Until I was invited to present a workshop on phylogenetic methods at an IDEAL consortium meeting in March of 2007 I knew virtually nothing about Mycobacterium leprae. I was both astonished and awed as I learned about the many constraints that leprae investigators labour under; constraints that would drive most microbiologists and molecular biologists whimpering into a corner. The simple matter ...

Containment strategies for outbreaks of invasive Neisseria meningitidis disease are informed by serogroup assays that characterize the polysaccharide capsule. We sought to uncover the genomic basis of conflicting serogroup assay results for an isolate (M16917) from a patient with acute meningococcal disease. To this end, we characterized the complete genome sequence of the M16917 isolate and pe...

BACKGROUND In order to investigate the epidemiology, molecular characteristics, and distribution of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)- and AmpC-producing Escherichia coli from community-onset infections in Chinese county hospitals. METHODS E. coli isolates were collected from patients with community-onset infections in 30 county hospitals. ESBL activity was confirmed by double-disc diffusi...

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a growing cause of healthcare-associated infections for which multi-drug resistance is a concern. Its polysaccharide capsule is a major virulence determinant and epidemiological marker. However, little is known about capsule epidemiology since serological typing is not widely accessible and many isolates are serologically non-typeable. Molecular typing techniques provid...

Bartonella bacilliformis is the aetiological agent of human bartonellosis, a potentially life threatening infection of significant public health concern in the Andean region of South America. Human bartonellosis has long been recognised in the region but a recent upsurge in the number of cases of the disease and an apparent expansion of its geographical distribution have re-emphasized its conte...

Candida is a medically important fungi because of its high frequency as a commensal and pathogenic microorganism causing superficial as well as invasive infections. Because the accurate diagnosis of candidiasis remains difficult, a fast and reliable assay for characterization of fungal pathogens is critical for the early initiation of adequate antifungal therapy and/or for introduction of preve...