Clinical Science and Epidemiology
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyPopulation Structure, Molecular Epidemiology, and β-Lactamase Diversity among Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Isolates in the United StatesMultiple antibiotic resistance mechanisms, including two β-lactamases, L1, a metallo-β-lactamase, and L2, a class A cephalosporinase, make S. maltophilia naturally multidrug resistant. Thus, infections caused by S. maltophilia pose a big therapeutic challenge. Our study aims to understand the...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyGenomic Characterization of the Emerging Pathogen Streptococcus pseudopneumoniaeS. pseudopneumoniae is an overlooked pathogen emerging as the causative agent of lower-respiratory-tract infections and associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and exacerbation of COPD. However, much remains unknown on its clinical importance and epidemiology, mainly due to the lack of specific markers to distinguish it from S. pneumoniae...
Editor's Pick Observation | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyIdentification of Novel Mobilized Colistin Resistance Gene mcr-9 in a Multidrug-Resistant, Colistin-Susceptible Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium IsolateColistin is a last-resort antibiotic that is used to treat severe infections caused by MDR and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated colistin as a “highest priority critically important antimicrobial for human medicine” (WHO, Critically Important Antimicrobials for Human Medicine, 5th revision, 2017,...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyThe Impact of Anthelmintic Treatment on Human Gut Microbiota Based on Cross-Sectional and Pre- and Postdeworming Comparisons in Western KenyaThe gut microbiome is an important factor in human health. It is affected by what we eat, what medicines we take, and what infections we acquire. In turn, it affects the way we absorb nutrients and whether we have excessive intestinal inflammation. Intestinal worms may have an important impact on the composition of the gut microbiome. Without a complete understanding of the impact of mass deworming programs on the microbiome, it is...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyEvolutionary and Genomic Insights into Clostridioides difficile Sequence Type 11: a Diverse Zoonotic and Antimicrobial-Resistant Lineage of Global One Health ImportanceHistorically, Clostridioides difficile (Clostridium difficile) has been associated with life-threatening diarrhea in hospitalized patients. Increasing rates of C. difficile infection (CDI) in the community suggest exposure to C. difficile reservoirs outside the hospital, including...
Commentary | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyTwo Health or Not Two Health? That Is the QuestionHow much drug-resistant infections in livestock contribute to disease in humans is controversial. While zoonoses are a prominent cause of emerging infections, and the profligate use of antibiotics as growth promoters is expected to lead to the spread of resistance, this resistance could remain concentrated in animal pathogens and only rarely spill over into humans.
Perspective | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyAcute Flaccid Myelitis: Something Old and Something New...Since 2014, acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a long-recognized condition associated with polioviruses, nonpolio enteroviruses, and various other viral and nonviral causes, has been reemerging globally in epidemic form. This unanticipated reemergence is ironic, given that polioviruses, once the major causes of AFM, are now at the very threshold of global eradication and cannot therefore explain any aspect of AFM reemergence.
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyRapid Replacement of Acinetobacter baumannii Strains Accompanied by Changes in Lipooligosaccharide Loci and Resistance Gene RepertoireMultidrug-resistant (MDR) A. baumannii is a difficult-to-treat health care-associated pathogen. Knowing the resistance genes present in isolates causing infection aids in empirical treatment selection. Furthermore, knowledge of the genetic background can assist in tracking patterns of transmission to limit the spread of infections in hospitals. The appearance of a new...
Letter to the Editor | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyQuantifying and Interpreting the Association between Early-Life Gut Microbiota Composition and Childhood Obesity
Editor's Pick Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyCryptococcus deuterogattii VGIIa Infection Associated with Travel to the Pacific Northwest Outbreak Region in an Anti-Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Autoantibody-Positive Patient in the United StatesMortality rates associated with C. gattii infections are estimated to be between 13% and 33%, depending on an individual’s predisposition, and C. gattii has caused at least 39 deaths in the PNW region. There have been four other international travel cases reported in patients from Europe and Asia...