Subdural empyma due to Mycobacterium fortuitum in a non-HIV patient.

A 14‑year‑old male child presented with high grade intermittent fever with altered sensorium since 5‑6 days and generalised seizures. On examination neck stiffness noticed with normal haemogram and chest X‑ray. CSF microscopy was normal and no growth seen in aerobic culture. CT scan showed loculated lesion. Drained pus showed acid fast organism and culture on Lowestein Jensen medium showed pale‑coloured growth on 3rd day. Organism identified as Mycobacterium fortuitum by biochemical test. Interesting aspect of this case was there is no history of trauma or injection and patient was negative for HIV antibody.

Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus : prevalence and risk factors among healthcare workers :.

Background & Objectives: Awareness of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is still lacking in various regions of developing countries. The present study was carried out to assess the prevalence and to establish significant risk factors for colonization with MRSA in health care workers. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out. Ninety one health care workers and were screened for MRSA by nasal swabbing. MRSA strains were detected by disc diffusion and chromogenic agar. The D test was also carried out to detect inducible clindamycin resistance. Hand hygiene practices were surveyed. Results:Twenty MRSA carriers were identified among the 91 health care workers (21.98%; CI95:13.97-31.88 %). A high prevalence was found in emergency ward (62.5 %; CI95: 24.49 -91.48 %) (p <0.05) .The surgical and orthopedic departments also showed high prevalence (54.55% and 75% respectively) (p< 0.001). Inducible clindamycin resistance was found in 20.45% samples. Chromogenic agar was found to have high sensitivity and results were similar to those of disc diffusion (p<0.001). Interpretation & Conclusion: The presence of significant risk factors aids in identification of high risk groups among hospital staff. Selective surveillance and effective lab techniques implemented in these groups will reduce the burden of MRSA in hospitals.

Respiratory tract infection due to Arcanobacterium haemolyticum--a case report.

A case of respiratory tract infection due to Arcanobacterium haemolyticum is reported. A female of 26 years presented with cough with expectoration and fever off and on for a duration of six weeks. Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Arcanobacterium haemolyticum were isolated. Arcanobacterium haemolyticum was isolated on three separate occasions.

Re-emergence of El Tor vibrio in outbreak of cholera in & around Nagpur.

Contrary to earlier outbreaks of cholera due to Vibrio cholerae O139 during 1993 and its reemergence in 1998 in and around Nagpur and only sporadic episodes thereafter for next couple of years, a large outbreak was encountered between June and October 2003. V. cholerae 01 El Tor were isolated in 198 cases, of which 152 were Ogawa, 3 Inaba, 4 Hikojima and 39 were non agglutinating (NAG) vibrios. No isolate of V. cholerae O139 was detected during the entire outbreak. The isolates were multi drug resistant to antibiotic susceptibility tests. This points to the resurgence of V. cholerae El Tor Ogawa causing outbreaks of cholera with a discernible increase in the incidence of multi drug resistant strains.

Serotyping of pulmonary isolates of Candida albicans. A preliminary study.

A total of twenty strains of Candida albicans isolated from chronic pulmonary lesions were subjected to serotyping procedure adopting the conventional agglutination reactions. Prior to serotyping all the twenty strains were isolated on at least three different occasions and were identified by the standard accepted criteria (germ tube production, colony morphology on cornmeal Tween 80 agar and sugar fermentation reactions). Of the twenty strains, four strains belonged to serotype B and the remaining sixteen had the agglutination profile consistent with serotype A. The serotyping was undertaken with locally raised antisera against serotype A and serotype B. The proposed serotyping procedure has a definite potential in the epidemiological investigations of Candida albincans.