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17 pages, 937 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prospective Longitudinal Study of Dynamics of Human Papillomavirus 6 and 11 Infection in Anogenital Hairs and Eyebrows of Male Patients with Anogenital Warts and Age-Matched Controls

by Vesna Tlaker, Lea Hošnjak, Mateja Kolenc, Tomaž Mark Zorec, Boštjan Luzar, Marko Potočnik, Jovan Miljković, Katja Seme and Mario Poljak

Microorganisms 2024, 12(3), 466; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms12030466 - 25 Feb 2024

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Abstract

To better understand the natural history of anogenital warts (AGWs) and the dynamics of HPV6/11 infection in regional hairs, 32 newly diagnosed male patients with AGWs and 32 age-matched healthy controls were closely followed. During enrollment and six follow-up visits (every 2.6 months), [...] Read more.

To better understand the natural history of anogenital warts (AGWs) and the dynamics of HPV6/11 infection in regional hairs, 32 newly diagnosed male patients with AGWs and 32 age-matched healthy controls were closely followed. During enrollment and six follow-up visits (every 2.6 months), 43 AGW tissues and 1232 anogenital and eyebrow hair samples were collected. This is the closest longitudinal monitoring of AGW patients to date. Patients were treated according to standards of care. The HPV6/11 prevalence was 19.9% in the patients’ hair samples (HPV6 B1 in 53.1%) and 0% in the controls. The highest HPV6/11 prevalence was found in pubic hairs (29.0%) and the lowest in eyebrows (7.1%). The odds of having HPV6/11-positive hairs increased with smoking, shaving the anogenital region, and age. A close association between HPV6/11 presence in hairs and clinically visible AGWs was observed. The proportion of patients with visible AGWs and HPV6/11-positive hairs declined during follow-up with similar trends. No particular HPV6/11 variant was linked with an increased AGW recurrence, but the sublineage HPV6 B1 showed significantly higher clearance from hairs. Despite treatment, 78.1% and 62.5% of the AGW patients experienced one and two or more post-initial AGW episodes, respectively. The patients with HPV6/11-positive hairs or visible AGWs at a preceding visit demonstrated substantially higher odds of presenting with visible AGWs at a subsequent visit. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Medical Microbiology)

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13 pages, 1569 KiB

Open AccessReview

Bacteria Living in Biofilms in Fluids: Could Chemical Antibiofilm Pretreatment of Culture Represent a Paradigm Shift in Diagnostics?

by Lorenzo Drago, Andrea Fidanza, Alessio Giannetti, Alessio Ciuffoletti, Giandomenico Logroscino and Carlo Luca Romanò

Microorganisms 2024, 12(2), 259; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms12020259 - 26 Jan 2024

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Abstract

Biofilms are multicellular aggregates of bacteria immersed in an extracellular matrix that forms on various surfaces, including biological tissues and artificial surfaces. However, more and more reports point out the fact that even biological fluids and semifluid, such as synovial liquid, blood, urine, [...] Read more.

Biofilms are multicellular aggregates of bacteria immersed in an extracellular matrix that forms on various surfaces, including biological tissues and artificial surfaces. However, more and more reports point out the fact that even biological fluids and semifluid, such as synovial liquid, blood, urine, or mucus and feces, harbor “non-attached” biofilm aggregates of bacteria, which represent a significant phenomenon with critical clinical implications that remain to be fully investigated. In particular, biofilm aggregates in biological fluid samples have been shown to play a relevant role in bacterial count and in the overall accuracy of microbiological diagnosis. In line with these observations, the introduction in the clinical setting of fluid sample pretreatment with an antibiofilm chemical compound called dithiothreitol (DTT), which is able to dislodge microorganisms from their intercellular matrix without killing them, would effectively improve the microbiological yield and increase the sensitivity of cultural examination, compared to the current microbiological techniques. While other ongoing research continues to unveil the complexity of biofilm formation in biological fluids and its impact on infection pathogenesis and diagnosis, we here hypothesize that the routine use of a chemical antibiofilm pretreatment of fluid and semi-solid samples may lead to a paradigm shift in the microbiological approach to the diagnosis of biofilm-related infections and should be further investigated and eventually implemented in the clinical setting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Medical Microbiology)

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6 pages, 437 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

Community-Acquired Solitary Brain Abscesses Caused by Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae in a Healthy Adult

by Joo-Hee Hwang, Jung Soo Park, Tae Won Bae, Jeong-Hwan Hwang and Jaehyeon Lee

Microorganisms 2024, 12(5), 894; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms12050894 - 29 Apr 2024

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Abstract

A 42-year-old man was admitted to the emergency room complaining of fever and headache. His cerebrospinal fluid showed a cloudy appearance, and his white blood cell count was elevated at 2460/mm³, with a predominance of neutrophils (81%), and abnormal protein and [...] Read more.

A 42-year-old man was admitted to the emergency room complaining of fever and headache. His cerebrospinal fluid showed a cloudy appearance, and his white blood cell count was elevated at 2460/mm³, with a predominance of neutrophils (81%), and abnormal protein and glucose levels (510.7 mg/dL and 5 mg/dL, respectively). A lobulated lesion with rim enhancement, suggestive of abscess, was detected through magnetic resonance imaging. Klebsiella pneumoniae was detected in nasopharyngeal swab and blood cultures. The capsular serotype of K. pneumoniae was K2 and the sequence type determined by multilocus sequence typing was 23. The hypervirulent phenotype was associated with multiple virulent genes, including rmpA, rmpA2, entB, ybtS, kfu, iucA, iutA, iroB mrkD, allS, peg-344, peg-589, and peg-1631. After six weeks of receiving appropriate antibiotics and exhibiting clinical resolution of the brain abscesses, the patient was discharged. We present the first reported case of a healthy community-dwelling adult with solitary brain abscesses, and no other invasive abscesses, related to hypervirulent K. pneumoniae. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Medical Microbiology)

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