This manual gives information on the causative organisms, epidemiology and clinical features of all important childhood infections. It includes guidance on the clinical management of the infections and on steps to be taken to prevent future cases.

In the clinical microbiology laboratory, blood is a critical diagnostic sample that, in the majority of cases is sterile (or is it?). However, when microbes gain access to and multiply in the bloodstream, it can result in life-threatening illness including sepsis. Mortality rates from bloodstream infection and sepsis range from 25% to 80%, killing millions of people annually. Blood cultures are a vital technology used in the microbiology laboratory to isolate and identify microbes and predict their response to antimicrobial therapy. The Dark Art of Blood Cultures, edited by Wm. Michael Dunne, Jr., and Carey-Ann D. Burnham, surveys the entire field of blood culture technology, providing valuable information about every phase of the process, from drawing samples to culture methods to processing positive cultures. The Dark Art of Blood Cultures is organized around several major topics. History of blood culture methods. Details the timeline of blood culture methods from manual through automated and describes the technological development of the leading automated blood culture systems (Bactec, BacT/Alert, and VersaTREK). Manual and automated blood culture methods. Critiques manual and automated methods for setting up blood cultures for adult and pediatric patients. Detection of pathogens directly from blood specimens. Describes currently available CE marked and FDA-cleared commercial tests using both phenotypic and genotypic markers, including their strengths and limitations. The workflow of culturing blood. Includes best practices from specimen collection to culture system verification, processing positive cultures for microbe identification and antibiotic susceptibility determination, along with the epidemiology of positive blood cultures and the value of postmortem blood cultures. Microorganisms in the blood. Examines the concept of a blood microbiome in healthy and diseased individuals. The Dark Art of Blood Cultures is a resource that clinicians, laboratorians, lab directors, and hospital administrators will find engaging and extremely useful. If you are looking for online access to the latest clinical microbiology content, please visit www.wiley.com/learn/clinmicronow.

Brucellosis is a major zoonotic disease that may cause a serious illness in humans and animals. Global prevalence of human brucellosis remains significant. More than half a million new brucellosis cases from 100 countries are reported annually to the World Health Organization (WHO). The majority of these cases are reported in developing countries.In humans, brucellosis (undulant fever, Malta fever) is characterized by an acute bacteremic phase followed by a chronic stage that may extend over many years and may involve many tissues. It is a systemic disease, and many organ systems (nervous system, heart, skeletal system, bone marrow, etc.) may become involved following hematogenous dissemination. Although eradicated in some countries, it remains one of the most economically important zoonosis worldwide as it is responsible for huge economic losses as well as significant human morbidity in endemic areas. Because of the nonspecific clinical manifestations of human brucellosis and the need for prolonged combination therapy with antibiotics that are not routinely prescribed for other infectious diseases, laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis is of paramount importance for adequate patient management. In addition, evidence of brucellosis has serious public health implications because it discloses exposure to a contaminated source (infected animals or their products, unsafe laboratory practices, or a potential biological warfare attack). This book addresses human brucellosis with stress on symptoms including those related to the less recognized disease localizations, risk of exposure, treatment, and prevention. Light is shed on animal brucellosis as it pertains to human exposure. The book also emphasizes on laboratory procedures in culturing and serologic techniques. Epidemiologic surveillance is among this books subjects as well as veterinary control measures.