Helicobacter pylori is a pathogen associated with gastroduodenal diseases. This study aimed; (i) to investigate H. pylori presence by invasive tests in adult dyspeptic patients, (ii) to determine antibiotic susceptibility and genotypic characteristics of the H. pylori isolates, and (iii) to investigate the relationship between the H. pylori genotypes and the histopathological findings. In this cross-sectional study, gastric biopsy samples from 208 adult dyspeptic patients were used for culture, tissue Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and histopathological analysis. Antibiotic susceptibility of the H. pylori isolates was analyzed by gradient method. Analysis of the virulence genes was performed by monoplex PCR. Genetic profiles (from A to H) were created based on the virulence genes presence. Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus-PCR (ERIC-PCR) was used for the genotyping of the H. pylori isolates. The mean age of the patients was 46 (± 15) years and 128 (61.5%) of them were female. H. pylori positivity was detected by culture, tissue PCR and histopathological examination in 59 (28.4%), 114 (54.8%) and 81 (38.9%) patients, respectively. The overall prevalence of H. pylori was found to be 63% (131/208). All H. pylori isolates were susceptible to tetracycline and amoxicillin. The resistance rates for metronidazole, clarithromycin, levofloxacin, and rifampicin were 67.2%, 27.9%, 34.4% and 13.11%, respectively. Multi drug resistance (MDR) was detected at the rate of 45.9% (28/61). While the most common virulence gene was cagA (93.44%), the least common was vacAm1 (23%). The predominant genetic profile was profile A (47.5%). ERIC-PCR results revealed a total of 26 different patterns. A high prevalence of H. pylori was detected in adult dyspeptic patients as in developing countries. It was observed significant genotypic heterogeneity and virulence gene diversity within the isolates. A considerable resistance rate detected against antibiotics such as clarithromycin, metronidazole, and levofloxacin, which are frequently used in the eradication of H. pylori, should be taken into consideration when creating regional empirical treatment regimens.

This study included 21 newly isolated clinical samples of Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus) screened in patients (six male, fifteen female) from various states of India with different infections (urinary tract infections, blood, pus and eye infections). All isolates were identified as Group B Streptococcus (GBS) using hemolytic properties, serogrouping and MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. Six virulence genes, cfb (100%), cylE (90.4%), lmp (85.7%), bca (71.4%), rib (38%) and bac (4.7%) were detected via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Distribution studies of these six genes revealed five isolates containing five virulence genes (23.8%), followed by ten isolates containing four virulence genes (47.6%). The twenty GBS isolates selected on the glass surface included non-biofilm producers (n = 6, 30%), weak (n = 11, 55%) and moderate biofilm producers (n = 3, 15%). On the polystyrene surface, weak (n = 4, 20%), moderate (n = 2, 10%) and strong (n = 14, 70%) biofilm producers were detected. Live-dead cell staining revealed that more viable cells accumulated in the S. ag 7420 isolate than in the AH1 isolate. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) biofilm analysis showed S. ag AH1 cells appeared as chain-like structures, whereas the S. ag 7420 isolate biofilm cells appeared as fork-like structures on the glass surface. Biofilm elements were analyzed using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX) for both isolates and 13 elements with different orders of composition were found. Thus, virulence gene detection, distribution and biofilm formation by these new clinical isolates suggested the virulent nature of these pathogens, which might cause different levels of disease severity in humans.

Differences in virulence genes, including psm-mec, which is a phenol-soluble modulin-mec (PSM-mec) encoding gene, of predominant staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) types II and IV Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may contribute to the virulence and clinical features of MRSA in Japan. We aimed to clarify the clinical characteristics and risk factors of infection among SCCmec types II and IV MRSA isolates from a Japanese secondary acute care hospital.
We analysed 58 SCCmec type II and 83 SCCmec type IV MRSA isolates collected from blood, central venous catheter tips, deep or superficial tissues, and sputum.
SCCmec type II MRSA risk factors for progression to infection were seb, enterotoxin gene cluster, psm-mec mutation, and vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 1 or 2 mg/L as virulence factors (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 11.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.49-77.7; P = 0.004); solid tumour was a host factor (aOR = 25.9; 95% CI: 3.66-300; P = 0.003). SCCmec type IV MRSA risk factors were sea, cna, and vancomycin MIC of 1 or 2 mg/L as virulence factors (aOR = 3.14; 95% CI: 1.06-10.6; P = 0.049) and intravascular indwelling catheter as host factors (aOR = 3.78; 95% CI: 1.03-14.5; P = 0.045). Compared with SCCmec type II, SCCmec type IV MRSA resulted in more frequent bloodstream infections and higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores.
We found that factors related to virulence genes and bacteriological and host characteristics are associated with SCCmec types II and IV MRSA infection and severity. These risk factors may be useful criteria for designing infection control programs.

UNASSIGNED: This study was performed to compare the genetic diversity, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance of Aeromonas strains isolated from patients and healthy individuals.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 38 clinical strains and 19 strains from healthy individuals were isolated from the samples collected in Ma\'anshan City, Anhui Province. Their taxonomy was investigated using concatenated gyrB- cpn60 sequences, and their resistance to 12 antibiotics was evaluated. The pathogenicity of these strains was examined through beta-hemolysis, protease activity, and virulence gene assays.
UNASSIGNED: The 57 Aeromonas strains were divided into 55 sequence types. Of these types, 21 were novel, suggesting that their genetic diversity was high. These Aeromonas isolates could be divided into 7 species, and the positive rates of beta-hemolysis and protease activity were 49.1% and 73.7%, respectively. The detection rate of clinical patients in terms of beta-hemolysis and protease activity was higher than that of healthy individuals. Among the four most common Aeromonas strains, A. dhakensis had the highest detection rate of virulence genes. The multidrug resistance rate of the clinical isolates was much higher than that of the strains isolated from healthy individuals.
UNASSIGNED: The taxonomy, virulence properties, and antibiotic resistance of Aeromonas isolates from patients differ from those of the isolates from healthy individuals.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) constantly evolves under host and environment pressures. The monitoring network is essential in assessing the epidemiology of S. aureus infections. A total of 555 S. aureus isolates were collected from five hospitals in three different geographical regions of China for the investigation of molecular characteristics, antibiotic resistance, virulence gene, and wall teichoic acid (WTA) glycosyltransferase gene profiles. 233 (42.0%) isolates were identified as MRSA, and 323 (58.2%) were defined as multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates. MRSA prevalence showed no significant difference among the three regions. In contrast, the MDR prevalence was significantly higher in central China than that in northern China (63.5% vs. 50.8%, P < 0.05). Thirty-eight sequence types (STs) belonging to 17 clone complexes (CCs) and 126 distinct spa-types were identified. The most prevalent clone was ST59-t437 (9.7%, 54/555), followed by ST22-t309 (7.6%, 42/555) and ST5-t2460 (7.2%, 40/555). Most ST59-t437 and ST5-t2460 were MRSA isolates, whereas most ST22-t309 was MSSA isolates. The predominant clones varied in different geographical areas. The distribution of the pvl, etb, tsst, clfb, sdrC, sdrD, hlg, fnbA, and hla genes showed significant differences among different regions. We found five WTA glycosyltransferase gene profiles, with tarP-/tarS+/tarM-/tagN- being the most common combination. Remarkably, the tarP gene was identified in more CCs than just CC5 and CC398. All of 16 tarP-positive isolates also contained the tarS. Moreover, tarS was present in almost all S. aureus isolates except 10 ST630 isolates. The tagN gene was only detected in 10 of 12 ST630 S. aureus isolates without tarS. The tarM gene was absent in CC5 and CC398. In brief, there were regional differences among molecular characteristics, antibiotic resistance, and virulence gene profiles. The tarS-negative ST630 lineage carried the tagN, which was never found before, indicating that it may be capable of expressing GroP-α-GalNAc WTA and exchanging mobile genetic elements with coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS).