Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive tract and is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) has been associated with approximately 10% of the total cases of gastric carcinomas. No previous study has analyzed the prevalence of EBV infection in gastric cancer of the Portuguese population. In the present study, we have analyzed 82 gastric carcinoma cases and 33 healthy individuals (control group) from Coimbra region for the presence of EBV by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by in situ hybridization (ISH) for EBV-encoded small RNAs (EBERs). The status of H. pylori infection was assessed by serology and by PCR. EBV was detected by PCR in 90.2% of stomach cancer cases, whereas EBERs were detected in 11%. In our series, EBV-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC) were significantly associated with gender and the majority of them presented lymph node metastasis. These cases were generally graded in more advanced pTNM stages and, non-surprisingly, showed worse survival. H. pylori infection was detected in 62.2% of the gastric cancers and 64.7% of these patients were CagA+. On the other hand, the H. pylori prevalence was higher in the EBV-negative gastric carcinomas (64.4%) than in those carcinoma cases with EBV+ (44.4%). The present study shows that prevalence of EBVaGC among Portuguese population is in accordance with the worldwide prevalence. EBV infection seems to be associated to poorer prognostic and no relation to H. pylori infection has been found. Conversely, the presence of H. pylori seems to have a favourable impact on patient’s survival. Our results emphasize that geographic variation can contribute with new epidemiological data on the association of EBV with gastric cancer.

Strains TRF-1^T and TC-9 were isolated from transfer spikes of two separate bottles containing 0.9 % NaCl (physiological saline) solution used repeatedly to wash wounds in hospital wards, months apart. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strains TRF-1^T and TC-9 formed a distinct branch within the family Bacillaceae most closely related to the members of the genus Jeotgalicoccus. The two strains, with identical 16S rRNA gene sequences, showed sequence similarities of 89.8–93.9 % with species of Jeotgalicoccus, 91.1–91.8 % with species of Salinicoccus and 89.1–89.7 % with species of Staphylococcus. Strains TRF-1^T and TC-9 are Gram-positive, non-spore-forming and non-motile cocci, with an optimum growth temperature of about 37 °C. Strain TRF-1^T grew optimally in medium containing 3 % (w/v) NaCl (maximum about 14 % NaCl), while strain TC-9 grew optimally in medium with 1 % (w/v) NaCl. Both strains produce a brown pigment when grown in the presence of NaCl. The cell-wall peptidoglycan is of the A3α type with a cross-linkage containing the peptide l-Lys–Gly₄–l-Ser–Gly. The major respiratory quinones are menaquinone 7 (MK-7) and menaquinone 8 (MK-8), the major fatty acids are straight-chain C_14 : 0 and C_16 : 0 (more than 85 % of the total) and the major polar lipid is an unknown aminophospholipid. The DNA G+C content is 33.5 mol%. On the basis of the phylogenetic analysis and physiological and biochemical characteristics, we are of the opinion that strains TRF-1^T and TC-9 represent a novel species of a new genus, for which we propose the name Nosocomiicoccus ampullae gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of Nosocomiicoccus ampullae is strain TRF-1^T (=LMG 24060^T =CIP 109506^T).