Global Spread of Carbapenemase-producingEnterobacteriaceae

Les carbapénèmases des entérobactéries

Identification and screening of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae

Carriage and laboratory detection of multi-drug resistant bacteria in low and middle-income countries

Udgivelsesdato: 2008-May

Studies on the epidemiology of hepatitis B and C virus infections are still needed

Epidemiology of the most frequent diseases in the European a-symptomatic post-menopausal women: Is there any difference between Ireland and the rest of Europe?

Background The growing amount of monkeypox cases in non-endemic regions raises concerns in societies as a potential pandemic. This study highlights the prevalence and epidemiological trends of a human monkeypox outbreak in various regions in Europe. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The data about the monkeypox outbreak in European countries were recorded by the World Health Organization (WHO), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. The period prevalence-based data were recorded from Jan 1, 2022, to July 7, 2022, and analyzed, and epidemiological trends were established in different European regions and countries. Results In Europe, the human monkeypox rapidly spread in all the four subregions and involved 30 European countries, infecting 6077 people. The rising number of monkeypox cases is identified in Western Europe, 2599 (42.76%); Southern Europe, 1932 (31.79%); Northern Europe, 1487 (24.46%); and Eastern Europe, 59 (0.97%). In Western Europe, significant cases are found in Germany (1304), France (604), the Netherlands (352), Belgium (168), and Switzerland (131). In Northern Europe, it is found in the United Kingdom (1351), Ireland (44), Sweden (28), and Denmark (26); in Southern Europe, it is found in Spain (1256), Portugal (415), and Italy (233). However, a smaller number of cases are found in Eastern European states, Hungary (22), Poland (13), and Romania (12). The results further revealed that the number of monkeypox cases per million people in Northern Europe was 14.40%; Southern Europe, 13.49%; Western Europe, 13.26%; and Eastern Europe, 0.70%. The highest monkeypox cases per million population are found in Portugal, 40.70; Gibraltar, 29.68; Spain, 26.86; the United Kingdom, 19.90; Malta, 18.12; the Netherlands, 20.54; Germany, 15.56; Switzerland, 15.14; Belgium, 14.50; France, 9.27; and Ireland, 8.90. Conclusions In a short period, the monkeypox cases swiftly spread in 30 non-endemic European countries and involved all four European regions. The healthcare authorities must take timely decisions to control the outbreak of human monkeypox disease, as the world cannot afford the global burden of human monkeypox outbreak as another potential pandemic.

Detection of carriers can be managed A decision to introduce nationwide cystic fibrosis (CF) newborn screening in the United Kingdom has now been taken, although the exact procedure is still...

In two previous special issues, Science took a hard look at the training of scientists in U.S. universities and found a sense of impending crisis. As universities continue to churn out graduates by the score, stagnant research funding cannot provide enough traditional scientific careers for them. Those special reports ( Science , 4 November 1994, p. 843, and [6 October 1995, p. 121][1]) included the promise to take a similar look at science education in other parts of world. The first part of that promise is fulfilled in this issue, in which Science looks at education in a swathe across Europe—from the United Kingdom in the west to Russia in the east. And, in a related development aimed at exploring the impact of changes in universities and other sectors on the careers of young European scientists, Science is adding a European dimension to the Next Wave, the new AAAS/ Science World Wide Web project for young scientists (at URL [ ][2]). In the eight countries visited by our seven correspondents for this special issue, the most striking feature is change itself. Across Europe, higher education is in a state of flux. The United Kingdom wants to open up its elite university system to more students, whereas French universities want to be more selective; Dutch universities are being encouraged to specialize; German professors want to improve teaching quality; and in the east, universities are trying to shrug off the straitjacket of communism and bring research and teaching back together. Although the causes and effects are not exactly the same in each country, all countries are grappling with roughly the same set of variables and constraints—declining funding, increasing student numbers, and the need for more varied and flexible curricula. Yet there is little sharing of information and experiences, and each nation is following its own independent path. It seems that European countries are not even trying to learn from each other. This chaotic patchwork of reforms could only be helped by the sharing of experiences across borders. This special issue is a modest attempt to help stimulate that process. We are well aware that our coverage is far from complete—important regions, Scandinavia and southern Europe among them, could not be included. We will, however, be reporting developments in university education in these and other areas in the future. The need for and importance of international collaboration are the subject of another Science effort aimed at Europe that makes its debut this week. On 2 February, Science 's Next Wave presents the second in its series of on-line Forums. This one is called “Scientific Collaboration Across National Boundaries,” and it focuses specifically on Europe. In the Forum, representatives of some of Europe's major scientific agencies and laboratories, along with young scientists, express their views on the significance of international scientific collaboration. After reading their essays, you can respond to them on the Web. They will reply to you in turn, beginning a dialogue on this crucial subject. The Forum, which will last until 29 March, is just one element of the launch of Science 's Next Wave in Europe. We are also adding the first group of young European scientists to the correspondents' network that was initiated in the United States in November 1995. This diverse and talented group includes a Russian emigre working in Italy and a young woman studying biotechnology in Ireland, along with correspondents in countries that are major scientific powers, such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Like their counterparts in the United States, each of them will be reporting regularly from their own institutions on subjects that are of pressing interest to their peers in the next generation of researchers. To complete the Next Wave's European launch, the entire [European Education][3] section will be posted on the Web in the Next Wave's “In Print” section. Both in the United States and in Europe, young scientists face a landscape that is complex, difficult, and sometimes daunting. Providing navigational guidance through that landscape is a high priority of Science and is the main motivation for starting Science 's Next Wave. This task is truly international in scope, and as this week's efforts suggest, our response will be increasingly international as the months go by. [1]: http://sci.aaas.org/nextwave/careers95/ [2]: http://sci.aaas.org/nextwave [3]: http://sci.aaas.org/nextwave/print/europe/

Advances in molecular biology have improved the screening for carriers and the prenatal diagnosis of many genetic disorders, including hemophilia B. For instance, based on the eight described dimorphic restriction fragment length polymorphisms within the factor IX gene, a Caucasian female has a 94% chance of being heterozygous (informative) for at least one of these markers. However, ethnic limitations of molecular genetic techniques have been found in diagnosing hemophilia B families in the Japanese and other populations. Previously, we heve demonstrated that three dinucleotide polymorphisms, which locate in the 5' flanking region at nucleotide-793 (FIX-793), in intron A at nucleotide 192 (FIX192), and in the 3' flanking region (FIXHhaI), of the factor IX gene, are present in normal Japanese. Each of these polymorphisms was able to be rapidly ascertained by the polymerase chain reaction technique.In this study, we analyzed 23 Japanese families with hemophilia B, and found that 19 families (82.6%) were heterozygous for at least one of these polymorphisms. Using these polymorphisms together with the extragenic DXS99/Sac I PFLP, which was previously reported as a useful gene marker for Japanese hemophilia B, the informative rate impproved to 87.0%. Carrier detection and the prenatal diagnosis of hemophilia B can be achieved effectively and rapidly in Japanese with these polymorphisms. In fact, we have successfully performed the prenatal diagnosis in two Japanese families with hemophilia B by using FIXHhaI or FIX192 polymorphism analysis. These polymorphisms may also be present and useful for hemophilia B carrier detection in other Oriental population.

Strangers No More: Immigration and the Challenges of Integration in North America and Western Europe. By Richard Alba and Nancy Foner. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2015. Pp. 336. $35.00 (cloth); $24.95 (paper).

Book Reviews

BackgroundHistorically, United States’ carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) surveillance and mechanism testing focused on three genera: Escherichia, Klebsiella, and Enterobacter (EsKE); however, other genera can harbour mobile carbapenemases associated with CRE spread.ObjectivesFrom January through May 2018, we conducted a 10 state evaluation to assess the contribution of less common genera (LCG) to carbapenemase-producing (CP) CRE.MethodsState public health laboratories (SPHLs) requested participating clinical laboratories submit all Enterobacterales from all specimen sources during the surveillance period that were resistant to any carbapenem (Morganellaceae required resistance to doripenem, ertapenem, or meropenem) or were CP based on phenotypic or genotypic testing at the clinical laboratory. SPHLs performed species identification, phenotypic carbapenemase production testing, and molecular testing for carbapenemases to identify CP-CRE. Isolates were categorized as CP if they demonstrated phenotypic carbapenemase production and ≥1 carbapenemase gene (blaKPC, blaNDM, blaVIM, blaIMP, or blaOXA-48-like) was detected.ResultsSPHLs tested 868 CRE isolates, 127 (14.6%) were from eight LCG. Overall, 195 (26.3%) EsKE isolates were CP-CRE, compared with 24 (18.9%) LCG isolates. LCG accounted for 24 (11.0%) of 219 CP-CRE identified. Citrobacter spp. was the most common CP-LCG; the proportion of Citrobacter that were CP (11/42, 26.2%) was similar to the proportion of EsKE that were CP (195/741, 26.3%). Five of 24 (20.8%) CP-LCG had a carbapenemase gene other than blaKPC.ConclusionsParticipating sites would have missed approximately 1 in 10 CP-CRE if isolate submission had been limited to EsKE genera. Expanding mechanism testing to additional genera could improve detection and prevention efforts.

Overcoming resistance.

Data to Guide the “Test and Treat Era” of Hepatitis C