Publications by Year: 2024

2024

Kirmaier, Andrea, Leslie Blackshear, Matthew Shou Lun Lee, and James E Kirby. (2024) 2024. “Cellulitis and Bacteremia Caused by the Fish Pathogen,Streptococcus Iniae, in an Immunocompromised Patient: Case Report and Mini-Review of Zoonotic Disease, Lab Identification, and Antimicrobial Susceptibility.”. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease 108 (4): 116189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2024.116189.

Streptococcus iniae is a fish pathogen that can also infect mammals including dolphins and humans. Its prevalence in farmed fish, particularly tilapia, provides potential for zoonotic infections, as documented by multiple case reports. Systematic clinical data beyond cellulitis for S. iniae infection in humans, including antimicrobial susceptibility data, are unfortunately rare. Here, we present a case of cellulitis progressing to bacteremia caused by Streptococcus iniae in a functionally immunocompromised patient based on CDK4/CDK6 inhibitor and endocrine therapy, and we discuss risk factors, identification, and antimicrobial susceptibility of this rare pathogen.

Theel, Elitza S, James E Kirby, and Nira R Pollock. (2024) 2024. “Testing for SARS-CoV-2: Lessons Learned and Current Use Cases.”. Clinical Microbiology Reviews 37 (2): e0007223. https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00072-23.

SUMMARYThe emergence and worldwide dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 required both urgent development of new diagnostic tests and expansion of diagnostic testing capacity on an unprecedented scale. The rapid evolution of technologies that allowed testing to move out of traditional laboratories and into point-of-care testing centers and the home transformed the diagnostic landscape. Four years later, with the end of the formal public health emergency but continued global circulation of the virus, it is important to take a fresh look at available SARS-CoV-2 testing technologies and consider how they should be used going forward. This review considers current use case scenarios for SARS-CoV-2 antigen, nucleic acid amplification, and immunologic tests, incorporating the latest evidence for analytical/clinical performance characteristics and advantages/limitations for each test type to inform current debates about how tests should or should not be used.