective on the STEC recovered sporadically from humans and have a foundation of internationally comparable data. Fifty clinical STEC isolates, representing the culture-confirmed infections reported by the STEC Reference Laboratory between 2016 and 2023, were subjected to whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis and sequences were interpreted using both commercial and public free bioinformatics tools. The WGS analysis revealed a genetically diverse population of STEC dominated by non-O157 serogroups commonly reported in human STEC infections in the European Union. The O26:H11 strains of ST21 lineage played a major role in the clinical disease resulting in hospitalisation and cases of paediatric HUS in Romania surpassing the O157:H7 strains. The latter were all clade 7 and mostly ST1804. Notably, among the Romanian isolates was a stx2a-harbouring cryptic clade I strain associated with a HUS case, stx2f- and stx2e-positive strains, and hybrid strains displaying a mixture of intestinal and extraintestinal virulence genes were found. As a clearer picture emerges of the STEC strains responsible for infections in Romania, further surveillance efforts are needed to uncover their prevalence, sources, and reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe complications of chronic hepatitis C – i.e. cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma – are important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite the overwhelming rates of sustained virologic response achieved after therapy with different combinations of direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs), treatment failure is still recorded, and is due to the mutations harboured by hepatitis C virus (HCV) resistance associated variants (RAVs) selected during therapy. Baseline RAVs testing was found significant for guiding treatment in the cases of treatment failure and, sometimes, in naïve patients.

Studiul multicentric ENDOBACT a avut ca scop implementarea metodelor moleculare de identificare a speciilor bacteriene implicate in endocardita infecţioasă, precum şi încercarea de a diminua numărul cazurilor cu etiologie neprecizată. Din 87 de cazuri diagnosticate ca endocardita infecţioasă definitivă, 32 de cazuri au prezentat hemoculturi negative. Pentru nouă din aceste cazuri, s-au prelevat fragmente de ţesut valvular şi s-a încercat identificarea agentului etiologic din acestea, aplicand tehnici moleculare. Treizeci şi şapte izolate bacteriene au fost identificate simultan, prin metode fenotipice şi moleculare: secvenţierea genelor ARNr 16S (pentru toate izolatele), rpoB (pentru tulpini de stafilococi, streptococi şi enterococi) şi sodA (pentru tulpini de streptococi şi enterococi). Pentru opt izolate bacteriene, rezultatele obţinute prin cele două tipuri de metode nu au coincis. Identificarea unei tulpini de stafilococ coagulază negativ a putut fi completată prin aplicarea metodelor moleculare. Metodele moleculare de identificare aplicate în acest studiu, ar putea reprezenta o valoare adaugată pentru diagnosticul clinic şi microbiologic convenţional al endocarditei infecţioase practicat în România.

Copyright of Romanian Archives of Microbiology & Immunology is the property of Institutul Cantacuzino and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Romanian Archives of Microbiology & Immunology is the property of Institutul Cantacuzino and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of EMERG: Energy. Environment. Efficiency. Resources. Globalization is the property of Romanian National Committee of World Energy Council and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article will provide some ways to assess the impact of the health crisis in Romania at the beginning of March on the economy. Some important aspects of international trade in goods are identified, as well as relevant aspects related to the activity of international groups of foreign companies - which have a strong impact, on the one hand, on the development and modernization of Romania's economy and, on the other hand, on the contagion of the health and economic crisis. Equally, some assessments made by national and international institutions on the impact of the health crisis on the international or national economic environment are also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Romanian Archives of Microbiology & Immunology is the property of Institutul Cantacuzino and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Romanian Archives of Microbiology & Immunology is the property of Institutul Cantacuzino and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: Through its severe complications, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important cause of liver disease worldwide. The numerous HCV genotypes and subtypes are widely spread, associated with different regions or populations/social groups, and display distinct response to antivirals. Some genotypes/subtypes are prone to mutation, making them less susceptible even to the direct-acting antivirals. HCV prevalence in Romania is considered the highest in Europe, predominating subtype 1b. Circulation of other HCV subtypes in Romania is documented. Objectives: We conducted a study to characterize non-1b HCV isolates circulating in Romania between 2013 and 2014 in naïve patients. Methods: Blood samples were used for HCV genotyping, phylogenetic analysis, detection of antiviral resistance mutations, and IL28B genotyping. Results: Subtypes 1a, 3a and 4a were detected by sequencing a fragment of core region. Phylogenetic analysis showed high resemblance between the non-1b strains identified in this study and older Romanian strains. As well as the previous non-1b Romanian strains, most of the isolates in our study originated from intravenous drug users. The low genetic diversity of non-1b isolates circulating in Romania, corroborated with the epidemiological data, suggested that the number of introduction events of non-1b isolates in our country was limited and that they have been endemically circulating in a specific group. Subtype 1a strains were assigned to clade II, known to gather isolates not harboring NS3 Q80K polymorphism responsible for simeprevir resistance. Conclusion: The transmission of non-1b HCV strains identified in this study could be related to the administration of intravenous drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is a spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiosis caused by Rickettsia conorii endemic in Mediterranean countries as well as in countries around the Black Sea. In Southeastern Romania MSF is endemic, with an overall incidence of 4.2 per 100,000 population, established for 2016 by the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Diagnosis of MSF is complex, based on clinical, epidemiological and laboratory data. Objectives: The aim of the study is to describe the usefulness of molecular tests in MSF diagnosis, as well as to provide the first molecular characterization of R. conorii subspecies conorii responsible for MSF in Romania. Methods: Molecular biology assays (nested PCR) were used for testing serum samples collected from 20 patients with MSF serologically confirmed. Results: Molecular diagnosis of MSF was performed by nested PCR assays on rompA and rompB genes, and was confirmed by sequencing of obtained amplicons. Molecular analysis based on a rompA gene fragment allowed placing the isolate detected in the sera collected from a Romanian patient with fatal MSF in the same cluster with other R. conorii subspecies conorii isolates. Conclusions: We present the first data on the use of molecular tools for the early diagnosis of MSF, as well on molecular identification of R. conorii subspecies responsible for MSF in five counties in Southeastern Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During an entomological investigation carried out in Bucharest and surroundings in fall of 2012, 45 adult mosquitoes (38 females and 7 males) of Aedes albopictus were collected in a neighborhood from the southern area of the city. The morphological identification of the species was further confirmed by sequencing 2 mitochondrial DNA markers: the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 genes. Aedes albopictus was collected again in 2013 in the same area from July until October. During late summer the species was found also in another location in the city, downtown Bucharest. Larvae were found in water barrels and other types of household containers, as well as in rain catch basins. In 2014, following a nuisance complaint of a Bucharest inhabitant, the entomological investigation found aggressive Ae. albopictus adults on his property that harbored many mosquito larvae in container-type breeding habitats. These findings are the 1st records of this invasive species and of its breeding population in Romania, and show maintenance of the species over 2 winter seasons. Surveillance of the species outside the area of the capital city was not performed, therefore it is not known whether Ae. albopictus has been introduced in other regions of the country. The presence of Ae. albopictus has been reported every year (2012-14) to competent public health authorities, stressing on the importance of surveillance and of implementation of control measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corynebacterium diphtheriae is the etiological agent of diphtheria, a potential fatal disease caused by a corynephage toxin. The expression of this diphtheria toxin is controlled via an iron-dependent repressor with various functions (DtxR). Some mutations in the dtxR gene are associated with diminished activity or even with total loss of DtxR function. We conducted a molecular study to characterize the dtxR alleles harbored by 34 isolates of C. diphtheriae recovered from Romanian patients between 1961 and 2007. Three of the seven alleles identified in this study have not previously been described. Two new DtxR types were identified, one of which has an unusual polypeptide length. All the new DtxR types were found in toxigenic isolates, suggesting that they effectively regulate the expression of diphtheria toxin. Furthermore, one of the new DtxR identified was also found in a non-toxigenic isolate, making it a potential source of toxigenic isolates after lysogenic conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]