ABSTRACT
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was compared with culture for the detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, and Mycoplasma genitalium in clinical samples (vaginal secretions, throat and endotracheal secretions, and skin swabs) obtained from 47 high-risk pregnant women peripartum and eight newborn infants. Detection using PCR with homologous primers was highly specific, as a product with the expected length was consistently amplified with homologous but not with heterologous species. The limit of detection of the PCR assay was 10 color-changing units (CCU) of Mycoplasma strains. The PCR technique facilitated detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum DNA in 31 of 55 patients studied, of Mycoplasma hominis in seven samples, and of Mycoplasma genitalium in two samples. Four PCR-positive patients yielded culture-negative results. In one case a culture-positive sample was negative by PCR. The results show that PCR is a valuable tool for rapid detection of genital mycoplasmas in clinical samples. It is fast, sensitive, specific, and easy to perform, requiring minimal preparation of the clinical sample.
Subject(s)
Infant, Newborn, Diseases/diagnosis , Mycoplasma Infections/diagnosis , Mycoplasma hominis , Mycoplasma , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/diagnosis , Ureaplasma Infections/diagnosis , Ureaplasma urealyticum , Vaginal Diseases/diagnosis , Base Sequence , DNA Primers , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Infant, Newborn, Diseases/microbiology , Male , Molecular Sequence Data , Mycoplasma Infections/microbiology , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/microbiology , Ureaplasma Infections/microbiology , Vaginal Diseases/microbiologyABSTRACT
292 Salmonella strains were isolated between 1986-1988 in the bacteriological unit of the Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa (Zaïre). One hundred of these strains were isolated from pediatric samples. The most frequent strains were S typhi, S enteritidis and S typhimurium. S typhi strains were sensitive to all antibiotics tested. The other salmonella serotypes had an increasing resistance to several antibiotics especially ampicillin, streptomycin, tetracyclin and kanamycin. A significant decline was observed with chloramphenicol and sulfamethoxazol-trimetoprim. Stool-isolated strains from children were found to be resistant to all antibiotics in common use in 5/6 cases. In systemic Salmonella infection, treatment with chloramphenicol or sulfamethoxazole-trimetoprim plus gentamycin is probably preferable to any other antibiotic recommended for Salmonella infection.
Subject(s)
Drug Resistance, Microbial , Salmonella Infections/microbiology , Salmonella/drug effects , Child , Democratic Republic of the Congo , Humans , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Salmonella/classification , Salmonella Infections/epidemiology , SerotypingABSTRACT
A preliminary and anterior bacteriological study about 38 plant antidiarrheic traditional preparations, has demonstrated that 35 of them have bactericidal activity. Thirty inhibit the growth of all select germs and 5 exert this bactericidal effect on some germs. Some extracts proceeding of these possess a bactericidal activity, specially if they contain polyphenols (flavonoids, catechics tanins), saponins and alkaloids.
