Biofilm ear

Understanding the colonization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( P. aeruginosa ) in healthy humans is useful for future prevention and treatment of P. aeruginosa infection. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of of P. aeruginosa colonization in healthy humans. At the same time, the virulence of the isolated P. aeruginosa was also studied. In the study, 609 Vietnamese volunteers (310 females and 299 males, age range of 2 to 73 years), who had no acute infection or disease symptoms participated at the time of sample collection...

Increasing evidence suggests that the chronicity of wounds is associated with the presence of bacterial biofilms. Therefore, novel wound care products are being developed, which can inhibit biofilm formation and/or treat already formed biofilms. A lack of standardized assays for the analysis of such novel antibacterial drug delivery systems enhances the need for appropriate tools and models for their characterization. Herein, we demonstrate that optimized and biorelevant in vitro and ex vivo wound infection and biofilm models offer a convenient approach for the testing of novel antibacterial wound dressings for their antibacterial and antibiofilm properties, allowing one to obtain qualitative and quantitative results...

Otitis media (OM) is an umbrella term for a number of conditions associated with middle ear inflammation. Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), a type of OM, is characterized by long-term middle ear infection with perforated ear drum and otorrhea. The most common outcome associated with it is acquired hearing impairment in infected individuals which ultimately affects their cognitive and scholastic developments. Clinically, CSOM is thought to be a sequel of re-occurring episodes of Acute otitis media (AOM)...

Otitis media (OM) is a common disease of the middle ear, affecting 80% of children before the age of three. The otoscope, a simple illuminated magnifier, is the standard clinical diagnostic tool to observe the middle ear. However, it has limited contrast to detect signs of infection, such as clearly identifying and characterizing middle ear fluid or biofilms that accumulate within the middle ear. Likewise, invasive sampling of every subject is not clinically indicated nor practical. Thus, collecting accurate noninvasive diagnostic factors is vital for clinicians to deliver a precise diagnosis and effective treatment regimen...

We assessed biofilm production ability (BPA) of noninvasive Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE) from humans/companion animals and determined relationships between BPA populations and other host/microbiological features. Sixty-four companion animal-/human-origin isolates were collected with host information. We measured BPA using crystal violet staining, along with doing emm typing, multilocus sequence typing, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) phenotyping/genotyping, and detection of virulence-associated genes (VAGs) (prtF1-prtF2-lmb-cbp-sicG-srtp1-srtp2-brpA)...

Ceruminous gland tumors are highly prevalent in the ear canals of Santa Catalina Island foxes (Urocyon littoralis catalinae). Previous work suggests that tumors may result from a combination of ectoparasites, disruption of the host-associated microbiome, and host immunopathology. More specifically, ear mite infection has been associated with broad-scale microbial dysbiosis marked by secondary bacterial infection with the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. Together, ear mites and S. pseudintermedius likely sustain chronic inflammation and promote conditions suitable for tumor development...

The yeast Malassezia pachydermatis , an opportunistic pathogen that inhabits the skin of various domestic and wild animals, is capable of producing a biofilm that plays an important role in antifungal resistance. The aim of this research study was to find the intensity of biofilm production by M. pachydermatis strains isolated from the ear canal of healthy dogs, and to determine the susceptibility of planktonic, adhered and biofilm-forming cells to three azole antifungals-itraco-nazole, voriconazole and posaconazole-that are most commonly used to treat Malassezia infections...

The posterior part of the tympanic cavity comprises a depression called the sinus tympani (ST). The said structure is of outmost importance, e.g., in surgical procedures involving the middle ear, as apathology (microbial biofilm or cholesteatoma) present in this difficult to access location might hinder its effective treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate anatomical variants of the sinus tympani in human adult petrous bones. For this purpose, 3D models of the ST were recreated from micro-CT scans of 44 dry petrous bone samples (19 female, 25 male), applying 3D Slicer, Meshmixer and MeshLab softwares...

The rapid development of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) drug resistance and the formation of biofilms seriously challenge the clinical application of classic antibiotics. Extracts of the traditional herb Chenopodium ambrosioides L. were found to have strong antibiofilm activity against MRSA, but their mechanism of action remains poorly understood. This study was designed to investigate the antibacterial and antibiofilm activities against MRSA of flavonoids identified from C. ambrosioides L...

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (S. pseudintermedius), found on dogs' skin and mucous membranes, can act as an opportunistic pathogen causing skin, ear, and other tissue infections. Due to the possibility of zoonotic transmission of them, it is necessary to investigate the prevalence of S. pseudintermedius, especially the antimicrobial-resistant strains, in pets. In this study, the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and biofilm formation ability of methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) were investigated and compared in 50 healthy dogs and 50 dogs with skin infections...

HYPOTHESIS: Commercially available povidone-iodine solution can eliminate biofilms and persister cells rapidly in in vivo achievable concentrations without inducing ototoxicity. BACKGROUND: Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is a substantial global problem. Current treatment options often induce a temporary remission without leading to a permanent cessation of symptoms secondary to the treatments' inability to eliminate persister cells. Povidone-iodine has been shown to be able to clear biofilm and planktonic cells in in vitro assays, but there are reports of ototoxic effects limiting its clinical utility...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate in detail both the in vivo and in vitro efficacy of the enzyme agents, ZYMOX® Plus Otic (ZYMOX-P), in the treatment of canine otitis externa (OE). Eight dogs with a diagnosis of non-seasonal severe chronic OE were recruited for the study. ZYMOX-P was administered for 2-4 weeks. The Otitis Index Score (OTIS3) and bacteria or yeast colony growth were measured. Also, minimum biofilm (BF) formation inhibition concentration (MBIC) and BF bactericidal concentration (BBC) were measured in vitro...

In the management of otitis media (OM), identification of causative bacterial pathogens and knowledge of their biofilm formation can provide more targeted treatment approaches. Current clinical diagnostic methods rely on the visualization of the tympanic membrane and lack real-time assessment of the causative pathogen(s) and the nature of any biofilm that may reside behind the membrane and within the middle ear cavity. In recent years, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been demonstrated as an improved in vivo diagnostic tool for visualization and morphological characterization of OM biofilms and middle ear effusions; but lacks specificity about the causative bacterial species...

Biofilm synthesizing multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius bacteria has been recognized as the human infectious agent. It has been detected in the diseases of skin, ear, and postoperative infections. Its infections are becoming a major health problem due to its multi-drug resistance capabilities. However, no commercial vaccine for the treatment of its infections is currently available in the market. Here we employed the subtractive proteomics and reverse vaccinology approach to determine the potential novel drug and vaccine targets against S...

Candida auris is a globally-emerging pathogen that is correlated to nosocomial infections and high mortality rates, causing major outbreaks in hospitals and serious public health concerns worldwide. This study investigated the antifungal activity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on clinical isolates of C. auris. A total of eight clinical isolates were collected from blood, urine, ear swab, and groin. C. auris was confirmed by MALDI-TOF MS, and gene sequencing. All isolates confirmed as C. auris were subjected to antimicrobial agents, including amphotericin B, fluconazole, caspofungin, voriconazole, micafungin, and flucytosine...

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) strains form a major group of pathogenic bacteria that colonizes the nasopharynx and causes otitis media in young children. At present, there is no licensed vaccine for NTHi. Because NTHi colonizes the upper respiratory tract and forms biofilms that cause subsequent infectious events, a nasal vaccine that induces NTHi-specific secretory IgA capable of preventing biofilm formation in the respiratory tract is desirable. Here, we developed a cationic cholesteryl pullulan-based (cCHP nanogel) nasal vaccine containing the NTHi surface antigen P6 (cCHP-P6) as a universal vaccine antigen, because P6 expression is conserved among 90% of NTHi strains...

Treatment of infectious skin conditions resulting from wounds and burns with topical antibiotics is challenging, particularly those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA). This is due to the formation of bacterial biofilms characterized by antimicrobial resistance. Mupirocin (MP), a widely used topical antibiotic, is active against gram-positive bacteria including MRSA. However, MP suffers from sub-optimal therapeutic efficacy due to its poor water-solubility and the significant rise in MP-resistant S...

Otitis media (OM) is an extremely common disease that affects children worldwide. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has emerged as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for OM, which can detect the presence and quantify the properties of middle ear fluid and biofilms. Here, the use of OCT data from the chinchilla, the gold-standard OM model for the human disease, is used to supplement a human image database to produce diagnostically relevant conclusions in a machine learning model. Statistical analysis shows the datatypes are compatible, with a blended-species model reaching ∼95% accuracy and F1 score, maintaining performance while additional human data is collected...

BACKGROUNDS: Observable emergence of Vancomycin-Non susceptible Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (VNS-CoNS) associated with skin and soft tissue infections spreading among the urban and rural populace is gradually intensifying severe complications. The isolated VNS-CoNS were evaluated with Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI ToF MS) for species characterization and pan-antimicrobial resistance pattern. METHODS: Out of 256 clinical samples collected including pus, abscess, ear swabs, eye swabs, and aspirates, 91 CoNS isolates were biotyped and further characterized with MALDI-TOF MS...

This study aimed to evaluate the activity, resistance, clonality of MIC distribution, and the correlation between virulence and resistance genes and biofilm formation of omadacycline (OMC) in clinics for Streptococcus agalactiae isolates from China. 162 isolates were collected retrospectively in China. The S. agalactiae were collected from the body's cervical secretions, wound secretions, ear swabs, secretions, semen, venous blood, cerebrospinal fluid, pee, etc. The MIC of OMC against S. agalactiae was determined by broth microdilution...