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8 results

  • 161 - Miscellaneous gram-positive organisms

  • from Part XVIII - Specific organisms: bacteria
  • Edited by David Schlossberg, Temple University, Philadelphia
  • Book:
    Clinical Infectious Disease
    Published online:
    05 April 2015
    Print publication:
    23 April 2015, pp 1037-1043

  • Summary

    Pediococcus species

    Pediococci are gram-positive cocci that grow in pairs and tetrads and belong to the lactic acid bacteria group. Normal inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tract, they are used extensively in industry to ferment cheese and other dairy products, soy products, and alcoholic beverages. Thirteen species of pediococci are recognized today, but only Pediococcus acidilactici and Pediococcus pentosaceus, typically found in sugar-rich foods, have been identified as human pathogens. In recent years, these organisms have been increasingly recognized as a cause of bacteremia, endocarditis, and pneumonitis in the immunocompromised host. These organisms have also been isolated from intra-abdominal infections such as peritonitis and hepatic abscesses. Risk factors for Pediococcus infections include prior antibiotic therapy, abdominal surgery, and gastric feeding.

    Diagnosis is made by isolation and identification of the organism from cultures of blood or other body fluids. Pediococcus species may be difficult to distinguish from enterococci and Leuconostoc species given its association with food. Approximately 95% of clinical isolates will cross-react with group D streptococcal antisera. Tests that aid in distinguishing pediococci from other organisms include a negative pyrrolidonyl arylamidase (PYRase) test and the absence of gas production from glucose. With newer application of molecular genetic techniques to determine relatedness of food-associated lactic acid bacteria, reorganization of the genus with novel morphologic or phenotypic differentiation of Leuconostoc species from Pediococcus species is being studied.

  • 159 - Miscellaneous Gram-Positive Organisms

  • from Part XVIII - Specific Organisms – Bacteria
  • Edited by David Schlossberg
  • Book:
    Clinical Infectious Disease
    Published online:
    05 March 2013
    Print publication:
    12 May 2008, pp 1103-1110

  • Summary

    PEDIOCOCCUS SPECIES

    Pediococci are gram-positive cocci that grow in pairs and tetrads. Normal inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tract, they are used extensively in industry to ferment cheese and other dairy products, soy products, and alcoholic beverages. Eight species of pediococci are recognized, but only the closely related Pediococcus acidilactici and Pediococcus pentosaceus have been identified as human pathogens. In recent years, these organisms have been increasingly recognized as a cause of bacteremia and pneumonitis in the immunocompromised host. These organisms have also been isolated from intra-abdominal infections such as peritonitis and hepatic abscesses. Risk factors for Pediococcus infections include prior antibiotic therapy, abdominal surgery, and gastric feeding.

    Diagnosis is made by isolation and identification of the organism from cultures of blood or other body fluids. As one of the lactic acid bacteria associated with foods, Pediococcus species may be difficult to distinguish from enterococci and Leuconostoc species. Approximately 95% of clinical isolates will cross-react with group D streptococcal antisera. Tests that aid in distinguishing pediococci from other organisms include a negative pyrrolidonylarylamidase (PYRase) test and the absence of gas production from glucose. With newer application of molecular genetic techniques to determine relatedness of food-associated lactic acid bacteria, reorganization of the genus with novel morphologic or phenotypic differentiation of Leuconostoc species from Pediococcus species is being studied.

    Pediococci are intrinsically highly resistant to vancomycin and other glycopeptides. Most strains are moderately susceptible to penicillin and ampicillin. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) are variable for cephalosporins.

  • Outbreak of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Colonization and Infection in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Epidemiologically Linked to a Healthcare Worker With Chronic Otitis

  • Mary L. Bertin, Joan Vinski, Steven Schmitt, Camille Sabella, Lara Danziger-Isakov, Michael McHugh, Gary W. Procop, Geraldine Hall, Steven M. Gordon, Johanna Goldfarb
  • Journal:
    Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology / Volume 27 / Issue 6 / June 2006
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    21 June 2016, pp. 581-585
    Print publication:
    June 2006
  • Objective.

    To describe the investigation and interventions necessary to contain an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization and infection in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

    Design.

    Retrospective case finding that involved prospective performance of surveillance cultures for detection of MRSA and molecular typing of MRSA by repetitive-sequence polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR).

    Setting.

    Level III NICU in a tertiary care center.

    Participants.

    Three neonates in a NICU were identified with MRSA bloodstream infection on April 16, 2004. A point prevalence survey identified 6 additional colonized neonates (attack rate, 75% [9 of 12 neonates]). The outbreak strain was phenotypically unusual.

    Interventions.

    Cohorting and mupirocin therapy were initiated for neonates who had acquired MRSA during the outbreak. Contact precautions were introduced in the NICU, and healthcare workers (HCWs) were retrained in cleaning and disinfection procedures and hand hygiene. Noncolonized neonates and newly admitted patients had surveillance cultures performed 3 times per week.

    Results.

    Two new colonized neonates were identified 1 month later. HCW X, who had worked in the NICU since June 2003, was identified as having chronic otitis. MRSA was isolated from cultures of swab specimens from HCW X's ear canal and nares. HCW X was epidemiologically linked to the outbreak. Molecular typing (by rep-PCR) confirmed that the isolates from HCW X and from the neonates were more than 90% similar. Retrospective review of NICU isolates revealed that the outbreak strain was initially cultured from a neonate 2 months after HCW X began working on the unit. The epidemic strain was eradicated after removing HCW X from patient care in the NICU.

    Conclusion.

    An outbreak of MRSA colonization and infection in a NICU was epidemiologically linked to a HCW with chronic otitis externa and nasal colonization with MRSA. Eradication was not achieved until removal of HCW X from the NICU. Routine surveillance for MRSA may have allowed earlier recognition of the outbreak and is now standard practice in our NICU.

  • Observations of a nonlinear solitary wave packet in the Kelvin wake of a ship

  • Ellen D. Brown, Steven B. Buchsbaum, Robert E. Hall, John P. Penhune, Kurt F. Schmitt, Kenneth M. Watson, Donald C. Wyatt
  • Journal:
    Journal of Fluid Mechanics / Volume 204 / July 1989
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    26 April 2006, pp. 263-293

  • Thirty data sets of wavestaff measurements of a solitary feature in the Kelvin wake of the Coast Guard cutter Point Brower are analysed. The average characteristics of the feature between 1 and 4 km aft of the ship are shown to be consistent with those of an oblique nonlinear solitary wave packet. The ship speed is 7.7 m/s (Froude number 0.49) and the waves that comprise the packet have an average frequency of 3.28 rad/s. The ship speed and the wave frequency, together with Kelvin wake kinematics, imply that the feature appears at an average wake half-angle of 10.9°. The packet does not exhibit linear dispersion beyond 1 km aft of the ship and its average width is 8.9 m (measured at e−1 of the peak variance). The average amplitude is 1.1 times the theoretical amplitude of an oblique nonlinear solitary wave packet with the observed width. There is considerable variability from run to run, and there is evidence of dispersive spreading before 1 km aft of the ship. An aerial photograph shows a sinuous fluctuation of the feature; possible explanations for the fluctuation include small variations in initial conditions or a sinuous instability. The solitary feature is a possible explanation for the long bright lines observed in SEASAT SAR images in light to moderate winds and observed in sun glitter photos taken from the space shuttle.