Pyrrolizidine alkaloids: their occurrence in Spanish honey collected from purple viper's bugloss (Echium spp.)

The incidence and concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from Echium spp. plant have been defined in 103 Spanish honey samples. Each sample was examined to determine total pollen content, the percentage of Echium spp. pollen, and simultaneous measurements of PAs and their N-oxides concentrations by the HPLC-ESI/MS method to identify the potential origin of PAs in honey. PAs were found in 94.2% of the raw honey samples analysed, in the range of 1-237 µg kg(-1) (average concentration = 48 µg kg(-1)). The PA pattern was clearly dominated by echimidine, lycopsamine and their N-oxides, representing the 97.8% of total ∑PAs, and only echimidine and echimidine-N-oxide surpassed the 87% of total ∑PA content. Others PAs, seneciphylline and heliotrine-N-oxide, appear to be reported in a lower incidence and concentration (average of 3 and 1 µg kg(-1), respectively). The Pearson Chi-squared test (p ≤ 0.01) confirms the non-correspondence between pollen plants and PA content. This study was also realised to generate a dataset in order to evaluate the potential risk of Spanish honeys containing PA plants belonging to the genera Echium.

First detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius ST68 from hospitalized equines in Spain

Eight coagulase-positive staphylococci from equines with different pathologies obtained between 2005 and 2011 were investigated. Isolates were characterized by different molecular techniques (spa-, agr-, MLST), and clonal relatedness of strains was investigated by ApaI and SmaI PFGE. Anti-microbial resistance and virulence profiles were determined. Six isolates were identified as Staphylococcus aureus, and two as Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. Of these, four isolates were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) ST398 and one S. pseudintermedius was mecA positive and typed as ST68. One MRSA ST398 strain was isolated in 2005 and might be one of the earliest MRSA ST398 descriptions in Spain. All 5 mecA-positive strains were multidrug resistant and were isolated from hospitalized equines. Three MRSA ST398 strains carried the recently described transposon Tn559 within the chromosomal radC gene. The mecA-positive S. pseudintermedius ST68 strain was also multidrug resistant and harboured the erm(B)-Tn5405-like element. This ST68 strain presented a clear susceptible phenotype to oxacillin and cefoxitin regardless of the presence of an integral and conserved mecA gene and mecA promoter, which enhances the need for testing the presence of this gene in routine analysis to avoid treatment failures. These data reflect the extended anti-microbial resistance gene acquisition capacities of both bacterial species and evidence their pathogenic properties. The first detection of MRSA ST398 and S. pseudintermedius ST68 in horses in Spain is reported.

Airborne olive pollen counts are not representative of exposure to the major olive allergen Ole e 1

Pollen is routinely monitored, but it is unknown whether pollen counts represent allergen exposure. We therefore simultaneously determined olive pollen and Ole e 1 in ambient air in Córdoba, Spain, and Évora, Portugal, using Hirst-type traps for pollen and high-volume cascade impactors for allergen. Pollen from different days released 12-fold different amounts of Ole e 1 per pollen (both locations P < 0.001). Average allergen release from pollen (pollen potency) was much higher in Córdoba (3.9 pg Ole e 1/pollen) than in Évora (0.8 pg Ole e 1/pollen, P = 0.004). Indeed, yearly olive pollen counts in Córdoba were 2.4 times higher than in Évora, but Ole e 1 concentrations were 7.6 times higher. When modeling the origin of the pollen, >40% of Ole e 1 exposure in Évora was explained by high-potency pollen originating from the south of Spain. Thus, olive pollen can vary substantially in allergen release, even though they are morphologically identical.

First Report of Neofusicoccum australe Associated with Botryosphaeria Canker of Grapevine in Chile

A survey of trunk diseases was conducted in 2010 in vineyards (n = 14) in central Chile (latitude 33°51' to 36°30'), specifically of Vitis vinifera 'Cabernet Sauvignon,' which is the main wine-grape cultivar (38,806 ha) in Chile. The following symptoms of trunk disease were observed in 5- to 19-year-old grapevines: short internodes, dead spurs, dead cordons (arms), and shoot dieback. Upon cutting into cordons and trunks of symptomatic vines, brown, V-shaped cankers of hard consistency were observed. A total of 56 wood cankers were collected, and small pieces of symptomatic wood (approximately 4 mm in diameter) taken from the canker margin were surface disinfected (75% ethanol, 30 s) and placed on acidified PDA (0.5 ml of 96% lactic acid per liter; APDA), which was incubated for 4 to 7 days at 24°C. Colonies, tentatively identified as a species within the Botryosphaeriaceae based on the presence of whitish-to-gray aerial mycelium and exhibiting rapid growth (4 to 5 cm colony diameter in 48 h), were hyphal-tip purified to APDA for identification. Colonies produced globose, black pycnidia with unicellular, hyaline, ellipsoidal, densely granulate, externally smooth, and thin-walled conidia of 17.0 ± 0.7 ± 6.7 ± 0.4 μm (n = 20). A yellow pigmentation was observed at the center of 48-h colonies on APDA. Morphologically, these isolates were identified as Neofusicoccum australe (Slippers, Crous & M.J. Wingfield) Crous, Slippers & A.J.L. Phillips (2,3). BLASTn searches of the ITS rDNA region, amplified with PCR primers ITS4/ITS5 (532 bp), and a 400-bp section of the beta-tubulin subunit 2 gene amplified with primers Bt2a and Bt2b of N. australe (GenBank Accession No. JX290091 and JX679868, respectively) revealed 99% similarity with the ITS and beta-tubulin sequences of N. australe reference strains EF638778 and HQ392761, respectively. Pathogenicity tests were conducted using N. australe isolate Vid1559 on 2-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon plants (n = 4), which were inoculated by wounding the woody stem with a scalpel approximately 1 cm below the most basal bud, placing an 8-mm mycelial plug taken from a 7-day culture into the wound, and then sealing the wound with Parafilm. Non-inoculated controls (n = 4) were 'mock' inoculated with sterile agar plugs. After 3 months under field conditions, during spring and summer, the woody stems were examined for vascular discoloration (VD), characteristic of a wood canker. Inoculated plants had stems with light-brown, necrotic VD with a mean length of 15.2 cm, measured from the inoculation point. No VD was observed on the controls. N. australe was reisolated from 100% of the inoculated plants, completing Koch's postulates. Of 14 vineyards surveyed, 8% were infected with N. australe. N. australe is known as a trunk pathogen of grape (4), and other species of Botryosphaeriaceae have been associated with grapevine trunk disease in Chile (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of N. australe causing Botryosphaeria canker of grape in Chile, where the pathogen is previously reported on blueberry (2). References: (1) G. A. Díaz et al. Plant Dis. 95:1032, 2011. (2) J. G. Espinoza et al. Plant Dis. 92:1407, 2008. (3) Slippers et al. Mycologia 96:1030, 2004. (4) J. R. Úrbez-Torres Phytopathol. Mediterr. 50:S5, 2011.

Analysis of the circulation of hepatitis A virus in Argentina since vaccine introduction

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) has shown intermediate endemicity in Argentina, but its incidence has decreased since vaccine introduction in 2005. Environmental surveillance was conducted in five rivers from Argentina from 2005 to 2012, complementing clinical information. HAV detection decreased since 2005, although its circulation continues, maintaining viral diversity but not undergoing antigenic drift. Most sequences belonged to subgenotype IA, closely related to Argentinean clinical sequences, but one belonged to proposed subgenotype IC, previously undetected in the country. Environmental surveillance might contribute to monitoring the single-dose vaccination schedule, representing not only strains causing disease but also the circulating population and the viral introductions.

Antibiotic lock technique for prevention of cuffed tunnel catheter associated bacteremia

BACKGROUND

Central venous cuffed tunnel catheters are commonly used for short term or long term hemodialysis access. However, catheter-associated bacteremia is a common complication. It has been suggested that the addition of antibiotics to the catheter during the interdialytic interval results in a decrease in bacterial colonization and thereby a decrease in catheter associated infections. To test this hypothesis, a prospective, randomized study was performed comparing a gentamicin citrate mixture to standard heparin as the catheter lock. The effect of covering the catheter hub in a sterile bag on the infection rate was additionally tested.

METHODS

From January 1999 to April 2000, all patients who underwent tunnel catheter placement or change (55 catheters) in the Nephrology Interventional Laboratory at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, were prospectively randomized as follows: group 1 (n=14): Antibiotic lock with tricitrasol (46.7%), gentamicin (40 mg/ml) and saline in a ratio of 1:5:5 and catheter hub covered with a sterile plastic bag after cleaning with a 10% povidone iodine solution; group 2 (n=22): Heparin lock and sterile plastic bag over catheter hub after cleaning with povidone iodine; and group 3 (n=19): Heparin lock alone. The primary end points of the study were catheter-associated bacteremia and thrombosis. Catheter loss due to access maturation, transplant or transfer were censored.

RESULTS

There were a total of 4,805 at risk patient-days. The total number of catheter associated bacteremias were one in group 1, four in group 2 and four in group 3. The number of catheter associated bacteremias per 1000 patient-days in each group was 0.62, 3.05, and 2.11 respectively. The sixty day percent survival of catheters in each group was 74 +/- 12, 55 +/- 12 and 59 +/- 11 respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

1) Tricitrasol and gentamicin as an antibiotic lock reduced the incidence of catheter associated bacteremia; 2) Covering the catheter hub with a sterile bag did not provide an additional advantage; 3) The antibiotic lock improved overall survival of catheters.