Editors in Conversation

Bacteriophages are interesting viruses that target bacteria and have been used for therapeutic purposes. Recently, the emergence of antibiotic resistance has spurred a renewed interest in using these viruses or their products as therapeutic tools against recalcitrant human pathogens. AAC has also published a recent manuscript from ARLG to guide the use of phages in clinical practice. We will discu...

When most of us hear the word 'CAPA', these days we more than likely immediately start thinking about SARS-CoV-2 variants, trying to remember how important this particular one was in the grand scheme of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, that is not the 'kappa' we will be talking about today. Instead, we'll be discussing the other CAPA, or COVID-19 Associated Pulmonary Aspergillosis, and we will cover a...

AAC just published a review from the WHO advisory panel on the antibacterial pipeline analyzing 'traditional' and 'non-traditional' antibacterial agents and modulators in clinical development current on 30 June 2021 with activity against the WHO priority pathogens, mycobacteria and Clostridioides difficile. Today, we will dissect this important publication Objectives: • Understand the role of the...

In less than two months since it was discovered, the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has become the dominant variant of the virus, causing an unprecedented rise in the number of cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and elsewhere. The emergence of this variant has quickly led to some surprising claims about diagnostic testing for omicron and a renewed appreciation of the importance of sequencing the viral g...

As we round out yet another year of this pandemic, clinical microbiologists have not slowed down. We have not slowed down in our response to the pandemic or other day-to-day testing needs, despite the constant reagent backorders and personnel shortages, and equally as important, we have not slowed down in publishing high quality, informative and clinically relevant papers, which have really spanne...

Infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter spp. are considered an urgent public health problem. Antibiotic options are scarce but new drugs may be available in the near future. We discuss this important topic with experts in the field. Topics discussed: Acinetobacter as an opportunistic pathogen Therapeutic approaches for Acinetobacter infections The future approach for this MDR organ...

Is sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 genome useful for patient care? What about institutional infection control? And if clinical labs decide to perform SARS-CoV-2 sequencing, how should they do it? How should they report the results? And will they get paid? Until recently, sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes has mainly been done in public health or research laboratories. Now, there is increasing interest in...

Candida auris is an urgent and high-priority antimicrobial resistant organisms. COVID-19 appears to have increased the identification of this pathogen in vulnerable patients. We discuss with experts the emergence of Candida auris and its relationship with COVID-19. Guests: Dr. Sevtap Arikan-Akdagli, Director, Department of Medical Microbiology, Head of Mycology Laboratory, Hacettepe University Med...

Today we're talking about testing in schools for COVID-19, and about recalls of SARS-CoV-2 tests due to false positive results, and, about whether we are ready to go to in-person scientific and medical meetings. Joining me for this roundtable discussion are two frequent guests on the podcast, Dr. Melissa Miller, from UNC School of Medicine, and Dr. Elli Theel, from Mayo Clinic. Links: School Testi...

How can we determine whether someone who has COVID-19 can transmit the virus to other people? Tests in routine clinical use, such as reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and antigen tests, are designed to determine whether SARS-CoV-2 is present or not, but many people have proposed that these tests be used to determine whether a patient is infectious. Furthermore, tests for SARS-CoV-2 t...

Enterococci, particularly vancomycin-resistant isolates tend to affect the most vulnerable and immunocompromised patients and are one of the most difficult bacteria to treat. In absence of robust clinical data, we will discuss therapeutic approaches for these recalcitrant organism.  

Tests for antibodies, or serological testing, for SARS-CoV-2 have come a long way since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are now several commercial tests available and some laboratories have developed tests for specific purposes. Tests can determine whether a person has had COVID-19 in the past, or whether someone has had an antibody response to vaccination or even whether someone ha...

During the pandemic, the need to develop therapeutic approaches became critical and so the need to study them in a structured way to critically evaluate their effectiveness. Innovative strategies to conduct clinical trials under difficult circumstances were required. We will discuss these strategies with some people who created them! Objectives: • Understand the main challenges to conduct clinical...

Accurate antibiotic susceptibility testing, or AST, is a key tool in addressing the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But AST is one of the most complicated and rapidly changing areas in the clinical microbiology, and the resulting confusion can make it difficult for clinical laboratories to keep up with best practices. Dr. Romney Humphries joins to talk about controversies and myths about AS...

Malaria continues to be a major "killer' in the developing world affecting the most vulnerable populations with more than 500,000 deaths per year. Emergence of resistance to antimalarial drugs is major public health issue. In this episode, we will discuss the latest information on this rapidly evolving field with one of the foremost experts in the field. • Review the main factors leading to malari...

In addition to Staphylococcus aureus , there are a small number of other coagulase-positive staphylococci. We have become increasingly aware of these due to improvements in identification methods used in clinical laboratories. Staphylococcus argenteus is a coagulase-positive Staphylococcus that, until now, had mainly been detected in Australia, the Pacific Islands and Thailand. It was thought that...

The development of β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitors seems to be expanding rapidly and promise to be the best short-term strategy against the most recalcitrant Gram-negative pathogens. In this podcast, we will discuss the current state of the art in this field. Objectives: • Discuss how the discovery of β-lactam/β-lactam inhibitors has evolved • Review the current state-of-the-art of developing of n...

Our options for susceptibility testing have greatly increased in recent years. In addition to classical phenotypic susceptibility testing by disk diffusion and measurement of the minimum inhibitory concentration, genotypic tests are increasingly available. Genotypic tests range from tests for a single organism and one resistance gene to tests for 20 or more organisms and multiple resistance genes....

The incidence of fungal infections is rising in immunocompromised people, and the morbidity and mortality of these infections are high. Recent threats include multi-drug resistant Candida auris, however antifungal resistance is rising in other species as well, such as Aspergillus fumigatus. But have advances in diagnostic testing kept up with the accelerating threats of fungal infections? Guests:...

During the pandemic researchers who focus on the microbiology of built environments suddenly found themselves at the center of attention. Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 may be spreading indoors became incredibly important to ensure we can operate indoors in a safe manner. We now know that SARS-CoV-2 transmits through the air in droplets and as particles, and this information has helped us to provide...

Developing non-traditional antibiotics promises novel strategies to combat multidrug-resistant organisms but would they work? Are they feasible to develop? Topics discussed: 
 • The notion of non-traditional antibiotics as potential therapeutics against MDR organisms 
 • Increasing our understanding on the clinical efficacy of non-traditional antibiotics 
 • Regulatory pathways for approval of suc...

Fermentation is a wonderful thing! Thanks to new technologies and cheaper sequencing we are now able to dig deep into the microbial friends that supply fermentation for so many wonderful foods and drinks. Topics discussed: Why cheese? Other fermented foods that can help shed light on microbial dynamics. Employing metabolomics to explore fermented food mSystems papers that focuses on fermented food...

Blood cultures for bacteria and yeast are among the most clinically important and high-volume tests performed by clinical microbiology labs. Because these cultures are so important to clinical care, we want to make sure that blood cultures are performed as quickly and accurately as possible, and that they are ordered, collected and utilized appropriately. We are going talk about two recent papers....

What influential research outside of COVID-19 was published in AAC in 2020? Objectives: • Discuss pathways of young scientists in antimicrobial resistance • Highlight important papers in AAC in 2020 that were not related to COVID-19 • Stimulate discussion in important topics related to antimicrobial agents I want to welcome my co-host Dr. Maria Fernanda Mojica who is the host of the ASM Journal Cl...

Susceptibility testing for staphylococci other than S. aureus , or SOSA, has become increasingly complicated, as more laboratories use MALDI-TOF to routinely identify these bacteria to the species level. In particular, accurate identification of methicillin resistance has become more complex as the different species are distinguished by the accuracy of different susceptibility testing methods and...