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Background: The number of reported cases of gonorrhoea in Sweden continuously increased from an incidence of 7.8 per 100 000 inhabitants in 2009 to 31.4 in 2019. The largest increase in incidence was observed during 2016–2017. No national molecular epidemiological study investigating the population of N. gonorrhoeae circulating in Sweden has been performed in the last two decades. Our aim was to examine the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and genome-based epidemiology, in conjunction to patient epidemiological data, of all gonococcal isolates (n=1279; one isolate per case) from gonorrhoea cases in Sweden during 2016. Methods: AMR testing was performed using Etest, and MICs were interpreted using current clinical resistance breakpoints from EUCAST. All isolates were whole genome sequenced using Illumina HiSeq X platform. Patient epidemiological data was obtained from the Public Health Agency of Sweden. Results: The gonorrhoea patients consisted of 252 (19.7%) women and 1027 men (80.3%). The medium age of the women was 27.4 years and of the men 32.1 years. Regarding sexual orientation, 619 (48.4%) reported homosexual, 605 (47.3%) heterosexual, 31 (2.4%) bisexual, and 24 (1.9%) did not report. Most prevalent countries of infection were Sweden (n=875, 68.4%), followed by Thailand (n=70, 5.5%) and Germany (n=32, 2.5%). Overall, the phenotypic AMR was as follows: ceftriaxone and spectinomycin (0%), cefixime (1.7%), azithromycin (1.3%) and ciprofloxacin (51.1%). A high concordance between phenotypic AMR and molecular AMR determinants was found. Results from the genome-based epidemiology are currently in final analysis. Conclusions: AMR in N. gonorrhoeae in Sweden remains low, in particular to ceftriaxone and azithromycin that is recommended internationally for dual therapy. The incidence increases in Sweden appear to be driven by increased spread among men-who-have-sex-with-men but also younger heterosexuals of both genders. This is the first national genome-based epidemiol

Proven transmission of Chlamydia psittaci between humans has been described on only one occasion previously. We describe an outbreak which occurred in Sweden in early 2013, where the epidemiological and serological investigation suggests that one patient, severely ill with psittacosis after exposure to wild bird droppings, transmitted the disease to ten others: Two family members, one hospital roommate and seven hospital caregivers. Three cases also provided respiratory samples that could be analysed by PCR. All the obtained C. psittaci sequences were indistinguishable and clustered within genotype A. The finding has implications for the management of severely ill patients with atypical pneumonia, because these patients may be more contagious than was previously thought. In order to prevent nosocomial person-to-person transmission of C. psittaci, stricter hygiene measures may need to be applied.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the behavioural and physiological responses to environmental disturbances (live and recorded dynamite explosions) in laboratory non-human primates in preparation for a future tunnel construction underneath our animal facility. In a pilot study (A) on 20 female Macaca fascicularis, a day of test blasts resulted in an increase in faecal cortisol and immunoreactive cortisol metabolites (CICM), and the animals reacted behaviourally with vertical flight and vocalizations. In a follow-up study (B), we assessed the impact of 10 days of exposure to recorded detonations on the behaviour and CICM in 16 M. fascicularis. In the latter study we introduced a predictive signal, serving as a conditional stimulus, to half of the animals. We found no significant effects of the noise in the Signal group; while the Control groups' CICM values were affected. The behaviour was largely unaffected in the two groups. It was decided not to introduce a research moratorium on biomedical research planned to be conducted during the future tunnel construction, and that a conditional stimulus ('warning signal') will be used.

A Chlamydia trachomatis variant that contains a 377 bp deletion in the cryptic plasmid was recently reported in Sweden. This deletion includes the targets for Cobas Amplicor, Cobas TaqMan48, and Abbott m2000. We examined the proportion and characteristics of this variant in Örebro county, Sweden and developed an effective diagnostic solution. In total, 2,401 consecutive C. trachomatis culture samples and 536 PCR samples from symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and screened females were included. Culture, Cobas Amplicor, and LightMix 480HT were used for diagnosis. A mutant-specific PCR, plasmid sequencing, omp1 sequencing and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were used to identify and characterise mutants. In total, 162 (6.7%) of the cultured samples were positive for C. trachomatis. However, 61 (38%) of those were negative when using Cobas Amplicor, and 60 of these were subsequently confirmed as the new variant. 13 of these mutant isolates were further characterised genetically, and all were of identical genotype E and the unique MLST sequence type: 21, 19, 1, 2, 1. Of all culture-positive samples, 161 of 162 were positive in the LightMix 480HT assay. The single negative sample was only weakly positive in culture, and negative in all PCRs. Of the 536 PCR samples, 37 were positive in both Cobas Amplicor and LightMix 480HT, 13 were only positive in LightMix 480HT (mutants), and two were only positive in Cobas Amplicor. Mutated C. trachomatis were prevalent in Örebro county in the period from October 2006 to February 2007, and it appeared to be a single clone. LightMix 480HT seemed sensitive, specific, and enabled high throughput diagnostics. However, rare low positive samples may be false-negative. Frequent surveillance and evaluations of diagnostic methods worldwide are crucial.

In the study presented here 26 recent Danish clinical isolates of prolyliminopeptidase (PIP)-negative Neisseria gonorrhoeae were phenotypically and genotypically characterized to investigate whether one or more PIP-negative strains are circulating in the Danish community. The profiles of these isolates were compared with those of three isolates from a recent outbreak of PIP-negative N. gonorrhoeae infection in the UK. Twenty-five of the Danish isolates and all three UK isolates had similar antibiograms and were designated serovar IB-4. Genotypic characterization by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, porB1b gene sequencing, and opa-typing revealed that these isolates were indistinguishable or closely related. The results indicate that at least one PIP-negative N. gonorrhoeae strain is currently circulating in the Danish community, and this strain is indistinguishable from the one that caused an outbreak in the UK. Erratum in Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2005 Jul;24(7):503

Objective - To improve the aetiological diagnosis in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) increased efforts were made to obtain expectorated sputum specimens from patients with CAP. Design - A prospective, clinical study. Patients were encouraged to cough spontaneously and to expectorate a sputum specimen. If unsuccessful, they were asked to inhale nebulized hypertonic saline to induce secretion and cough. Setting - One primary health care centre in Örebro, Sweden. Subjects - Patients attending the Health Centre with acute symptoms of CAP. Main outcome measures - Availability and quality of sputum specimen from patients with CAP in primary care. Results - 177 patients were included, 63% were women and the mean age was 51years. 28% were smokers and 46% showed infiltrates on chest X-ray. Sputum specimens were obtained from 125 patients. Fifty-nine were expectorated spontaneously and 66 were induced. Ninety-one of the specimens were found to be acceptable, whereas 34 were discarded. Potential pathogens were found in 57% of the 91 specimens. Conclusion - Acceptable sputum specimens can be obtained with some effort from approximately half of the patients in primary care. Sputum culture might improve the knowledge of the bacterial aetiology of CAP in selected patients and in epidemiological studies.