MRSA Infection

MLVF with new primer sets for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Microfluidic chip-based Multiple-Locus Variable-Number Tandem Repeat Fingerprinting (MLVF) with new primer sets for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus..

MLVF is the cheapest, fastest and easiest to perform. MLVF applied to microfluidic polymer chips is a rapid, cheap, reproducible and highly discriminating tool to determine the clonality of MRSA isolates, and to trace the spread of MRSA strains over periods of many years. Although spa typing should be used due to its portability of data, MLVF has a high added-value because it is more discriminatory.

Molecular Detection Inc. Launches Improved Version of Detect-Ready® MRSA Panel

Molecular Detection Inc. Launches Improved Version of Detect-Ready® MRSA Panel... -- LONDON and WAYNE, Pa., March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --.

Molecular Detection Inc. (MDI), a company developing Detect-Ready® tests designed to increase the speed and accuracy of infectious disease diagnosis, today announced it will release a new version of its Detect-Ready MRSA Panel at the 22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). The superior performance of the Detect-Ready MRSA Panel has been further enhanced by increasing the number of MRSA strains it can detect, adding MRSA strains known to be missed by at least one other market-leading assay to the universe of all known common MRSA strains that were already included. The new kit also shortens the sample preparation process and minimizes required "hands-on" time.

Tiny electrical sensors could signal faster MRSA diagnosis

Tiny electrical sensors could signal faster MRSA diagnosis.

A simple test to identify MRSA in wounds could identify the superbug quickly and help prevent infection from spreading. Scientists have developed the test to show whether wounds or lesions are infected with bacteria and if MRSA is present.  The test, developed at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with NHS Lothian, works by taking swabs from a wound or sores. These are then analysed using a strip with electrical sensors that can detect MRSA.  Improving the strip's sensitivity would enable scientists to develop a test that could be used outside the laboratory, for example in GP practices or people's homes.

Biosensors illuminate germs in new test that detects MRSA, C. diff more quickly

Biosensors illuminate germs in new test that detects MRSA, C. diff more quickly.

A clinical-stage diagnostics company using biosensors to develop tests that could cheaply and rapidly detect infectious diseases has raised $1.5 million. Using genetically engineered B cells — a type of white blood cell that binds to and recognizes pathogens in fluid samples — Innovative Biosensors Inc. has created a system it hopes will improve the speed and sensitivity of bioagent identification. Once the B cells bind to pathogens of interest, they emit photons that are detected by a luminometer. Current methods for detecting and diagnosing drug-resistant tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections and hospital-acquired infections like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and C. difficile are laborious and time consuming, the company says, and advances in genomics and proteomics have resulted in more complex diagnostic tools that come with a higher cost.

Biosensors illuminate germs in new test that detects MRSA, C. diff more quickly

Biosensors illuminate germs in new test that detects MRSA, C. diff more quickly.

A clinical-stage diagnostics company using biosensors to develop tests that could cheaply and rapidly detect infectious and cardiac diseases has raised $1.5 million. Using genetically engineered B cells — a type of white blood cell that binds to and recognizes pathogens in fluid samples — Innovative Biosensors Inc. has created a system it hopes will improve the speed and sensitivity of bioagent identification. Current methods for detecting and diagnosing drug-resistant tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections and hospital-acquired infections like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and C. difficile are laborious and time consuming, the company says, and advances in genomics and proteomics have resulted in more complex diagnostic tools that come with a higher cost.

Stop MRSA - International MRSA Testing Week, April 1-7

Stop MRSA - International MRSA Testing Week, April 1-7 - MarketWatch.

MRSA Survivors Network, a global leader in raising awareness for the MRSA epidemic launches International MRSA Testing Week, April 1-7th with the support of their alliance partner MRSA Action UK. International MRSA Testing Week is an annual designated observance for active detection (screening) for MRSA colonization of high risk patients upon admission to a healthcare facility. The global awareness week draws attention for the urgent need also for healthcare and community facilities to clean and decontaminate the environment and to increase surveillance and testing for MRSA in livestock worldwide.

3M suing for defamation over BacLite case

Courthouse News Service.

Former special counsel to President Bill Clinton cannot rely on D.C.'s Anti-SLAPP Act to challenge defamation claims from 3M, a Fortune Top 100 company, a federal judge ruled.

U.K. Court Upholds $1.3 Million Damages Ruling Against 3M in MRSA Case

U.K. Court Upholds $1.3 Million Damages Ruling Against 3M in MRSA Case - Bloomberg.

A U.K. judge upheld a decision that 3M Co., the maker of Post-It Notes, should pay $1.3 million to investors after it decided not to market BacLite, a product that detects hospital super-bug MRSA, the company said. Porton Capital Ltd. and Ploughshare Innovations Ltd., a civilian unit of the U.K. Ministry of Defence, sued 3M over a 2007 deal that depended on sales of the product, claiming about $40 million in damages. While a London judge ruled in November 3M had breached its obligations, he rejected the estimate of damages as optimistic. The High Court today confirmed that decision, 3M said. “The court’s final order underscores a decisive victory for our company and the positions it took relative to this technology,” said Maureen Harms, 3M’s assistant general counsel. Because the ruling of $1.3 million was less than what 3M had offered to settle the case, Porton and Ploughshare will have to pay some of the legal fees from the dispute, 3M said.

MRSA Fast Test Recalled

Controversies in Hospital Infection Prevention: The long road to fast and accurate resistance detection.

Even MRSA, a bug with a relatively simple resistance mechanism (simple relative to, say, MDR Acinetobacter), is proving to be a tough nut to crack. Remember this post of mine, about Cepheid’s recall of their Xpert SA/MRSA blood culture assay? Well, another “valued customer” notice went out last week, informing users that this product requires “additional test optimization” and “clinical re-validation”—so it will be unavailable until at least the end of 2012. Labs and hospitals that have come to rely on this test to improve their antimicrobial management of S. aureus bacteremia will now have to find another approach.

Nanosphere Obtains CE Mark for Gram-Positive Blood Culture Test

Nanosphere Obtains CE Mark for Gram-Positive Blood Culture Test - MarketWatch.

The BC-GP test expands Nanosphere's infectious disease test capabilities to include the rapid detection of bacteria that can cause deadly bloodstream infections. In a single automated test, the Verigene BC-GP test provides genus and species level detection for a broad panel of the most clinically significant gram-positive bacteria. The BC-GP test also detects several crucial markers for antibiotic resistance, including the mecA, vanA, and vanB genes. These genes can dangerously complicate the management of bloodstream infections by conferring resistance to the antibiotics methicillin/oxacillin and vancomycin.

MRSA/C Diff Test Market Worth $140+

GEN | Magazine Articles: Infectious Disease Molecular Diagnostics.

Among these, the two tests for diagnosing nosocomial infections, or healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs)—C. Diff and MRSA—have witnessed the greatest level of adoption. With direct medical costs attributable to HAI totaling as much as $34 billion in the U.S., molecular diagnostic-based screens are proving to be necessary for risk mitigation. By promoting infection prevention and control, U.S.-based molecular diagnostic testing for C. Diff and MRSA generated $140 million in 2010.

Both Sides Proclaim Victory re $1.3M Award Against 3M in MRSA Test Case

Both Sides Proclaim Victory re $1.3M Award Against 3M in MRSA Test Case - News - ABA Journal.

Both sides proclaimed victory today after a British judge ordered 3M Corp. to pay $1.3 million for failing to fulfill a promise to market a test for MRSA, a dangerous bacteria in hospitals. The award to the Porton Group and its partners was far less than the $40 million they had sought in the breach of contract case, the New York Times reports. The Blog of Legal Times provides a a link to today's opinion (PDF). Meanwhile, 3M is planning to proceed with a case against the chief executive of the Porton Group and a well-known Washington, D.C., lobbyist and attorney, Lanny J. Davis, alleging that they conspired to blackmail 3M. Both deny the allegations in the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

UK Government Wins Damages From 3M Over Superbug Test

UK Government Wins Damages From 3M Over Superbug Test | Fox Business.

The British government Monday won its court case against U.S. conglomerate 3M Co. (MMM) for failing to commercialize a product for detecting a life-threatening staph infection found in hospitals. Ploughshare Innovations, owned by the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence, and Porton Capital, a group of private investors, were awarded the damages at the High Court in London as the joint investors in Acolyte, a company they sold to 3M in 2007. The U.S. company will have to pay damages totaling $1.3 million, substantially less than then GBP41 million that Porton and Ploughshare had originally sought.

Clinical Impact of a Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for Rapid Identification of Staphylococcal Bacteremia

Clinical Impact of a Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for Rapid Identification of Staphylococcal Bacteremia.

Results. Sixty-eight and 58 patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia from the pre- and post-PCR periods, respectively, met inclusion criteria. Similar numbers of consecutive patients with coagulase-negative staphylococci were analyzed for comparison. Time to identification was significantly reduced post-PCR implementation (mean, 13.2 hrs; 95% CI 10.5-15.9 hrs; p <0.0001). However, time to optimal antibiotic therapy was not significantly reduced. Conclusion. Implementation of a PCR assay demonstrated the potential to improve appropriate antibiotic use based on clinically meaningful and statistically significant reductions in time to microbiologic identification. However, in order to realize this potential benefit, processes must be optimized and additional interventions initiated in order to facilitate providers' use of the PCR result.

GeneXpert MRSA/SA Blood Culture Assay in a Pediatric Setting

Validation and Implementation of the GeneXpert MRSA/SA Blood Culture Assay in a Pediatric Setting.

Blood cultures positive for gram-positive cocci in clusters can pose a dilemma for empiric antimicrobial therapy because they could represent coagulase-negative staphylococcus or Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. The GeneXpert MRSA/SA BC Assay (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA) is a polymerase chain reaction–based method for identifying S aureus and methicillin resistance that has been approved for use in adults, but data on its use in samples from pediatric patients is limited. We validated the Xpert MRSA/SA BC Assay for use with anaerobic and polymicrobial specimens from pediatric patients and implemented it for routine presumptive identification of S aureus in our pediatric hospital. The assay was 100% sensitive and specific for methicillin-resistant S aureus and 100% sensitive and 99.5% specific for methicillin-susceptible S aureus. Time to presumptive identification of S aureus bacteremia and determination of methicillin susceptibility was reduced by more than 24 hours. We found the Xpert MRSA/SA BC Assay to be a rapid, accurate tool for detecting methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible S aureus in positive pediatric blood cultures, including polymicrobial cultures and those recovered in anaerobic blood culture media.

MRSA Endocarditis - BD GeneOhm StaphSR Assay Tested

The Detection and Differentiation of Methicillin-Resistant and Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Endocarditis by Using the BD GeneOhm StaphSR Assay.

We use the BD GeneOhm StaphSR Assay (BD Diagnostics, Oakville, Canada) to screen for Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization and sought to evaluate this assay for the assessment of valve specimens from patients with endocarditis. We examined 23 paired fresh and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded cardiac valve tissue samples, 12 of which had S aureus endocarditis, using the BD GeneOhm StaphSR Assay for the detection and differentiation of methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant S aureus. This assay appropriately characterized all specimens with respect to the presence or absence of S aureus. There was an 87.5% correlation between the presence or absence of the mecA gene and the oxacillin susceptibility results for the S aureus isolates studied. The GeneOhm StaphSR assay accurately detected S aureus in cardiac valve tissue samples. Rare discordances were observed between oxacillin susceptibility status and mecA gene detection by this assay.

Surgeons Develop a Faster, Less Expensive Technique to Identify MRSA types

Surgeons Develop a Faster, Less Expensive Technique to Identify Bacterial Infections and Determine Antibiotic Resistance.

Surgeons at Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University in Detroit are developing a faster, less expensive method of identifying bacterial infections and determining their antibiotic resistance. Surgeons used a technology known as Raman spectroscopy to look at the bacteria’s infrared wavelengths and pinpoint unique patterns of molecular vibration in blood samples inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria that causes Staph infections.  Raman spectroscopy enabled the researchers to distinguish the methicillin, sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) from methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) with 90.2 percent accuracy. They also could tell the difference between MRSA and its more stubborn form, RVS-MRSA, with 96.3 percent accuracy.

Raman spectroscopy finds hard to identify MRSA Strains - quickly

The use of Raman spectroscopy in the epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus of human- and animal-related clonal lineages - Wulf - 2011 - Clinical Microbiology and Infection - Wiley Online Library.

In order to perform a cost-effective search and destroy policy for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a quick and reliable typing method is essential. In an area with a high level of animal-related MRSA ST398, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing and spa-typing are not sufficient to discriminate between co-incidental findings and true transmission of MRSA. This study is the first to retrospectively show the performance of Raman spectroscopy in 16 well-documented outbreaks. We analysed 525 isolates, 286 MRSA ST398 and 239 from other PFGE clusters with Raman spectroscopy. When epidemiologically linked isolates from the outbreaks were analysed with PFGE as the reference standard, Raman spectroscopy correctly identified 97% of cases that were indistinguishable from the index case. With Raman cluster analysis, the most dominant distinction was between MRSA ST398 and other MRSA of human clonal lineages. Within MRSA ST398, 22 different Raman clusters were identified. Raman typing correctly identified an ST398 (spa type t567) outbreak in a hospital setting. No direct correlation was observed between Raman clusters and spa types. We conclude that Raman spectroscopy is a quick and reliable method of MRSA typing, which can be used in outbreak settings and it is comparable to PFGE, with the added advantage that PFGE non-typeable isolates can also be readily typed using the same sample preparation protocol.

3M renews legal battle on MRSA Test

3M renews legal battle on superbug test | StarTribune.com.

3M Co. has refiled a lawsuit against a variety of interests associated with its controversial 2007 acquisition of a firm that developed a test to detect potentially deadly superbugs in hospitals. The deal soured so badly that the complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is the fourth lawsuit in an international legal tussle involving high-stakes players such as 3M CEO Sir George Buckley, the British minister of defense and a former special counsel to President Bill Clinton. The federal lawsuit filed by Maplewood-based 3M contains allegations of defamation, conspiracy and blackmail against private investors called Porton Capital Inc. who were involved in developing the test, called BacLite. The suit also names Harvey Boulter, CEO of Porton, and Lanny J. Davis, a high-profile Washington public relations executive and lawyer who once represented Clinton.

Rapid Identification of MRSA & MSSA

Rapid Identification of Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin Resistance by Flow Cytometry Using a Peptide Nucleic Acid Probe -- Shrestha et al. 49 (9): 3383 -- Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

A total of 56 Staphylococcus aureus isolates incubated for 2 h in the presence or absence of oxacillin were analyzed by flow cytometry after labeling with an S. aureus-specific peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe. Two defined ratios, the paired signal count ratio (PSCR) and the gate signal count ratio (GSCR), differentiated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) with sensitivities of 100% each and specificities of 96% and 100%, respectively.