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SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus responsible for a December 2019 outbreak in Wuhan, China, causes a syndrome characterized by fever, cough, and dyspnea progressing to acute respiratory distress syndrome (1).…

This report presents a case of endocarditis due to Haemophilus segnis, which represents a speciation difficulty for the routine laboratory. In this study, a molecular approach provided speciation, which was confirmed phenotypically by a reference laboratory. The use of molecular genotypic analysis is an additional strategy in the investigation of endocarditis. It has applications not only in isolate identification but also in primary detection of infection, particularly in patients whose blood is culture negative by conventional methodologies.

17As the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic evolves, the development of 18 immunoassays to help determine exposure and potentially predict immunity has 19 become a pressing priority. In this report we present the performance of the 20 EUROIMMUN enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for semi-quantitative 21 detection of IgA and IgG antibodies in serum and plasma samples using recombinant 22 S1 domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as antigen. Specimens from patients, with 23 and without COVID-19 infection, were tested at the University of Chicago Clinical 24 Microbiology and Immunology Laboratory. Of 57 samples from COVID-19 PCR-25 negative patients, including 28 samples positive for common human coronavirus strains, 26 53 tested negative and 4 tested positive for IgA (93.0% agreement) while 56 tested 27 negative and 1 tested positive for IgG (98.2% agreement). For COVID-19 PCR-positive 28 patients, 29 of 30 (96.7%) samples collected ≥3 days after positive PCR were positive 29for IgA, and 28 of 28 samples collected ≥4 days after positive PCR were positive for 30 IgG. 31The EUROIMMUN Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA Assay demonstrates excellent sensitivity 32 for detection of IgA and IgG antibodies from samples collected ≥3 days and ≥4 days, 33 respectively, after COVID-19 diagnosis by PCR. This assay did not demonstrate cross 34 reaction in any of the 28 samples from patients with common human coronaviruses, 35 including types HKU1, NL63, CV229E, and OC43.

Progression of chronic liver diseases is precipitated by hepatocyte loss, inflammation and fibrosis. This process results in the loss of critical hepatic functions, increasing morbidity and the risk of infection. Medical interventions that treat complications of hepatic failure, including antibiotic administration for systemic infections, impact gut microbiome composition and metabolite production. Using a multi-omics approach on 850 fecal samples from 263 patients with acute or chronic liver disease, we demonstrate that patients hospitalized for liver disease have reduced microbiome diversity and a paucity of bioactive metabolites. We find that patients treated with the orally administered but non-absorbable disaccharide lactulose have increased densities of intestinal Bifidobacteria and reduced incidence of systemic infections and mortality. Bifidobacteria metabolize lactulose, produce high concentrations of acetate and acidify the gut lumen, which, in combination, can reduce the growth of antibiotic-resistant pathobionts such as Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. Our studies suggest that lactulose and Bifidobacteria serve as a synbiotic to reduce rates of infection in patients with severe liver disease.