45 documents found, page 1 of 5
Surveying genetic markers of antibiotic resistance and genomic background in Ch...
Lodhia, Zohra; da Silva, Jorge Costa; Correia, Cristina; Cordeiro, Dora; João, Inês; Carreira, Teresa; Schäfer, Sandra; Aliyeva, Elzara; Portugal, ClaraObjectives: To survey genetic markers of potential antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to macrolides and fluoroquinolones among Chlamydia trachomatis–positive samples from the collection of the Portuguese National Reference Laboratory for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and explore a multiplex PCR approach coupled with NGS to provide complementary information regarding a strain’s genomic backbone. Methods: A...
Probe-based metagenomic pathogen detection: advancing laboratory capacity for c...
Ferreira, Rita; Coelho, Luís; Santos, João Dourado; Sobral, Daniel; Isidro, Joana; Mixão, Verónica; Pinto, Miguel; Nunes, Alexandra; Borrego, Maria JoséProbe-based pathogen enrichment, followed by NGS, is a promising tool for complex diagnosis, overcoming traditional challenges of shotgun metagenomics, namely small microbial/human genetic material ratio and demanding computational resources. Here, we assessed the combined detection performance of two Illumina probe-based panels, the Respiratory and the Urinary Pathogen ID panels (RPIP and UPIP), using 99 clini...
Preclinical assessment of an antibiotic-free cationic surfactant-based cellulos...
Calado, Rita D.A.; Mendes, Bárbara B.; Conniot, João; Ravasco, João M.J.M.; Sobral, Daniel; Ferreira, Carolina; Ferreira, Rita; Rodrigues, João CarlosSexually transmitted infections and urogenital-perinatal infections are significant health challenges owing to their asymptomatic nature, multidrug-resistant pathogens, and lack of effective vaccines. Surfactants are under investigation as potential antimicrobial agents and alternatives to traditional antibiotics. Here, we discovered that N-dodecylpyridinium bromide (C12PB), a cationic quaternary ammonium surfa...
Strengthening the genomic surveillance of Francisella tularensis by using cultu...
Isidro, Joana; Escudero, Raquel; Luque-Larena, Juan José; Pinto, Miguel; Borges, Vítor; González-Martín-Niño, Rosa; Duarte, Sílvia; Vieira, LuísIntroduction: Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious bacterium that causes the zoonotic disease tularemia. The development of genotyping methods, especially those based on whole-genome sequencing (WGS), has recently increased the knowledge on the epidemiology of this disease. However, due to the difficulties associated with the growth and isolation of this fastidious pathogen in culture, the availability...
Epidemiology and genetic diversity of invasive Neisseria meningitidis strains c...
Bettencourt, Célia; Nunes, Alexandra; Nogueira, Paulo; Duarte, Sílvia; Silva, Catarina; Gomes, João Paulo; Simões, Maria JoãoInvasive meningococcal disease (IMD) continues to be a public health problem due to its epidemic potential, affecting mostly children. We aimed to present a detailed description of the epidemiology of IMD in Portugal, including insights into the genetic diversity of Neisseria meningitidis strains. Epidemiological analysis included data from the Portuguese National Reference Laboratory of Neisseria meningitidis ...
Genome-Scale Characterization of Mycobacterium abscessus Complex Isolates from ...
Carneiro, Sofia; Pinto, Miguel; Silva, Sónia; Santos, Andrea; Rodrigues, Irene; Santos, Daniela; Duarte, Sílvia; Vieira, Luís; Gomes, João PauloThe Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) is an emerging, difficult to treat, multidrug-resistant nontuberculous mycobacteria responsible for a wide spectrum of infections and associated with an increasing number of cases worldwide. Dominant circulating clones (DCCs) of MABC have been genetically identified as groups of strains associated with higher prevalence, higher levels of antimicrobial resistance, and w...
Comparative Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing Infections and Dis...
Kislaya, Irina; Casaca, Pedro; Borges, Vítor; Sousa, Carlos; Ferreira, Bibiana I.; Fonte, Ana; Fernandes, Eugénia; Dias, Carlos Matias; Duarte, SílviaWe estimated comparative primary and booster vaccine effectiveness (VE) of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 and BA.2 lineages against infection and disease progression. During April-June 2022, we implemented a case-case and cohort study and classified lineages using whole-genome sequencing or spike gene target failure. For the case-case study, we estimated the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of vaccination using a logistic ...
Molecular Capture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Genomes Directly from Clinical ...
Macedo, Rita; Isidro, Joana; Ferreira, Rita; Pinto, Miguel; Borges, Vítor; Duarte, Sílvia; Vieira, Luís; Gomes, João PauloThe application of whole genome sequencing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis directly on clinical samples has been investigated as a means to avoid the time-consuming need for culture isolation that can lead to a potential prolonged suboptimal antibiotic treatment. We aimed to provide a proof-of-concept regarding the application of the molecular capture of M. tuberculosis genomes directly from positive sputum sampl...
Candida auris in Intensive Care Setting: The First Case Reported in Portugal
Henriques, João; Mixão, Verónica; Cabrita, Joana; Duarte, Tiago Isidoro; Sequeira, Tânia; Cardoso, Sofia; Germano, Nuno; Dias, Liliana; Bento, LuísCandida auris is an opportunistic human pathogen that has rapidly spread to multiple countries and continents and has been associated with a high number of nosocomial outbreaks. Herein, we report the first case of C. auris in Portugal, which was associated with a patient transferred from Angola to an ICU in Portugal for liver transplantation after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. C. auris was isolated during the course ...
Candida auris in intensive care setting: the first case reported in Portugal
Henriques, João; Mixão, Verónica; Cabrita, Joana; Duarte, Tiago Isidoro; Sequeira, Tânia; Cardoso, Sofia; Germano, Nuno; Dias, Liliana; Bento, LuísCandida auris is an opportunistic human pathogen that has rapidly spread to multiple countries and continents and has been associated with a high number of nosocomial outbreaks. Herein, we report the first case of C. auris in Portugal, which was associated with a patient transferred from Angola to an ICU in Portugal for liver transplantation after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. C. auris was isolated during the course ...