Healthcare-Associated Infections

Two Recent Studies from ID Yield Important Findings about Healthcare-Associated Infections

Role of IL-23 signaling in Clostridium difficile Colitis.

Erica L Buonomo, Rajat Madan, Patcharin Pramoonjago, Li Li, Mark D. Okusa, William A. Petri Jr.  Journal of Infectious Diseases. Published on-line June 17, 2013.

Summary: Clostridium difficile is currently the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections in the United States. Here, we observed increased IL-23 protein levels in human colon biopsies positive for C. difficile toxins compared to negative controls (p=0.008). We also investigated the role of IL-23 during infection using two distinct murine models. Mice lacking IL-23 signaling had a significant increase in survival (100% n=12) when compared to control mice (16.7-50%, n=12). These data suggest a new potential drug target for human C. difficile treatment and indicate the first link between IL-23 and disease severity during murine infection.

First Clinical Cases of OXA-48 Producing Carbapenem Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in the United States: the “menace” arrives in the New World.

Amy J. Mathers, Kevin C. Hazen, Joanne Carroll, Anthony J. Yeh, Heather L. Cox, Robert A. Bonomo, Costi D. Sifri.    Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 2013 Feb;51(2):680-3.

Summary: OXA-48 has emerged as a major carbapenemase associated with the Enterobacteriaceae in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. We report the first two clinical cases of OXA-48-type carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the United States from patients recently hospitalized in Saudi Arabia and India. Each is more carbapenem resistant than nearly all previously reported OXA-48-type-producing Enterobacteriaceae.