Andrew Bruce Onderdonk

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), indirect immunofluorescent-antibody assay (IFA), and Western immunoblot were used to test serum samples from 128 dogs for the presence of antibody to Borrelia burgdorferi. Sera included 72 samples from dogs suspected of having Lyme disease, 32 samples from dogs residing in areas in which Lyme disease was not considered endemic, and 24 samples from dogs with clinical and serologic evidence of immune-mediated disease (n = 10), Rocky Mountain ...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the adequacy of discharge room cleaning and the impact of a cleaning intervention on the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) on environmental surfaces in intensive care unit (ICU) rooms.

DESIGN: Prospective environmental study.

SETTING AND SAMPLE: Convenience sample of ICU rooms in an academic hospital. METHODS AND INTERVENTION: The intervention consisted of (1) a change from the use of pour ...

The rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection continues to rise in many health care settings. Rapid detection of MRSA colonization followed by appropriate isolation can reduce transmission and infection. We compared the performance of the new Roche LightCycler MRSA advanced test to that of the BD GeneOhm MRSA test and culture. Double-headed swabs were used to collect anterior nasal specimens from each subject. For both tests, DNA was extracted and real-time PCR ...

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurological and developmental disorder characterized by behavioral and social impairments as well as multiple co-occurring conditions, such as gastrointestinal abnormalities, dental/periodontal diseases, and allergies. The etiology of ASD likely involves interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Recent studies suggest that oral and gut microbiome play important roles in the pathogenesis of inflammation, immune dysfunction, and ...

Bacteroides fragilis is the anaerobe most commonly isolated from clinical cases of intra-abdominal sepsis. In a rodent model of this disease process, intraperitoneal injection of the capsular polysaccharide complex (CPC) from B. fragilis provokes abscess formation, while subcutaneous administration of this complex confers protection against B. fragilis-induced intra-abdominal abscesses. The CPC consists of two discrete polysaccharides, polysaccharides A and B (PS A and PS B), each ...

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are an urgent public health concern. Rapid identification of the resistance genes, their mobilization capacity, and strains carrying them is essential to direct hospital resources to prevent spread and improve patient outcomes. Whole-genome sequencing allows refined tracking of both chromosomal traits and associated mobile genetic elements that harbor resistance genes. To enhance surveillance of CREs, clinical isolates with phenotypic ...

Epidemiologists have grouped the multiple disorders that lead to preterm delivery before the 28th week of gestation in a variety of ways. The authors sought to identify characteristics that would help guide how to classify disorders that lead to such preterm delivery. They enrolled 1,006 women who delivered a liveborn singleton infant of less than 28 weeks' gestation at 14 centers in the United States between 2002 and 2004. Each delivery was classified by presentation: preterm labor ...

BACKGROUND: Wound infection is a common complication in diabetic patients. The progressive spread of infections and development of drug-resistant strains underline the need for further insights into bacterial behavior in the host in order to develop new therapeutic strategies. The aim of our study was to develop a large animal model suitable for monitoring the development and effect of bacterial infections in diabetic wounds.

METHODS: Fourteen excisional wounds were created on the dorsum ...

Six strains of Prevotella bivia and 4 of Gardnerella vaginalis were examined for nutrient substrate utilization as part of ongoing studies on the pathogenesis of bacterial vaginosis. Addition of single amino acids to vaginal defined medium (VDM) was stimulatory to the growth of P. bivia but not to G. vaginalis. However, peptides significantly promoted the growth of both organisms. Growth of P. bivia in VDM and VDM supplemented with either amino acids or peptone was accompanied by net ...

Menstrual toxic shock syndrome (mTSS) is thought to be associated with colonization with toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1)-producing Staphylococcus aureus in women with insufficient antibody titers. mTSS has been associated with menstruation and tampon use, and although it is rare, the effects can be life threatening. It remains of interest because of the widespread use of tampons, reported to be about 70% of women in the United States, Canada, and much of Western Europe. This ...

The accumulation of certain species of bacteria in the intestine is involved in both tissue homeostasis and immune-mediated pathologies. The host mechanisms involved in controlling intestinal colonization with commensal bacteria are poorly understood. We observed that under specific pathogen-free or germ-free conditions, intragastric administration of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, or Lactobacillus gasseri resulted in increased colonization of the small intestine ...

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a prevalent multifactorial disease of women in their reproductive years characterized by a shift from the Lactobacillus species-dominated microbial community toward a taxonomically diverse anaerobic community. For unknown reasons, some women do not respond to therapy. In our recent clinical study, among 37 women diagnosed with BV, 31 were successfully treated with metronidazole, while 6 still had BV after treatment. To discover possible reasons for the lack of ...

Macrolide (including erythromycin and azithromycin) and lincosamide (including clindamycin) antibiotics are recommended for treatment of penicillin-allergic patients with Streptococcus pyogenes pharyngitis. Resistance to erythromycin in S. pyogenes can be as high as 48% in specific populations in the United States. Macrolide and lincosamide resistance in S. pyogenes is mediated by several different genes. Expression of the erm(A) or erm(B) genes causes resistance to erythromycin and ...

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that the presence of bacteria and/or histologic inflammation in the placenta of infants born preterm is associated with an increased risk for severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study. Exploratory and multivariable data analyses were used, including logistic regression models with interaction terms. Main outcomes were four definitions of severe ROP: stage 3 or higher, any ROP in zone I, prethreshold/threshold, ...