Browsing by Autor "Mellissa Herrera"

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High Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections, and High-Risk Sexual Behaviors Among Indigenous Adolescents of the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama
(Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2019) Amanda Gabster; Juan Miguel Pascale; Beniamino Cislaghi; Suzanna C. Francis; Helen A. Weiss; Alexander A. Martínez; Alma Ortiz; Mellissa Herrera; Genarino Herrera; César Gantes
School-going indigenous adolescents in rural Panama have substantial STI burden. Targeted STI screening is required.
Molecular Epidemiology of Escherichia coli Clinical Isolates from Central Panama
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2021) Virginia Núñez-Samudio; Maydelin Pecchio; Gumercindo Pimentel-Peralta; Yohana Quintero; Mellissa Herrera; Iván Landires
Escherichia coli represents one of the most common causes of community-onset and nosocomial infections. Strains carrying extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) are a serious public health problem. In Central America we have not found studies reporting the molecular epidemiology of E. coli strains implicated in local infections, so we conducted this study to fill that gap. Materials and Methods: We report on an epidemiological study in two reference hospitals from central Panama, identifying the susceptibility profile, associated risk factors, and molecular typing of E. coli strains isolated between November 2018 and November 2019 using Pasteur's Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) scheme. Results: A total of 30 E. coli isolates with antimicrobial resistance were analyzed, 70% of which came from inpatients and 30% from outpatients (p < 0.001). Two-thirds of the samples came from urine cultures. Forty-three percent of the strains were ESBL producers and 77% were resistant to ciprofloxacin. We identified 10 different sequence types (STs) with 30% of the ESBL strains identified as ST43, which corresponds to ST131 of the Achtman MLST scheme-the E. coli pandemic clone. Thirty-eight percent of the E. coli strains with the ESBL phenotype carried CTX-M-15. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report confirming the presence of the pandemic E. coli clone ST43/ST131 harboring CTX-M-15 in Central American inpatients and outpatients. This E. coli strain is an important antimicrobial-resistant organism of public health concern, with potential challenges to treat infections in Panama and, perhaps, the rest of Central America.
Molecular Genetic Epidemiology of an Emerging Antimicrobial-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Clone (ST307) Obtained from Clinical Isolates in Central Panama
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2022) Virginia Núñez-Samudio; Gumercindo Pimentel-Peralta; Mellissa Herrera; Maydelin Pecchio; Johana Quintero; Iván Landires
We present the first report on ST307 in three reference hospitals in the central region of Panama, which is a high-risk emerging clone and represents a public health alert for potential difficulties in managing K. pneumoniae infections in Panama, and which may extend to other Central American countries.
The Molecular Genetic Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Strains Obtained from Clinical Isolates in Central Panama
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2023) Virginia Núñez-Samudio; Mellissa Herrera; Genarino Herrera; Gumercindo Pimentel-Peralta; Iván Landires
We aim to analyze Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates in central Panama, characterize the associated gonococcal antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and conduct molecular epidemiology and genetic typing. We conducted a retrospective study based on N. gonorrhoeae hospital isolates collected between 2013 and 2018. AMR was determined using dilution agar and Etest®. Molecular typing was conducted using the Multilocus Sequence Typing (ST) scheme. The isolates analyzed (n = 30) showed resistance to penicillin (38%), tetracycline (40%), and ciprofloxacin (30%), and sensitivity to extended-spectrum cephalosporins and azithromycin. We identified 11 STs, the most frequent of which was ST1901 among the strains with decreased sensitivity and resistance to three types of antibiotics. We identified eight variations for the penA gene, all non-mosaic, with type II LVG as the most frequent (50%). To the best of our knowledge, we conducted the first Central American genomic study that analyzes a collection of gonococcal isolates, which represents a benchmark for future epidemiological and molecular genetic studies. The high prevalence of ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and penicillin resistance, in addition to the identification of the worldwide spread of multidrug-resistant clone ST1901, should prompt the continuous and reinforced surveillance of AMR, including the molecular epidemiology of N. gonorrhoeae in Panama.