Antimicrobial combinations resulting in synergy against Staphylococcus aureus are desirable for improving clinical efficacy in the treatment of severe infections caused by this pathogen. Despite an existing biological rationale for the combination of cefazolin and linezolid for methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), this combination has yet to be evaluated for in vitro synergy. We employed the checkerboard and E-test methods of synergy assessment to evaluate cefazolin in combination with...

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Coxiella burnetii and Bartonella species cause febrile illness and infective endocarditis in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study investigated whether seropositivity to C. burnetii or Bartonella could be detected among patients with persistent fever for which an infectious or inflammatory etiological diagnosis had been previously established in three LMICs. Our study tested sera from Cambodian, Nepalese, and Sudanese participants using indirect immunofluorescent antibody assays...

For more than 3 decades, macrocyclic lactone (ML) heartworm preventives have been extremely effective at preventing Dirofilaria immitis infections in dogs. Reports of loss of efficacy (LOE) of the MLs in the early 2000s led to in-depth research which identified the presence of resistant strains of D. immitis in the Southeast United States. Detailed genetic analysis of such parasites identified genetic markers for resistance. In order to evaluate the prevalence of these markers in Ontario...