ABSTRACT
AIMS: Yersinia enterocolitica causes several syndromes in humans. The most common presentation is enterocolitis in children, presenting as fever and diarrhoea. A Y. enterocolitica multiple strain infection in twin infants was investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS: One isolate was recovered from one patient and two morphologically-different isolates were recovered from the other infant. Biochemically, all isolates were identified as Y. enterocolitica group. The genomic DNA from each strain was purified and DNA fingerprinting was performed. The banding patterns observed for Y. enterocolitica isolates 2 and 3, from patients 1 and 2, respectively, were identical when comparing the presence or absence of major bands. However, Y. enterocolitica isolate 1, from patient 1, showed a distinctive banding pattern from isolates 2 and 3. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that one infant was colonized by more than one strain of Y. enterocolitica, demonstrating that multiple strains can colonize and invade a patient. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Recognition of multiple strain infections can be important in diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of Y. enterocolitica infections, as well as in disease epidemiology. The technique described here offers a straightforward method for strain comparison.
Subject(s)
DNA Fingerprinting , Diseases in Twins , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Yersinia Infections/microbiology , Yersinia enterocolitica/classification , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Bacterial Typing Techniques , DNA, Bacterial/analysis , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique , Twins , Yersinia enterocolitica/drug effects , Yersinia enterocolitica/genetics , Yersinia enterocolitica/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
Motile Aeromonas infections of the foot are caused mostly by post-traumatic incidence, occurring mostly during summer months. Serious complications such as osteomyelitis and amputation can result if the infections go untreated or are inadequately treated. The role of each species of motile Aeromonas in pathogenesis and response to antimicrobial agents is not well understood because of taxonomic uncertainty. As a group, motile Aeromonas respond well to aminoglycosides, second-generation and third-generation cephalosporins, quinolones, and some beta-lactam antibiotics.
Subject(s)
Aeromonas , Foot Diseases/microbiology , Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Foot Diseases/drug therapy , Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/drug therapy , HumansABSTRACT
Chromoblastomycosis is a cutaneous-subcutaneous fungal infection that is being seen more frequently in patients living in the US. The disease normally occurs in patients living in tropical and subtropical regions, but as the number of immigrants into the US increases, podiatrists must be able to recognize the manifestations of chromoblastomycosis. The most common sight involved is the lower extremity where it easily can be confused with other diseases such as tertiary syphilis, phaeohyphomycosis, and cutaneous tuberculosis, among others. Small lesions should be excised, while antifungal drugs, such as itraconazole, should be used when more tissue is involved.
Subject(s)
Chromoblastomycosis , Foot Diseases , Adult , Chromoblastomycosis/diagnosis , Chromoblastomycosis/therapy , Foot Diseases/diagnosis , Foot Diseases/therapy , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Two enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) detecting Chlamydia trachomatis from endocervical swabs, Syva MicroTrak (MT) and Abbott Chlamydiazyme (CZ), were compared with a tissue culture (TC) standard. Initially, 8% (100 of 1250) of specimens were TC positive, yielding sensitivities of 94% (94 of 100) for MT and 79% (79 of 100) for CZ with identical 98% specificities (1129 of 1150 for MT and 1130 of 1150 for CZ). Discrepant specimens were retested by both EIAs and assayed for elementary bodies (EBs) by a fluorescent antibody test. After discrepancy analysis, 9.5% (118) of 1240 patients were either TC or EB positive, yielding sensitivities of 94.1% for MT (111 of 118) and 79.7% for CZ (94 of 118) with identical specificities of 100% (1122 of 1122). These results indicate that the MT is significantly more sensitive (p less than 0.05, McNemar test) than CZ in detecting C. trachomatis from endocervical swabs.
Subject(s)
Chlamydia trachomatis/isolation & purification , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Chlamydia Infections/diagnosis , Culture Techniques/standards , Evaluation Studies as Topic , False Negative Reactions , False Positive Reactions , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Humans , Sensitivity and Specificity , Vaginal SmearsABSTRACT
The clinical relevance and taxonomy of motile Aeromonas species are areas of current controversy. Strains of motile Aeromonas isolates (n = 60) from various sources were identified to species level using the following tests (all incubated at 30 degrees and 37 degrees C): esculin hydrolysis; formation of gas from glucose; production of acetoin; production of acid from mannitol and arabinose; decarboxylation of lysine and ornithine, dihydrolation of arginine; and pyrazinamide hydrolysis in a semisolid medium. The tests' results were similar at incubation temperatures of 30 degrees and 37 degrees C. Of the strains, 59 (98%) of 60 were identified to species level by the full battery of tests: 25 as A. hydrophila, 18 as A. caviae, 14 as A. sobria, one as A. veronii, and one as A. schubertii. (The only A. veronii and A. schubertii isolates identified were ATCC strains). All (25 of 25) strains of A. hydrophila and 17 (94%) of 18 of A. caviae hydrolyzed pyrazinamide in less than 24 hr, whereas all strains of A. sobria showed no pyrazinamidase activity. Absence of pyrazinamidase was, thus, a convenient phenotypic marker for A. sobria. Four additional tests (esculin hydrolysis, acetoin production, lysine decarboxylation, and gas production from glucose) identified within 24 hr all examples of the three common species of Aeromonas. Recently proposed species did not contribute to our ability to discriminate among stool, other clinical, and environmental isolates of Aeromonas spp.
