This study evaluates the added value of using enrichment broths for improving the detection of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria—VRE, ESBL producers, and carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs)—from rectal swabs. Comparing direct plating to enrichment-based methods significantly increased detection sensitivity, especially for CPOs (from 17 to 27 cases, a 58.8% increase). Detection rates for ESBL producers and VRE also improv...

Purpose Regarding bloodstream infections (BSI) Enterococcus spp. rank among the top five most common organisms. Due to enterococci intrinsic resistance, empiric antibiotic therapy is often inappropriate and early identification becomes crucial. Our objective was to assess the clinical impact of MALDI-TOF identification directly from positive blood cultures (BC) in Enterococcus spp. BSI (E-BSI). Methods A retrospective cohort s...

Purpose Traditional epidemiological investigations of healthcare-associated Clostridioides difficile infection (HA-CDI) are often insufficient. This study aimed to evaluate a procedure that includes secondary isolation and genomic typing of single toxigenic colonies using core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) for the investigation of C. difficile transmission. Methods We analyzed retrospectively all toxigenic C. diff...

The diagnosis of mycobacterial infections has been dramatically improved by the introduction of molecular methods aimed to reduce the time to diagnosis as compared with culture. The broad range pan-mycobacterial PCR can detect all the mycobacterial species directly from clinical specimens. We aimed to evaluate its usefulness and its clinical added value for the diagnosis of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections. We per...

Summary Amoeba‐infecting viruses have raised scientists’ interest due to their novel particle morphologies, their large genome size and their genomic content challenging previously established dogma. We report here the discovery and the characterization of Cedratvirus lausannensis , a novel member of the Megavirales , with a 0.75–1 µm long amphora‐shaped particle closed by two striped plugs. Among numerous host cell types test...

Summary Several Chlamydiales families are associated with epitheliocystis, a common condition of the fish gill epithelium. These families share common ancestors with the Chlamydiaceae and environmental Chlamydiae . Due to the lack of culture systems, little is known about the biology of these chlamydial fish pathogens. We investigated epitheliocystis in cultured Orange‐spotted grouper ( Epinephelus coioides ) from North Queens...

Summary P seudomonas knackmussii B 13 was the first strain to be isolated in 1974 that could degrade chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons. This discovery was the prologue for subsequent characterization of numerous bacterial metabolic pathways, for genetic and biochemical studies, and which spurred ideas for pollutant bioremediation. In this study, we determined the complete genome sequence of B 13 using next generation sequencin...

Summary Large viruses infecting algae or amoebae belong to the NucleoCytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDV) and present genotypic and phenotypic characteristics that have raised major interest among microbiologists. Here, we describe a new large virus discovered in Acanthamoeba castellanii co‐culture of an environmental sample. The virus, referred to as Lausannevirus, has a very limited host range, infecting Acanthamoeba spp. b...

Summary Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacteria infecting free‐living amoebae, vertebrates and some invertebrates. Novel members are regularly discovered, and there is accumulating evidence supporting a very important diversity of chlamydiae in the environment. In this study, we investigated the presence of chlamydiae in a drinking water treatment plant. Samples were used to inoculate Acanthamoeba monolayers ( Acanthamo...

Summary The complex ecology of free‐living amoebae (FLA) and their role in spreading pathogenic microorganisms through water systems have recently raised considerable interest. In this study, we investigated the presence of FLA and amoebae‐resisting bacteria (ARB) at various stages of a drinking water plant fed with river water. We isolated various amoebal species from the river and from several points within the plant, mostly...

Summary Accumulating evidence supports a role for Chlamydia ‐related organisms as emerging pathogens for human and animals. Assessment of their pathogenicity requires strain availability, at least for animal models and serological studies. As these obligate intracellular species are able to grow inside amoebae, we used co‐culture with Acanthamoeba castellanii in an attempt to recover new Chlamydia ‐related species from river w...