Margaret Ip

TL;DR: A high level of biodiversity among MRSA, especially among strains harbouring SCCmec IV and V elements is shown, and the data indicate a high rate of genetic recombination in MRSA involving SCC elements, bacteriophages or other mobile genetic elements and large-scale chromosomal replacements.

TL;DR: Understanding the characteristics of silver-coated or -impregnated dressings may enable them to be targeted more appropriately according to the specific requirements for use of a particular dressing, as in for prophylaxis in skin grafting or for an infected wound with MRSA.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors performed a prospective, international, observational study of 844 hospitalized patients with blood cultures positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae and evaluated the impact of concordant antibiotic therapy (i.e., receipt of a single antibiotic with in vitro activity against S. pneumoniae) versus discordant therapy (inactive in vitro) on mortality at 14 days.

TL;DR: GBS colonizes pregnant women worldwide, but prevalence and serotype distribution vary, even after adjusting for laboratory methods, which may help to explain lower GBS disease incidence in regions such as Asia.

TL;DR: Mapping the number of independent imports of the staphylococcal cassette chromosome methicillin-resistance island shows that import has occurred on at least 23 occasions within this single sequence type and that the progeny of such recombinant strains usually are distributed locally rather than globally.