Browsing by Author "Kerkering, Thomas M."

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    Clinical Response, Outbreak Investigation and Epidemiology of the Fungal Meningitis Epidemic in the United States: Systematic Review.
    Abbas, Kaja M.; Dorratoltaj, Nargesalsadat; O'Dell, Margaret L.; Bordwine, Paige; Kerkering, Thomas M.; Redican, Kerry J. (2016-10-01)
    We conducted a systematic review of the 2012-2013 multistate fungal meningitis epidemic in the United States from the perspectives of clinical response, outbreak investigation, and epidemiology. Articles focused on clinical response, outbreak investigation, and epidemiology were included, whereas articles focused on compounding pharmacies, legislation and litigation, diagnostics, microbiology, and pathogenesis were excluded. We reviewed 19 articles by use of the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework. The source of the fungal meningitis outbreak was traced to the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts, where injectable methylprednisolone acetate products were contaminated with the predominant pathogen, Exserohilum rostratum. As of October 23, 2013, the final case count stood at 751 patients and 64 deaths, and no additional cases are anticipated. The multisectoral public health response to the fungal meningitis epidemic from the hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and the public health system at the local, state, and federal levels led to an efficient epidemiological investigation to trace the outbreak source and rapid implementation of multiple response plans. This systematic review reaffirms the effective execution of a multisectoral public health response and efficient delivery of the core functions of public health assessment, policy development, and service assurances to improve population health.
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    Complete Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa CMC-097, Isolated from a Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Patient, Containing a Novel Carbapenem Resistance Class 1 Integron
    Rao, Jayasimha; Adenikinju, Adenike; Kerkering, Thomas M.; Garner, Dorothy C.; Jensen, Roderick, V (2021-09)
    We report the complete genome of a clinical strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa CMC-097, which was isolated from a ventilator-associated pneumonia patient with a chronic infection. Illumina sequence reads were assembled using Geneious to yield a 7,044,064-bp circular chromosome containing a carbapenem resistance integron, In2020.
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    Complete Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa CMC-115, a Clinical Strain from an Acute Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Patient
    Adenikinju, Adenike; Jensen, Roderick V.; Kerkering, Thomas M.; Garner, Dorothy C.; Rao, Jayasimha (2020-07)
    We report the complete genome of clinical strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa CMC-115, which was isolated from an acute ventilator-associated pneumonia patient. Illumina sequencing reads were assembled using Geneious to yield a 6,375,262-bp circular chromosome that exhibited an unusual ferrichrome receptor in the pyoverdine synthesis locus and the absence of type 3 secretion system genes.
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    Glutamate Dehydrogenase Is Highly Conserved among Clostridium difficile Ribotypes
    Carman, R. J.; Wickham, K. N.; Chen, L.; Lawrence, A. M.; Boone, J. H.; Wilkins, Tracy D.; Kerkering, Thomas M.; Lyerly, D. M. (American Society for Microbiology, 2012-02-01)
    gluD was highly conserved and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) was readily expressed in vitro by all 77 Clostridium difficile ribotypes assayed. All ribotypes, including ARL 002, ARL 027, and ARL 106, were reactive in assays that detect C. difficile GDH.
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    Utility of Real-Time PCR for Detection of Exserohilum rostratum in Body and Tissue Fluids during the Multistate Outbreak of Fungal Meningitis and Other Infections
    Gade, Lalitha; Grgurich, Dale E.; Kerkering, Thomas M.; Brandt, Mary E.; Litvintseva, Anastasia P. (American Society for Microbiology, 2015)
    Exserohilum rostratum was the major cause of the multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to contaminated injections of methylprednisolone acetate produced by the New England Compounding Center. Previously, we developed a fungal DNA extraction procedure and broad-range and E. rostratum-specific PCR assays and confirmed the presence of fungal DNA in 28% of the case patients. Here, we report the development and validation of a TaqMan real-time PCR assay for the detection of E. rostratum in body fluids, which we used to confirm infections in 57 additional case patients, bringing the total number of case patients with PCR results positive for E. rostratum to 171 (37% of the 461 case patients with available specimens). Compared to fungal culture and the previous PCR assays, this real-time PCR assay was more sensitive. Of the 139 identical specimens from case patients tested by all three methods, 19 (14%) were positive by culture, 41 (29%) were positive by the conventional PCR assay, and 65 (47%) were positive by the real-time PCR assay. We also compared the utility of the real-time PCR assay with that of the previously described beta-D-glucan (BDG) detection assay for monitoring response to treatment in case patients with serially collected CSF. Only the incident CSF specimens from most of the case patients were positive by real-time PCR, while most of the subsequently collected specimens were negative, confirming our previous observations that the BDG assay was more appropriate than the real-time PCR assay for monitoring the response to treatment. Our results also demonstrate that the real-time PCR assay is extremely susceptible to contamination and its results should be used only in conjunction with clinical and epidemiological data.