[Phage count in the waters of the Canal Imperial de Aragón and the Ebro River in Saragossa]. / Recuento de fagos en aguas del Canal Imperial de Aragón y del río Ebro en Zaragoza.

Saragossa city supply channel and the river Ebro (up and downstream urban sewage) were studied for the presence of coliphages and B. fragilis phages and their relationship with the bacterian faecal indicators. In the supply channel the coliphages geometric mean was of 130 ufp/100 ml, and showed no correlation with faecal and total coliforms, but it showed indirect correlation with ambient temperature. In the river Ebro the coliphages geometric mean ranged from 290 to 8,000 ufp/100 ml; the relationship with total and faecal coliforms and faecal streptococci was high, but they were temperature independent. With the methodology utilized B. fragilis phages only were recovered in samples with faecal coliforms levels > 1 x 10(4) ufc/100 ml.

Outbreak of infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis group C type 2 in a nursery.

An outbreak of meningococcal infection which took place in a nursery in Rioja, Spain, is reported. Between November 1981 and February 1982, 11 patients had meningitis with or without septicaemia. Two died. Three meningococcal strains from the patients isolated were studied. All three were group C type 2 and were resistant to sulphadiazine (MIC 50 mg/l) but susceptible to penicillin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, rifampicin and spiramycin. This outbreak took place during an epidemic in which serogroup B was the most prevalent in Spain. Two surveys before and after chemoprophylaxis were made to determine the carrier rate in the nursery population. The strain causing the outbreak was found in 2.5 and 4 per cent of persons respectively. Rifampicin was administered to all carriers after the first survey and to carriers of the virulent strain after the second survey. The remaining children were given polysaccharide C vaccine. No more cases arose after this last prophylactic measure.