Update on bacterial pathogens: virulence and resistance

The present article is an update of the literature on bacterial pathogens. Recognizing the interest and scientific and public health importance of infections produced by bacterial pathogens with new virulence mechanisms and/or new mechanisms of resistance to antimicrobial agents, a multidisciplinary group of Spanish physicians and microbiologists organized a joint session and revised the most important papers produced in the field during 2006. Each article was analyzed and discussed by one of the members of the panel. This paper focus on a variety of diseases that pose major clinical and public health challenges today; and include infections produced by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and S. aureus small colony variants, infections produced by multiply resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci, pneumococcal infections, human listeriosis, meningococcal disease, Haemophilus influenzae, pertussis, Escherichia coli, ESBL-producing organisms, and infections due to non-fermenters. After a review of the state of the art, papers selected in this field are discussed.