ABSTRACT
Bacteria live either independently as planktonic cells or in organized surface associated colonies called as biofilms. Biofilms play an important role in increased pathogenesis of bacteria and it is assumed that motility is one of the contributing factors towards biofilm initiation. This study was planned to identify the role of flagella in biofilm formation by constructing flagellated [wild type] and physically disrupted variants [non-motile]. Total 10 clinical bacterial strains were isolated and characterized. Morphological and biochemical study identified these strains as Enterobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., Yersinia spp., Escherichia spp., Salmonella spp., Proteus spp., Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Lactobacillus spp. and Bacillus spp. Among all strains, two strains including Yersinia spp and Bacillus spp. showed higher antibiotic resistance, hence studied at molecular and physiological level. Biofilm formation capacity of strains was analyzed using three methods including Congo red assay, Test tube assay and Liquid-interface coverslip assay. Afterwards, flagellar disintegration was induced by blending and centrifugation for 5, 10 and 15 minutes. 16S rRNA sequencing showed two strains as Bacillus cereus and Yersinia enterocolitica. Both strains produced significant biofilm by all three above mentioned methods. A motility test of these blended variants showed partial/diminished motility with increased blending time. The significant loss in biofilm formation after 15 minutes blending confirmed the important flagellar contribution to the initiation of biofilm formation. This biofilm defect observed in flagella paralysed/minus variants presumably may be due to defects in attachments to surface at early stages. This study indicated that flagellar motility is crucial initially for surface attachment and subsequently for biofilm formation
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the frequency and risk factors of Group B Streptococci [GBS] in pregnant patients in third trimester in a tertiary care hospital in Lahore
Study Design: Cross-sectional, prospective study
Place and Duration of Study: Lady Willingdon Hospital, Lahore, from October 2014 to March 2015
Methodology: Sterile lower vaginal swabs were taken from 200 women aged 20 years and over, in third trimester, with no history of vaginal bleeding, ruptured membrane, recent intake of antibiotics or chronic illness. These swabs were cultured for detection of GBS. The risk factors of GBS and its frequency were noted in the pregnant population. Quantitative and qualitative data was analyzed by SPSS version 20. Chi-square test was applied to see association between diagnosis of GBS and other categorical variables. P-value
Results: In this study, the mean age of all the females was 26.36 +/- 4.32 years and mean duration of pregnancy was 35.54 +/- 2.65 weeks. Frequency of GBS in pregnant women was found as 14%. We observed significant association of GBS with parity and previous history of miscarriage [p-value = 0.033 and 0.010 respectively]. Moreover, significant association between vaginal discharge and GBS was also found [p = 0.027]
Conclusion: GBS is present in a small but significant number of pregnant women in our setting and it has association with multiparity, vaginal discharge during pregnancy, and previous history of miscarriage