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MALDI-TOF MS, though has facilitated rapid and accurate anaerobe identification, the problem of rising metronidazole resistance amongst the members of Bacteroides fragilis group is cause for concern. In this one-year study period,152 anaerobic Gram negative bacilli and 60 Gram positive anaerobes were isolated from 167 samples obtained from clinically suspected anaerobic infections. Bacteroides fragilis accounted for 56 % of the total anaerobic GNB and Peptoniphilus asacchrarolyticus was the most commonly isolated Gram positive cocci. All isolates were identified by the MALDI-TOF MS except one isolate each of Clostridium and Peptostreptococcus. E-test for members of Bacteroides fragilis group, demonstrated 26.8 % metronidazole resistance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 was first described in December 2019, in China. In addition, there has also been an increase in arboviral infections in recent years. As both infections have similar symptoms, misdiagnosis may occur if both outbreaks occur at the same time., Objective: Our objective was to assess the potential impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on diagnostic assays used for arboviral diseases., Materials and Methods: We conducted this study by testing samples obtained during the precovid phase (before November 2019) and during the covid period (after February 2020). Samples were further grouped as those with acute febrile illness (AFI) and those without. All samples were tested for anti SARS-CoV-2 Ab, Chikungunya and Dengue specific IgM antibodies to evaluate potential serological cross-reactions between COVID-19 and Arbovirus specific antibodies., Results: One sample from the 62 cases of AFI during the pre-covid phase showed seropositivity for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Also, in asymptomatic individuals, arboviral seropositivity was significantly higher in the COVID period samples (22%) compared to pre-COVID samples (3%)., Conclusion: Due to similar clinical symptoms and cross reactions in both infections, relying solely on serological testing for arboviral diagnosis may be less sensitive; other clinical and laboratory parameters may be required., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In view of the rising incidence of Anaerobic bacteremia(AB), the use of anaerobic blood culture bottles have been recommended in addition to the aerobic blood culture bottles. The need to perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing(AST) for anaerobes has become mandatory owing to increasing metronidazole resistance. The frequency of AB following large bowel surgery and the metronidazole susceptibility for members of the Bacteroides fragilis group were determined. The incidence of AB was found to be 16%. Seventeen obligate anaerobes were isolated in total, of which B. fragilis was the most common. Two of twelve isolates of B. fragilis were resistant to metronidazole., (Copyright © 2022 Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)