Rhinoviruses Cause Severe Disease in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Among premature infants in Buenos Aires, rhinoviruses were the most common cause of all acute respiratory infections, of bronchiolitis, and of hospitalization for such illnesses.

An uncommon approach involving six bottles drawn during a single venipuncture, together with pathogen-specific interpretation, showed high positive predictive values for major pathogens.

When bloodstream infections are suspected, the diagnostic work-up usually includes two or three pairs of blood cultures, using samples from two or three separate blood draws. However, recent studies have suggested that similar results can be obtained by drawing all bottles at the same time through a single venipuncture. To assess this strategy, investigators in France retrospectively evaluated blood culture diagnostics results from 2007 and 2008 at their institution, where blood culture sets are routinely drawn six bottles (3 aerobic, 3 anaerobic) at a time, after thorough skin disinfection with alcohol and chlorhexidine.

Maternal Toxoplasmosis Often Acquired from Environmental Cat Exposure

Seventy-eight percent of women who delivered infants with congenital toxoplasmosis had acquired infection acutely through cats; only half of them noted having any major cat-associated risk factors.

Pilus Involvement in Streptococcus gallolyticus Infective Endocarditis

In vitro and animal model experiments identified a pilus that functions as a virulence factor.