5 U rTaq DNA polymerase (TaKaRa, Shanghai), and 100 μM dNTP mixture. The PCR program consisted of a denaturation step of 94 °C for 5 min and 30 cycles of 94 °C for 1 min, 48 °C for 45 s, and 72 °C for 45 s, followed by a final extension step at 72 °C for 10 min. Amplification products were examined by agarose gel electrophoresis and purified

using the PCR Purification Kit (Gold Chain BioTech Centre, Beijing) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. click here ARDRA was performed to group the isolates into different phylotypes. 16S rRNA gene was digested using the four base-cutting restriction enzymes MspI and AluI (1 U) at 37 °C for 1 h (Costa et al., 2006). The restricted products were electrophoresed in 2.5% agarose gel and the patterns in the gels were compared. Representative phylotypes were sequenced with the primers 968F-1492R and 27F-1378R (Weber et al., 2001) on an ABI 3100 DNA sequencer by the Chinese National Human Genome Center

(Shanghai, China). An operational taxonomic unit (OTU) was defined as a 16S rRNA gene digestion group in a same profile in ARDRA. Phylotype richness Ceritinib mw (S) was calculated as the total number of OTUs. The Shannon–Wiener index was calculated as follows: The presence of possible chimeric sequences was investigated using the chimera-check program of the Ribosomal Database Project II (Maidak et al., 1999). The most similar sequences were searched within the NCBI database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) using the basic local alignment search tool (blast) and the sequences obtained in this study were deposited in GenBank (for the accession numbers, see Tables 1 and 2). A total of 985 bacterial strains with different colony characteristics were isolated on LB, TSA, YG, R2A,

0.1 × LB, and KB media: 349 isolates from the rhizosphere, 172 isolates from rhizoplane, and 464 isolates from the bulk soil of the two tree peony varieties plants (Fengdan and Lan Furong), respectively (Table 3). The highest bacterial numbers of the Fengdan and Lan Furong plants were, respectively, 3.14 × 107 YG and 8.94 × 107 R2A CFU g−1 of bulk soil, 1.17 × 108 R2A and 2.31 × 108 R2A CFU g−1 of fresh root for the rhizosphere, 2.83 × 107 R2A and 5.73 × 107 YG CFU g−1 of fresh root for the rhizoplane. R2A plate has the highest number of isolates for most of the Cobimetinib in vivo samples, except Lan Furong rhizoplane and Fengdan bulk soil samples, whereas LB plate has the lowest number of isolates for most of the samples, except Fengdan rhizosphere and rhizoplane soil samples. On the different plates, the bacterial population density of the Lan Furong rhizosphere is 1.5–2.0 times that of Fengdan, and the density of the Lan Furong rhizoplane 1.4–5.7 times that of Fengdan. In all, 507 isolates obtained from Fengdan samples and 478 isolates obtained from Lan Furong samples were subjected to ARDRA analysis by digestion of the amplified 16S rRNA gene with MspI and AluI.

Bound antibodies were revealed on adding an enhanced chemiluminescent substrate as described above. The assay was performed three times. The plates (Poylsorp, Nunc, Denmark) were coated with 10 μg per well of a purified rTbpA fragment diluted in carbonate buffer and incubated overnight at 4 °C. After blocking with 3% bovine Torin 1 ic50 serum albumin (BSA) in PBS for 2 h at 37 °C, 50 μL of each serum diluted 1 : 100 in PBS+0.05% Tween-20 (PBST) was incubated for 1 h at 37 °C. After three rinses with PBST, 50 μL of HRPO-labeled goat anti-rabbit IgG (whole molecule) (1 : 5000

in PBST) (Sigma) was incubated for 1 h at 37 °C, followed by five other rinses. Plates were read at 450 nm after adding TMB+0.002% H2O2 for 10 min, and stopping with H2SO4 2 M. Samples were run in triplicate, and a serum was considered positive when its

OD was at least two times higher LY2109761 chemical structure than that of the mean before immunization+SD. ODs were analyzed using the graphpad prism statistical program 5.0. Tukey’s multiple comparison test was used for comparing the ODs of the five types of sera. Significance was set at P<0.05. The bactericidal activity of the sera was tested as described earlier (Danve et al., 1993; Rokbi et al., 1997). Sera (50 μL of serial twofold dilutions) were mixed in 96-well microplates with 25 μL of an iron-starved H. parasuis Nagasaki strain suspension (2 × 104 CFU mL−1) and 25 μL of commercial baby-rabbit serum (Sigma), screened previously for the lack of antibodies to H. parasuis by ELISA, as the complement source. After incubation for 1 h at 37 °C, the mixture was plated onto a

chocolate agar and incubated as described above. Sera were considered to be bactericidal when <50% of H. parasuis were able to grow in comparison with the complement control. All bactericidal assays were performed four times and the results are shown as mean±SD. anova and Tukey's multiple comparison tests (graphpad prism statistical program 5.0) were used for comparing the five types of sera. Significance was set at P<0.05. Immunogold labeling was performed using the method of Li et al. (1992). A single colony of selleck chemicals H. parasuis Nagasaki strain was inoculated into PPLO broth+NAD (40 μg mL−1), Isovitalex® (1.25 μL mL−1; BD) and glucose (250 mg mL−1) and incubated overnight at 37 °C under agitation. After centrifugation and washing, the cells were resuspended in 2 mL of PBS+1% BSA and sodium azide (PBSB) and 25 μL was placed on Formvar-coated grids and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then, unbound cells were removed and grids were blocked for 10 min with 25 μL of 2% BSA, before being incubated for 30 min with 25 μL of rabbit anti-rTbpA fragment serum diluted 1 : 100 in PBSB.

Bound antibodies were revealed on adding an enhanced chemiluminescent substrate as described above. The assay was performed three times. The plates (Poylsorp, Nunc, Denmark) were coated with 10 μg per well of a purified rTbpA fragment diluted in carbonate buffer and incubated overnight at 4 °C. After blocking with 3% bovine GSK2118436 price serum albumin (BSA) in PBS for 2 h at 37 °C, 50 μL of each serum diluted 1 : 100 in PBS+0.05% Tween-20 (PBST) was incubated for 1 h at 37 °C. After three rinses with PBST, 50 μL of HRPO-labeled goat anti-rabbit IgG (whole molecule) (1 : 5000

in PBST) (Sigma) was incubated for 1 h at 37 °C, followed by five other rinses. Plates were read at 450 nm after adding TMB+0.002% H2O2 for 10 min, and stopping with H2SO4 2 M. Samples were run in triplicate, and a serum was considered positive when its

OD was at least two times higher VX-765 nmr than that of the mean before immunization+SD. ODs were analyzed using the graphpad prism statistical program 5.0. Tukey’s multiple comparison test was used for comparing the ODs of the five types of sera. Significance was set at P<0.05. The bactericidal activity of the sera was tested as described earlier (Danve et al., 1993; Rokbi et al., 1997). Sera (50 μL of serial twofold dilutions) were mixed in 96-well microplates with 25 μL of an iron-starved H. parasuis Nagasaki strain suspension (2 × 104 CFU mL−1) and 25 μL of commercial baby-rabbit serum (Sigma), screened previously for the lack of antibodies to H. parasuis by ELISA, as the complement source. After incubation for 1 h at 37 °C, the mixture was plated onto a

chocolate agar and incubated as described above. Sera were considered to be bactericidal when <50% of H. parasuis were able to grow in comparison with the complement control. All bactericidal assays were performed four times and the results are shown as mean±SD. anova and Tukey's multiple comparison tests (graphpad prism statistical program 5.0) were used for comparing the five types of sera. Significance was set at P<0.05. Immunogold labeling was performed using the method of Li et al. (1992). A single colony of Urease H. parasuis Nagasaki strain was inoculated into PPLO broth+NAD (40 μg mL−1), Isovitalex® (1.25 μL mL−1; BD) and glucose (250 mg mL−1) and incubated overnight at 37 °C under agitation. After centrifugation and washing, the cells were resuspended in 2 mL of PBS+1% BSA and sodium azide (PBSB) and 25 μL was placed on Formvar-coated grids and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then, unbound cells were removed and grids were blocked for 10 min with 25 μL of 2% BSA, before being incubated for 30 min with 25 μL of rabbit anti-rTbpA fragment serum diluted 1 : 100 in PBSB.

This research was funded by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Grant No. N304 020437). “
“The High Taxonomic Fingerprint (HTF)-Microbi.Array is a fully validated phylogenetic microarray platform for a high taxonomic level characterization of the human gut microbiota. However, suffering from PCR-dependent biases in Bifidobacterium quantification, this tool is less appropriate when utilized for the characterization of the Bifidobacterium-dominated gut microbiota of breast-fed infants. To overcome this, we implemented a new combined approach based on HTF-Microbi.Array and qPCR for a reliable Crizotinib purchase fingerprint of the infant-type microbiota. This methodology was applied in a preliminary comparative study of

the faecal microbiota of eight breast-fed infants, aged 2–6 months, and five young adults. Whereas the adult gut microbiota was Ruxolitinib supplier largely dominated by Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, the infant-type community was mainly dominated by Bifidobacterium,

with Enterobacteriaceae as the second dominant component. In accordance with the most recent literature in the field, the obtained microbiota fingerprints properly depicted the adult- and the infant-type microbiota, demonstrating the reliability of the HTF-Microbi.Array/qPCR combined approach in reflecting the peculiarities of the two intestinal microbial ecosystems. “
“Glutathionylspermidine synthetase/amidase (Gss) and the encoding gene (gss) have only been studied in Escherichia coli and several members of the Kinetoplastida

phyla. In the present article, we have studied the phylogenetic distribution of Gss and have found that Gss sequences are largely limited Thiamine-diphosphate kinase to certain bacteria and Kinetoplastids and are absent in a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate species, Archea, plants, and some Eubacteria. It is striking that almost all of the 75 Enterobacteria species that have been sequenced contain sequences with very high degree of homology to the E. coli Gss protein. To find out the physiological significance of glutathionylspermidine in E. coli, we have performed global transcriptome analyses. The microarray studies comparing gss+ and Δgss strains of E. coli show that a large number of genes are either up-regulated (76 genes more than threefold) or down-regulated (35 genes more than threefold) by the loss of the gss gene. Most significant categories of up-regulated genes include sulfur utilization, glutamine and succinate metabolism, polyamine and arginine metabolism, and purine and pyrimidine metabolism. Earlier work from this laboratory showed that 95% of the intracellular spermidine and a large fraction of the intracellular glutathione are converted to monoglutathionylspermidine in Escherichia coli at the end of logarithmic growth (Dubin, 1959; Tabor & Tabor, 1970). Bollinger et al. (1995) and Kwon et al. (1997) reported the purification of glutathionylspermidine synthetase/amidase of E.

2). Interestingly, the UV survival curve of the infectious B. burgdorferi 297 (clone BbAH130) wild-type strain used in the present study was likely similar to that of the infectious B. burgdorferi B31 clone (5A18NP1) used by Lin et al. (2009), but was distinctly different from that reported for the infectious B. burgdorferi B31M1 strain studied by Liveris et al. (2004, 2008). The reason for this difference is at present unclear, but may be strain-related, because the PD0325901 clinical trial design of our experiments and those of Liveris and colleagues was otherwise identical. In vitro growth of B. burgdorferi uvrA inactivation mutants was

inhibited by ROS but not by RNS. Dissociation of in vitro susceptibility to ROS and RNS has been reported to occur in a M. tuberculosis uvrB mutant (Darwin & Nathan, 2005). In this case, the mutant was BYL719 more susceptible to RNS than the wild-type parent

but showed similar susceptibility to ROS. It was not possible to examine the in vivo function of B. burgdorferi uvrABbu because ΔuvrABbu and its derivatives, in contrast to the parental strain, lacked lp25 (Purser & Norris, 2000; Iyer et al., 2003) (data not shown) and were noninfectious. Studies are currently underway to develop an infectious uvrA inactivation mutant in order to examine its in vivo virulence. Several lines of evidence suggest that the ability of B. burgdorferi to overcome DNA damage following phagocytosis is critical to its ability to survive and produce disease in the host. Mutants of mutS and mutS-II, genes whose products are involved in DNA mismatch repair, display decreased infectivity in click here immunocompetent mice (Lin et al., 2009). Furthermore, resistance of B. burgdorferi to rapid killing in vitro by phagocytes has been correlated with in vivo infectivity (Georgilis et al., 1991). Although the majority of phagocytosed borrelia are rapidly killed after ingestion, some remain viable

and cultivable (Montgomery et al., 1993), and can stimulate a phagocytic oxidative burst (Georgilis et al., 1991). Plausibly, these few viable organisms could be sufficient to initiate infection of the mammalian host. In summary, homologous recombination and extrachromosomal complementation have been used to show that uvrABbu is needed to repair DNA damage in B. burgdorferi exposed in vitro to UV, ROS and MMC but not in B. burgdorferi exposed to RNS or low pH. M.S. and L.B.I. contributed equally to this work, which was supported by grant R01 AI 048856 to F.C.C. We would like to thank Dr M. Norgard, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, for providing B. burgdorferi 297 and clone BbAH130. We also thank Dr Julia Bugrysheva for advice. Figure S1. Confirmation of DNA structure and expression of mRNA in Borrelia burgdorferi 297 and derivatives. Please note: Wiley-Blackwell is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting materials supplied by the authors.

3b). This contrasted with the finding in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, a wound isolate (Stover et al., 2000), that the expression of the anthranilate dioxygenase operon was strongly dependent on iron (Oglesby et al., 2008). This difference might be owing to different habitats to which the two strains have been adapted. Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 might have acquired GDC 941 a regulatory system that stringently responds to external iron conditions, that is, strictly down-regulates the anthranilate dioxygenase gene in animal infections, where the iron resource is severely limited. The

ATCC 17616, which has been living in soil where iron is not so severely limited, might have developed a regulatory system that does not tightly control the expression of genes for iron-requiring enzymes. The reason for the higher activity of andA promoter in the fur mutant when 2,2′-dipyridil was present (Fig. 3b) is not clear. However, our recent findings suggested a higher level of ferric ion in the fur mutant, leading to the generation of a higher level of hydroxyl radical by Fenton reaction, which might have adverse effects on the promoter activity. The addition of 2,2′-dipyridil might have alleviated such

effects. In this regard, the decreased promoter activity of the fur mutant might be the combined effects of the increased hydroxyl radical and the transcriptional regulations that were directly or indirectly mediated by Fur. When grown in 1/3-LB medium, ATCC 17616 cells required more than 50 μM of anthranilate for the induction 4��8C of the andA promoter (data not shown). The concentration of anthranilate in the soil extract prepared by ethyl acetate was below the detection limit of our experimental see more devices (Nishiyama et al., 2010), which could be around 0.1 μM (data not shown). In addition, the andA promoter activity was low during

the initial colonization period and only increased after 4 days in the soil environment, indicating that the inducer is not present during the first few days of colonization (Fig. 4). Therefore, a simple explanation that anthranilate present in the soil sample induced the andA operon seems to be unlikely. During the initial period of colonization in the soil, the cellular concentration of anthranilate or tryptophan might have increased to a level sufficient to induce the andA operon. There are several possible sources of anthranilate or tryptophan. One possible source is proteins that were present in the cells being inoculated. At the beginning of the incubation in the soil, the cellular proteins might have been used as the resources to change cellular physiological status to fit the soil environment. In such a case, tryptophan might accumulate and trigger anthranilate catabolism. As tryptophan and anthranilate are not good growth substrates, their catabolism might be of low priority and therefore might tend to accumulate in the cells. Other possible source is proteins and metabolites released into the environment from lysed cells.

Clinical examination revealed grade III mobile 71 and 81, with minimal

gingival inflammation and plaque deposits. There were no other dental findings and no significant medical history. Tooth numbers 71 and 81 exfoliated prematurely with no evidence of root resorption, shortly after presentation. learn more Haematological and urinary investigations showed no abnormalities. Histological examination showed a complete absence of cementum. A diagnosis of OHP was made. After 10 months of dental follow-up, no further teeth have increased mobility. Conclusion.  Odontohypophosphatasia should be included as a differential diagnosis in children presenting with early loss of primary teeth. The dentist may be the first health care professional to whom the patient presents. “
“International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2013; 23: 32–38 Background  Salivary levels of Bifidobacteria have been shown to be significantly correlated with caries experience in adults but not as yet in children. Hypothesis.  Salivary levels of Bifidobacteria are

positively associated with caries experience in children. Aim.  To compare the salivary concentrations of Bifidobacteria of caries-free and caries-active children. Design.  Saliva was collected using the tongue-loop method from 38 caries-active children and from 22 clinically caries-free children, and the numbers of Bifidobacteria, mutans streptococci, lactobacilli and yeasts were determined. Additionally, the age and gender of the children, a plaque index, sugar amount in diet, sugar frequency in diet, hygiene practice and fluoride toothpaste usage were recorded. Results.  Bifidobacteria ABT-199 molecular weight were isolated from 95% of the caries-active children and from only 9% of the caries-free children (P < 0.001). Salivary levels of Bifidobacteria Rucaparib order were significantly correlated with amount of sugar in the diet, frequency of sugar consumption and oral hygiene practice. The significant variables that discriminated between the caries-free and caries-active subjects were salivary levels of Bifidobacteria, salivary levels of mutans streptococci

and oral hygiene practice (χ2 = 72.57, P < 0.001) and overall 90.0% of cases were correctly classified. Conclusions.  Salivary levels of Bifidobacteria are significantly associated with caries experience in children. The salivary levels of this genus may be a useful marker of caries risk. "
“This study aims to identify the determinants of caries prevention-oriented practice for children among final-year dental students in Nigeria. A questionnaire was distributed to 179 final-year dental students in six dental schools in Nigeria. It requested information on age, gender, knowledge of caries prevention measures, self-perceived competency in providing caries-preventive care for children, and caries prevention-oriented practice for two hypothetical cases with high and low risk of caries.

1 The area has been evolving rapidly as an academic and professional discipline. This First Edition of Cases in Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine is timely as it contributes toward the urgent need for textbooks to support the growing number of academic and professional training programs in aeromedical retrieval/evacuation globally. It has been presented as a case-based textbook, which has a Table of Contents, two Forewords (by Allan MacKillop, Australia, and by Gareth Davies, UK), a Preface, Acknowledgments, About the

Authors, List of Reviewers, an Introduction, three main sections containing 50 cases most with suggestions CHIR99021 for Additional Reading, selleck chemicals llc four Appendices, a Key to Cases, a Glossary (including a list of Abbreviations), and a Comprehensive Index. There are nearly 100 figures, mostly well-presented color plates. The textbook is generally consistent in its presentation with excellent use of “Key Point” boxes. Cases in Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine discusses the practical approach to common scenarios in aeromedical retrieval. Each section contains cases around each of three important themes in retrieval medicine, including Section A “Pre-hospital theme” containing 22 cases; Section B “Retrieval theme” containing 19

cases; and Section C “Service development and special circumstances” containing 9 cases. It would have been useful to ascribe a name to each of the cases and provide an index of these for ready reference for training purposes. The cases are scantily referenced and the reader may need to look toward a more definitive international textbook of aeromedical retrieval, particularly if they are looking for the supporting evidence or guidelines. There are four Appendices. Appendix 1 has five

sub-appendices, including “Airway”; “Advanced vascular access”; “Thoracostomy”; “Thoracotomy”; and “Escharotomy.” Appendix 2 has two sub-appendices, including “Equipment list” and “Personal equipment.” Appendices 3 and 4 cover “Transfer and retrieval checklist” and “Major incidents.” The Glossary and list BCKDHB of Abbreviations could have been more comprehensive. There are a number of special highlights in Cases in Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine. Cases 49 and 50 describe international commercial and military retrieval medicine cases, respectively, which include some excellent general principles of international aeromedical retrieval; however, it may disappoint some of those looking for more in these areas. For the travel health advisor, there are a number of cases of direct interest, eg, Case 16 describing a diving-related emergency presentation and Case 46 describing the various issues in handling of an emergency on a commercial flight.

The mean number of months per year was 10.6 (median selleckchem 12). The dependent variable was the number of distinct in-patient bacteraemia/septicaemia episodes in a calendar year. We calculated incidence rates for bacteraemia in each year. Multivariate analyses used the person-year as the unit of analysis, with the number of months of exposure in each year incorporated in the model as an offset. To incorporate the correlation between multiple observations for most patients, we used generalized estimating equations (GEEs), with an exchangeable correlation matrix and robust standard errors clustered on each patient. Because 86–90% of patients with a bacteraemia

episode in a year had only one episode, we used logistic regression to analyse any episode (none vs. one or more) in a year. For comparison, we also report a negative binomial regression PF-02341066 mouse of number of episodes in a year. We first examined each demographic and clinical factor separately. In further multivariate analyses, we used logistic regression to estimate the adjusted odds ratios for age, sex, race, HIV transmission risk factor,

CD4 cell count, HIV-1 RNA, HAART and insurance. To assess trends over time, dummy variables for each year (2001–2008) were included in the model. In all models, the first CD4 cell count and HIV-1 RNA of each calendar year were used. Age, CD4, HIV-1 RNA, insurance and HAART were treated as time-varying covariates. To account for geographic differences

in HIV care, all models were also adjusted for HIV care site. All reported P-values are two-tailed. Statistical analyses were performed using stata 9.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). We classified bacteraemia episodes on the basis of the type of organism producing the infection, and we examined trends over time in the types of organisms. A subanalysis was performed at one large academic hospital where all ‘bacteraemia, not otherwise specified’ (NOS) cases were evaluated by manual abstraction by searching hospital laboratory records to determine the organism of interest. This large hospital constituted 42% of all bacteraemia NOS cases. Because of Institutional Review Board issues, hand searching was not possible at other participating study sites. Between January 2000 and December 2008, 39 318 patients were followed for a total Etomidate of 146 289 PY at 10 HIVRN sites. The sample was 71% male, 48% Black and 21% Hispanic, with a median age of 39 years (range 18–94 years) (Table 2). The major HIV risk factors included MSM (36%), HET (34%) and IDU (22%). During the study period, 57% of the patients received HAART. Most patients had Medicaid (32%) or were uninsured (27%). The median CD4 count was 321 cells/μL and the median HIV-1 RNA was 7760 copies/mL. During the study period, 2025 episodes of bacteraemia occurred, for an incidence rate of 13.8 events per 1000 PY. A total of 1538 patients (3.9% of 39 318) had one or more episodes.

The mean number of months per year was 10.6 (median Tacrolimus manufacturer 12). The dependent variable was the number of distinct in-patient bacteraemia/septicaemia episodes in a calendar year. We calculated incidence rates for bacteraemia in each year. Multivariate analyses used the person-year as the unit of analysis, with the number of months of exposure in each year incorporated in the model as an offset. To incorporate the correlation between multiple observations for most patients, we used generalized estimating equations (GEEs), with an exchangeable correlation matrix and robust standard errors clustered on each patient. Because 86–90% of patients with a bacteraemia

episode in a year had only one episode, we used logistic regression to analyse any episode (none vs. one or more) in a year. For comparison, we also report a negative binomial regression FXR agonist of number of episodes in a year. We first examined each demographic and clinical factor separately. In further multivariate analyses, we used logistic regression to estimate the adjusted odds ratios for age, sex, race, HIV transmission risk factor,

CD4 cell count, HIV-1 RNA, HAART and insurance. To assess trends over time, dummy variables for each year (2001–2008) were included in the model. In all models, the first CD4 cell count and HIV-1 RNA of each calendar year were used. Age, CD4, HIV-1 RNA, insurance and HAART were treated as time-varying covariates. To account for geographic differences

in HIV care, all models were also adjusted for HIV care site. All reported P-values are two-tailed. Statistical analyses were performed using stata 9.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). We classified bacteraemia episodes on the basis of the type of organism producing the infection, and we examined trends over time in the types of organisms. A subanalysis was performed at one large academic hospital where all ‘bacteraemia, not otherwise specified’ (NOS) cases were evaluated by manual abstraction by searching hospital laboratory records to determine the organism of interest. This large hospital constituted 42% of all bacteraemia NOS cases. Because of Institutional Review Board issues, hand searching was not possible at other participating study sites. Between January 2000 and December 2008, 39 318 patients were followed for a total Aldehyde dehydrogenase of 146 289 PY at 10 HIVRN sites. The sample was 71% male, 48% Black and 21% Hispanic, with a median age of 39 years (range 18–94 years) (Table 2). The major HIV risk factors included MSM (36%), HET (34%) and IDU (22%). During the study period, 57% of the patients received HAART. Most patients had Medicaid (32%) or were uninsured (27%). The median CD4 count was 321 cells/μL and the median HIV-1 RNA was 7760 copies/mL. During the study period, 2025 episodes of bacteraemia occurred, for an incidence rate of 13.8 events per 1000 PY. A total of 1538 patients (3.9% of 39 318) had one or more episodes.