Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 2010
The main aim of our study was to determine the added value of real-time polymerase chain reaction... more The main aim of our study was to determine the added value of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of Histoplasma capsulatum in routine biologic practice. No amplification signal was observed with the 18 non-H. capsulatum strains used to test the specificity of the protocol. The sensitivity threshold of the real-time PCR assay was about 10 fg of H. capsulatum DNA per microliter, tested with a 10-fold serial dilution of the positive control. We analyzed 348 human samples submitted for the routine diagnosis of systemic mycosis. Real-time PCR using the TaqMan system was evaluated against direct microscopic examination and culture. Among the 341 samples without PCR inhibition (n = 7), 66 tested positive by culture, whereas 74 tested positive by real-time PCR. Sensitivity of the real-time PCR assay was estimated at 95.4% and specificity at 96.0% with respect to culture, widely considered to be the gold standard method; however, the molecular approach in fact produced better sensitivity and specificity results. Moreover, for the 38 samples that tested negative by direct examination but positive by culture, the culture method took a mean of 31 days longer than the PCR method to generate results. The protocol presented here may be very useful for improving routine histoplasmosis diagnosis.
Résumés des posters / Médecine des maladies infectieuses 39 (2009) S64-S67 839/mm 3 et une thromb... more Résumés des posters / Médecine des maladies infectieuses 39 (2009) S64-S67 839/mm 3 et une thrombopénie à 117 000/mm 3 . La CRP est à 37 mg/l. Le frottis sanguin met en évidence un Plasmodium ovale, avec une parasitémie à 0,001 %. Le diagnostic d'espèce est confirmé par biologie moléculaire, sans biparasitisme. Traitement par quinine IV car vomissements. Après 6 jours de traitement, apparition d'une douleur intense de l'hypochondre gauche, accentuée à la palpation avec irradiation vers l'omoplate homolatérale. Un scanner abdominal met en évidence une splénomégalie avec quatre infarctus spléniques. La prise encharge a été limitée à la surveillance clinique étroite et à l'analgésie. L'évolution clinique et biologique a été favorable et le contrôle scannographique montrait une régression des infarctus spléniques, partielle à J15 et totale à 4 mois. Résultats -Le paludisme d'importation est fréquent en France (7 000 cas rapportés en 1999). L'infarctus splénique est une complication rare (8 cas rapportés dans medline dont 7 liés à Plasmodium falciparum et un à Plasmodium vivax). Nous décrivons le 1 er cas d'infarctus splénique après infection par P. ovale. Cette complication rare peut se produire malgré le traitement antipaludique approprié, et donc quelque soit l'espèce plasmodiale. On ne connaît pas de signes prédictifs. Conclusion -Les cliniciens doivent être conscients qu'une douleur de l'hypochondre gauche pendant un accès palustre doit faire rechercher un infarctus splénique quelque soit l'espèce plasmodiale.
Panstrongylus mitarakaensis n. sp. is described from French Guiana. Morphological characters are ... more Panstrongylus mitarakaensis n. sp. is described from French Guiana. Morphological characters are provided. This small species, less robust than other Panstrongylus species, shows a pronotum shape similar to species of the "P. lignarius complex". However, others characters such as the postocular part of head, the obsolete tubercle on the anterior lobe of pronotum, and the lateral process on the antenniferous tubercle distinguish it from the species in that complex. The taxonomic key of the genus Panstrongylus is actualized.
We report a case of invasive gastric infection caused by Monascus ruber observed in a patient fro... more We report a case of invasive gastric infection caused by Monascus ruber observed in a patient from French Guiana with gastric adenocarcinoma. The originality of this case is that, first, this invasive mycosis is extremely rare and, second, the probable mode of infection was by the consumption of Monascus ruber-contaminated food.
Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 2009
objectives. To assess the impact of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of methic... more objectives. To assess the impact of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on nosocomial transmission and costs.
An annotated list of the triatomine species present in French Guiana is given. It is based on fie... more An annotated list of the triatomine species present in French Guiana is given. It is based on field collections carried out between 1993-2008, museum collections and a literature review. Fourteen species, representing four tribes and six genera, are now known in this country and are illustrated (habitus). Three species are recorded from French Guiana for the first time: Cavernicola pilosa, Microtriatoma trinidadensis and Rhodnius paraensis. The two most common and widely distributed species are Panstrongylus geniculatus and Rhodnius pictipes. The presence of two species (Panstrongylus megistus and Triatoma maculata) could be fortuitous and requires confirmation. Also, the presence of Rhodnius prolixus is doubtful; while it was previously recorded in French Guiana, it was probably mistaken for R. robustus. A key for French Guiana's triatomine species is provided.
LETTERS qnrS1, in nontyphoidal salmonellae in the United Kingdom. These data are in contrast to t... more LETTERS qnrS1, in nontyphoidal salmonellae in the United Kingdom. These data are in contrast to those of recent studies in the United States and France, which show low incidences of qnrS genes in larger strain collections (9,10). The qnr phenotype is in contrast to resistance mediated by mutations in the topoisomerase genes whereby 1 mutation confers low-level resistance to fl uoroquinolones and full resistance to nalidixic acid. Our previous study demonstrated that qnrS1 was sufficient to cause decreased susceptibility to ciprofl oxacin in the absence of mutations in gyrA (1). In this study, a qnr gene was suffi cient to increase the ciprofl oxacin MIC to 0.38-0.75 μg/mL. In addition, a qnr gene contributed to high-level ciprofl oxacin resistance in 10 isolates, thereby potentially jeopardizing fi rst-line treatment of vulnerable patient groups with ciprofl oxacin.
Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 2010
The main aim of our study was to determine the added value of real-time polymerase chain reaction... more The main aim of our study was to determine the added value of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of Histoplasma capsulatum in routine biologic practice. No amplification signal was observed with the 18 non-H. capsulatum strains used to test the specificity of the protocol. The sensitivity threshold of the real-time PCR assay was about 10 fg of H. capsulatum DNA per microliter, tested with a 10-fold serial dilution of the positive control. We analyzed 348 human samples submitted for the routine diagnosis of systemic mycosis. Real-time PCR using the TaqMan system was evaluated against direct microscopic examination and culture. Among the 341 samples without PCR inhibition (n = 7), 66 tested positive by culture, whereas 74 tested positive by real-time PCR. Sensitivity of the real-time PCR assay was estimated at 95.4% and specificity at 96.0% with respect to culture, widely considered to be the gold standard method; however, the molecular approach in fact produced better sensitivity and specificity results. Moreover, for the 38 samples that tested negative by direct examination but positive by culture, the culture method took a mean of 31 days longer than the PCR method to generate results. The protocol presented here may be very useful for improving routine histoplasmosis diagnosis.
Résumés des posters / Médecine des maladies infectieuses 39 (2009) S64-S67 839/mm 3 et une thromb... more Résumés des posters / Médecine des maladies infectieuses 39 (2009) S64-S67 839/mm 3 et une thrombopénie à 117 000/mm 3 . La CRP est à 37 mg/l. Le frottis sanguin met en évidence un Plasmodium ovale, avec une parasitémie à 0,001 %. Le diagnostic d'espèce est confirmé par biologie moléculaire, sans biparasitisme. Traitement par quinine IV car vomissements. Après 6 jours de traitement, apparition d'une douleur intense de l'hypochondre gauche, accentuée à la palpation avec irradiation vers l'omoplate homolatérale. Un scanner abdominal met en évidence une splénomégalie avec quatre infarctus spléniques. La prise encharge a été limitée à la surveillance clinique étroite et à l'analgésie. L'évolution clinique et biologique a été favorable et le contrôle scannographique montrait une régression des infarctus spléniques, partielle à J15 et totale à 4 mois. Résultats -Le paludisme d'importation est fréquent en France (7 000 cas rapportés en 1999). L'infarctus splénique est une complication rare (8 cas rapportés dans medline dont 7 liés à Plasmodium falciparum et un à Plasmodium vivax). Nous décrivons le 1 er cas d'infarctus splénique après infection par P. ovale. Cette complication rare peut se produire malgré le traitement antipaludique approprié, et donc quelque soit l'espèce plasmodiale. On ne connaît pas de signes prédictifs. Conclusion -Les cliniciens doivent être conscients qu'une douleur de l'hypochondre gauche pendant un accès palustre doit faire rechercher un infarctus splénique quelque soit l'espèce plasmodiale.
Panstrongylus mitarakaensis n. sp. is described from French Guiana. Morphological characters are ... more Panstrongylus mitarakaensis n. sp. is described from French Guiana. Morphological characters are provided. This small species, less robust than other Panstrongylus species, shows a pronotum shape similar to species of the "P. lignarius complex". However, others characters such as the postocular part of head, the obsolete tubercle on the anterior lobe of pronotum, and the lateral process on the antenniferous tubercle distinguish it from the species in that complex. The taxonomic key of the genus Panstrongylus is actualized.
We report a case of invasive gastric infection caused by Monascus ruber observed in a patient fro... more We report a case of invasive gastric infection caused by Monascus ruber observed in a patient from French Guiana with gastric adenocarcinoma. The originality of this case is that, first, this invasive mycosis is extremely rare and, second, the probable mode of infection was by the consumption of Monascus ruber-contaminated food.
Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 2009
objectives. To assess the impact of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of methic... more objectives. To assess the impact of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on nosocomial transmission and costs.
An annotated list of the triatomine species present in French Guiana is given. It is based on fie... more An annotated list of the triatomine species present in French Guiana is given. It is based on field collections carried out between 1993-2008, museum collections and a literature review. Fourteen species, representing four tribes and six genera, are now known in this country and are illustrated (habitus). Three species are recorded from French Guiana for the first time: Cavernicola pilosa, Microtriatoma trinidadensis and Rhodnius paraensis. The two most common and widely distributed species are Panstrongylus geniculatus and Rhodnius pictipes. The presence of two species (Panstrongylus megistus and Triatoma maculata) could be fortuitous and requires confirmation. Also, the presence of Rhodnius prolixus is doubtful; while it was previously recorded in French Guiana, it was probably mistaken for R. robustus. A key for French Guiana's triatomine species is provided.
LETTERS qnrS1, in nontyphoidal salmonellae in the United Kingdom. These data are in contrast to t... more LETTERS qnrS1, in nontyphoidal salmonellae in the United Kingdom. These data are in contrast to those of recent studies in the United States and France, which show low incidences of qnrS genes in larger strain collections (9,10). The qnr phenotype is in contrast to resistance mediated by mutations in the topoisomerase genes whereby 1 mutation confers low-level resistance to fl uoroquinolones and full resistance to nalidixic acid. Our previous study demonstrated that qnrS1 was sufficient to cause decreased susceptibility to ciprofl oxacin in the absence of mutations in gyrA (1). In this study, a qnr gene was suffi cient to increase the ciprofl oxacin MIC to 0.38-0.75 μg/mL. In addition, a qnr gene contributed to high-level ciprofl oxacin resistance in 10 isolates, thereby potentially jeopardizing fi rst-line treatment of vulnerable patient groups with ciprofl oxacin.
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