ABSTRACT
The study evaluated the antibiotic resistance patterns of Helicobacter pylori strains against metronidazole and clarithromycin in a hospital in Havana, Cuba. Eighty-five percent, 22.5%, and 10% of 40 H. pylori strains investigated were resistant to metronidazole, ciprofloxacin, and clarithromycin respectively but all were susceptible to amoxicillin and tetracycline. RdxA truncation was found only in metronidazole-resistant strains. In such strains, reported are eight and two novel mutations in the rdxA and frxA genes respectively. Two-point mutations in the 23S rRNA genes of clarithromycin-resistant strains were detected. A high prevalence of metronidazole resistance was found in Cuban H. pylori strains. Mutations in the rdxA gene may contribute more significantly than frxA gene to the high level of resistance to metronidazole. This study supports the need to continue monitoring the antibiotic susceptibility in H. pylori in Cuba to guide the treatment of such infection.
ABSTRACT
Four methods (chromogenic, acidimetric, inhibition, and iodometric) for demonstration of the beta-lactamase production by 70 isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, were evaluated in Cuba. There was 100 percent correlation between all beta-lactamase methods and the standardized penicillin dilution susceptibility test for penicillinase-non-producing N. gonorrhoeae. For penicillinase-producing N. gonorrhoeae strains, there was a perfect correlation between the chromogenic method and penicillin susceptibility testing, but one and two strains failed to give a positive result for beta-lactamase with the inhibition/acidimetric and the iodometric methods, respectively. There was a high concordance between the chromogenic method, considered as gold standard and the rest of penicillinase tests evaluated: Kappa Index (KI) = 0.98 for inhibition/acidimetric methods and KI = 0.97 for the iodometric method. The four methods evaluated were accurate, reproducible, easily readable, economical, and ease to use for screening primary isolates of N. gonorrhoeae in Cuba. We recommended the use of the inhibition method, when testing the penicillinase activity in gonococcal isolates in provincial and municipal reference laboratories.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Male , Bacteriological Techniques , beta-Lactamases , Neisseria gonorrhoeae , Cuba , Drug Resistance , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
Se evaluaron 5 métodos de utilización de azúcares en 25 cepas identificadas previamente como Neisseria gonorrhoeae: agar CTA, agar CTA modificado, agar gelatina almidón, agar Mueller Hinton más azul de bromotimol y método rápido. Por los métodos de CTA y rápido fueron identificadas 100 por ciento de las cepas de N. gonorrhoeae, mientras que por los métodos de CTA modificado y agar gelatina almidón fue 96 por ciento. Ninguna cepa de gonococo fue identificada por el método de agar Mueller Hinton más azul de bromotimol. El medio de agar cistina tripticasa (CTA), constituye el método de elección para confirmar los aislamientos de Neisseria gonorrhoeae; es elaborado fundamentalmente por compañías norteamericanas, por lo que su adquisición en Cuba resulta difícil. Los métodos de agar gelatina almidón y rápido constituyen alternativas útiles del medio CTA, por lo que su uso se propone en este trabajo
Subject(s)
Agar , Carbohydrates , Neisseria gonorrhoeae , Culture MediaABSTRACT
The susceptibility to penicillin of 111 Neisseria meningitidis strains was assessed by the agar-dilution procedure and serosubtypes were determined by a whole-cell enzyme-linked immunoassay using monoclonal antibodies reagents. Thirty-five isolates showed reduced sensitivity to penicillin (MIC > or = 0.1 mg/l and <= 1 mg/l) and no resistant strains were detected. The most common phenotype was B:4:P1.15 (77.5 percent) and a rising trend of non-typeable and non-subtypeable strains was detected. The increase in levels of minimal inhibitory concentrations of meningococci to penicillin gives cause for concern and the increase in non-typeable and non-subtypeable isolation demand the use of molecular biology techniques for their typing
Subject(s)
Humans , Neisseria meningitidis/drug effects , Penicillins/pharmacology , Antibodies, Monoclonal/isolation & purification , Cuba , Drug Resistance, Microbial , Neisseria meningitidis/classification , Neisseria meningitidis/genetics , Neisseria meningitidis/immunology , Phenotype , SerotypingABSTRACT
The conjunctivitis produced by Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the less frequently reported clinical form of gonococcal infection. We aim to phenotypically characterize N. gonorrhoeae isolated from conjunctivae sites. A total of six cases of this disease were notified in the Camagüey province, Cuba. All the strains isolated were penicillin-producing, showed the serogroup WI and exhibited the same antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and plasmid profile (2.6-3.2-24.5). The results contribute to the characterization of N. gonorrhoeae strains circulating in our environment