Background: The T.E.S.T. program determined the in vitro activity against methicillinresistant S. aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp. of TIG and 10 antimicrobials commonly prescribed for serious grampositive infections: amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (AUG), piperacillin-tazobactam (PT), levofloxacin (LVX), ceftriaxone (CAX), linezolid (LZD), minocycline (MIN), vancomycin (VAN), ampicillin (AMP), penicillin (P), and meropenem (MER). Study strains were collected from 697 laboratories in 55 countries globally throughout 2004-2009.Methods: A total of 27,846 clinical isolates (10,806 enterococci, 17,040 S. aureus) were identified to the species level at each participating site and confirmed by a central laboratory. Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) were determined by the local laboratory using broth microdilution panels. Antimicrobial resistance was interpreted according to CLSI breakpoints with TIG susceptible breakpoints defined as <0.5 mcg/ml for S. aureus and <0.25 mcg/ml for enterococci.Results: 12.8% (1,381/10,806) of enterococci were resistant to vancomycin (VRE), and 42.1% (7,174/17,040) of S. aureus were resistant to oxacillin (MRSA). Among the vancomycin resistant E. faecium (VREF), % resistant rates to other study drugs were LVX 99.

A rare form of extragenital gonococcal infection was recorded after accidental exposure in laboratory during the identification of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Three days after needlestick injury, on the left index finger of exposed technician very painful abscess developed. Beside local symptoms presented on the finger, fever or any other signs or symptoms of infection have not been observed. Oral antibiotic therapy with azithromycin was administered, and upon appearance of pus in the center of erythematous area surgical incision was performed. After incision the abscess was healed.

Background Self-sampling has been shown to be a non-invasive and cost-effective method for the diagnosis and screening of sexually transmitted infections (STI). This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of detection of HPV and other STI on self-collected vaginal samples as compared to clinician-collected cervical samples in women with a recent diagnosis of cervical dysplasia. Methods Self-collected vaginal (VS) and physician-administered cervical samples (CS) were collected from 130 women attending the Colposcopy Clinic, San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy with a diagnosis of cervical dysplasia. VS and CS were collected using FLOQSwabs and L-Shaped FLOQSwab (Copan) respectively and transported to the Microbiology Laboratory of the University of Milano-Bicocca. Samples' nucleic acid extraction was performed using NucliSENS ® easyMAG (bio-Mérieux). HPV and STIs detection was evaluated using Anyplex II HPV28 and STI-7 (Seegene), respectively. Sample cellularity adequacy through human CCR5 gene assessment was performed using an 'in house' Real-time PCR assay. Results Demonstrated a very good overall concordance for HPV and STI detection on self and clinician-collected samples (gold standard). Very good agreement for the detection of one or more HPV types was demonstrated (Kappa = 0.915) with HPV positivity rates of 75% and 72% for VS and CS respectively. Similarly very good agreement was demonstrated for the detection of one or more of the 7 STIs understudy (Kappa = 0.899). Overall a higher positivity for STIs was found in VS (48%) compared to CS (43%), with Ureaplasma parvum being most frequently detected. Adequate sample cellularity was demonstrated for all samples types; mean values of 2.07E+06 and 3.16E+06 cells/sample for VS and CS respectively. Conclusion Self-collected samples showed a high degree of concordance with CS for both HPV and STIs detection with comparable sample adequacy. These results are promising for the introduction of self-collected samples in sexually transmitted and cervical cancer screening programs. Disclosure No significant relationships.