A multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction procedure was developed to identify the most prevalent clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica. Genes from the rfb , fliC , fljB , and viaB groups that encode the O , H , and Vi antigens were used to design 15 primer pairs and TaqMan probes specific for the genes rfbJ , wzx , fliC , fljB , wcdB , the sdf-l sequence , and invA, which was used as an internal amplification control. The primers and probes were variously combined into six sets. The first round of reactions used two of these sets to detect Salmonella O:4 , O:9 , O:7 , O:8 , and O:3 ,10 serogroups. Once the serogroups were identified , the results of a second round of reactions that used primers and probes for the flagellar antigen l genes , 1 ,2; e ,h; g ,m; d; e ,n ,x; and z 10 , and the Vi gene were used to identify individual serovars. The procedure was standardized using 18 Salmonella reference strains and other enterobacteria. The procedure's reliability and sensitivity was evaluated using 267 randomly chosen serotyped Salmonella clinical isolates. The procedure had a sensitivity of 95.5% and was 100% specific. Thus , our technique is a quick , sensitive, reliable , and specific means of identifying S. enterica serovars and can be used in conjunction with traditional serotyping. Other primer and probe combinations could be used to increase the number of identifiable serovars. (J Mol Diagn 2010, 12:220 -225;

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Purpose To evaluate the characteristics and racial variations amongst patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in the United States and the United Kingdom.MethodsFundus photos and indocyanine green angiography images were evaluated in a multicenter retrospective study to establish the diagnosis of PCV. Visual acuity (VA) was recorded in ETDRS letter count.ResultsEighty eyes of 71 PCV patients (average age of 69.4 ± 10.4 years) were included in the analysis. Of the total 71 subjects, 46 (65%) were women, 33 (46.5%) were Blacks, 16 (22.5%) were Whites, 19 (26.8%) were Asians and 3 (4.2%) belonged to other races. The Black subgroup had vision gain of 3.5 letters. The White and Asian subgroups had vision loss of 13.1 and 3.5 letters, respectively. There was female predominance in Blacks (67%), Whites (69%), and Asians (58%). PCV was found to be a bilateral disease in 14 patients (20%). There was significant decrease of 7 letters with every decade increase in age (p = 0.005). Final VA was worse in males when compared to females (p = 0.042), and worse in Whites when compared to Blacks (p = 0.005). For every 10 letters worse in initial VA upon diagnosis with PCV, the final VA was worse by 6 letters (p < 0.001). The location of the polypoidal lesion within the macula was associated with significant decrease of 14 letters in BCVA (p = 0.02). The length of follow up was significantly associated with worse visual outcome (p = 0.012). Final VA had no significant correlation with the lens status, or the different treatment modalities.ConclusionsBased on our cohort from tertiary centers in the United States and United Kingdom, PCV is a bilateral disease in one-fifth of patients. It features a variable female predominance based on ethnicity. Increased age, worse vision upon initial presentation, longer follow up and macular location of the polyp were associated with worse visual outcome.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40942-017-0060-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

In May 1998 the Ministry of Health of Colombia started a universal vaccination campaign against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) for children under one year of age. The impact of this intervention on the incidence of acute bacterial meningitis was assessed in 1999, using data from the laboratory-based surveillance system coordinated since 1994 by the Microbiology Group of the Colombian National Institute of Health. The analysis compared the annual number of cases of Hib meningitis in children under one year of age diagnosed through the surveillance system before the vaccine was introduced with the number of cases reported during the first year after the vaccine's introduction. The expected number of cases, given the average annual number of cases diagnosed between June 1994 and June 1998, was compared with the number of cases observed after the vaccination program was introduced, from June 1998 through May 1999. To control for the quality of the surveillance system, a similar analysis was done for cases of meningitis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae. The analysis was restricted to those departments of Colombia that had consistently participated in the surveillance system. For the years 1994 through 1998 the numbers of confirmed cases of Hib meningitis were, respectively, 45, 37, 61, 64, and 31. In the period after the vaccine's introduction 31 cases were observed, as compared to the 52 expected (P < 0.001). During the same annual periods there were 32, 26, 43, 48, and 42 confirmed cases of meningitis from S. pneumoniae in children less than 5 years old, showing no significant reduction in the expected number of those cases. The 40% decrease noted in Hib meningitis cases was not attributable to changes in the surveillance system and was due mainly to the effects of the vaccination program.