bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Indirect hemagglutination employing enterobacterial common antigen and Yersinia somatic antigen: a technique to differentiate brucellosis from infections involving cross-reacting Yersinia enterocolitica
Authors: Mittal K R , Ricciardi I D , Tizard I R
Published: January 2020

The existence of enterobacterial common antigen in Yersinia enterocolitica and its absence in Brucella abortus were utilized in an attempt to provide a method to distinguish Brucella infections from infections with cross-reacting Yersinia. The indirect hemagglutination test was employed for this purpose. In experimental laboratory animals, the presence of anti-enterobacterial common antigen was found to be indicative of prior exposure to Y. enterocolitica rather than B. abortus. In cattle, however, low titers of anti-enterobacterial common antigen were present in all animals. It was observed that anti-enterobacterial common antigen titers either equaled or exceeded anti-Yersinia O titers in Yersinia-exposed animals, whereas in animals infected with B. abortus the anti-Yersinia O titer generally exceeded the anti-enterobacterial common antigen titer.
In vitro defects of phagocyte chemotaxis during pregnancy
Authors: Maltzer M C , Silva J
Published: January 2020

Pregnant women have an increased risk for some infections, particularly during the last trimester. Phagocytic emigration from the circulation into tissues is an important aspect of the initial immune response. Therefore, circulating phagocytes of 42 pregnant and 15 postpartum patients were studied in vitro for random and chemotactic (or directional) migration through membrane filters (Millipore Corp., Bedford, Mass.). Random migration of phagocytes from all 42 pregnant patients studied in each trimester was within normal limits. Chemotactic migration of 25 patients who were between 6 and 33 weeks of pregnancy was also similar to values obtained with control leukocytes (20 nonpregnant, normal females. However, phagocytes of 17 other women studied between week 34 of pregnancy and term showed marked depressions in chemotaxis (P less than 0.001 from control values). During labor and within 3 days of delivery, chemotactic migration increased to supranormal levels in 14 of 15 women studied. Sera from six pregnant patients with proven chemotactic defects did not reduce migration when incubated with normal phagocytes. These chemotactic defects appear to be intrinsic and may be important in predisposing to infections during late pregnancy.
Misdiagnosis caused by fungal contaminant in a histological stain solution
Authors: McGregor D H , Hodges G R , Barnes W G , Brandsberg J W , Lee S H , Brugger N H
Published: January 2020

Silver stains on tissue and cytology specimens are important in the evaluation of patients with suspected fungal infections. Care must be taken, however, to prevent misinterpretation of contamination artifacts. Two cases presenting such a problem are reported. The first patient had granulomatous leg lesions that microscopically showed characteristics of erythema induratum but with budding yeastlike organisms demonstrated by Grocott methenamine silver stain. Cultures and subsequent biopsies were negative for fungi. The second patient had a steroid-dependent chronic obstructive lung disease, and during evaluation for possible Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, the Grocott methenamine silver stain on expectorated sputum showed budding yeastlike organisms. Sputum cultures were negative for fungi. Examination of the two Grocott light-green counterstain solutions demonstrated black, budding yeast cells similar to those seen in the specimens from the patients. Culture of the counterstain grew Exophiala (Phialophora) jeanselmei. Further studies revealed that this cause of misdiagnosis could be prevented by either filtering or adding thymol to the counterstain solution. Care regarding contamination of histological stain solutions is emphasized.
Rapid detection and identification of JC virus and BK virus in human urine by using immunofluorescence microscopy
Authors: Hogan T F , Padgett B L , Walker D L , Borden E C , McBain J A
Published: January 2020

An indirect immunofluorescence method was developed and used to detect urinary excretion of abnormal transitional cells infected with JC virus (JCV) or BK virus (BKV). This method was compared with urinary cytology, electron microscopy, viral culture, and viral serology in groups of immunosuppressed renal transplant recipients and normal controls. The indirect immunofluorescence method detected and identified JCV excretion in four persons, BKV excretion in one person, and both JCV and BKV excretion in eight others. Viral antigen was identified only in the nuclei of cytologically abnormal cells. Of these 13 persons, 8 also had polyoma virions detected in the urine by electron microscopy. With repeated study of sequential urine samples, 30% of transplant recipients and 6% of normal controls were positive by one or more microscopy methods. Serological results confirmed a high incidence of both JCV and BKV multiplication in the immunosuppressed patients. However, serology did not correlate directly with urinary virological findings. Urinary cytology and the indirect immunofluorescence method were rapid and sensitive methods for detecting and identifying urinary excretion of JCV and BKV.
Anaerobic botryomycosis
Authors: Schlossberg D , Keeney G E , Lifton L J , Azizhkan R G
Published: January 2020

Botryomycosis ofthe liver developed in a patient receiving corticosteroid therapy. The botyromycosis was caused by Propionibacterium acnes, which grew only anaerobically. The patient was successfully treated medically and at followup is asymptomatic.
Yersinia enterocolitica in adults with gastrointestinal disturbances: need for cold enrichment
Authors: Weissfeld A S , Sonnenwirth A C
Published: January 2020

In a survey of hospitalized adults, cold enrichment of feces resulted in an incidence rate of Yersinia enterocolitica equal to that of Salmonella spp. Y. enterocolitica was not recovered by routine procedures.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of antibodies against Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular polysaccharides
Authors: Russell H , Edwards L R , Wortham E W , Facklam R R
Published: January 2020

The development of an assay to measure the human immune response to pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides is described.
Comparison of the microagglutination test with bactericidal response to Legionella pneumophila (Legionnaires disease bacterium)
Authors: Smalley D L , Ourth D D
Published: January 2020

This investigation found that individuals with microagglutination antibody titers of 1:32 or greater to Legionella pneumophila produced bactericidal activity against the bacterium. Those individuals with microagglutination antibody titers of 1:16 or less demonstrated no bactericidal activity.
Antigenic comparisons of two new rotaviruses from rhesus monkeys
Authors: Stuker G , Oshiro L S , Schmidt N J
Published: January 2020

Two rotavirus strains isolated in cell culture from infant rhesus monkeys with diarrhea were closely related to SA 11 virus and to each other by plaque reduction neutralization tests. However, results of immune electron microscopy suggested possible antigenic differences between the two rhesus rotavirus strains.
Comparison of selective broth and plating methods for isolation of Streptococcus mutans from root surface dental plaques
Authors: Ellen R P , Fillery E D , Banting D W
Published: January 2020

Approximately 150 sound root surfaces in 44 subjects prone to root surface caries were sampled longitudinally to determine the microbial flora associated with root caries initiation. During the first 16 months of the study, a comparison of Streptococcus mutans recovery was made by using three bacteriological media: mitis-salivarius agar (MSA), mitis-salivarius-bacitracin-sucrose agar (MSB), and a partially selective mannitol-containing broth. Total streptococcal and S. mutans populations were found to be much lower than in previous reports. MSB was more selective; S. mutans was detected in many samples when its numbers were too low for isolation on MSA. However, recovery of S. mutans was greater on MSA than on MSB for most samples yielding colonies on both media. Mannitol-containing broth used as an enrichment medium yielded the highest frequency of S. mutans isolation among the three media.
Serotypes and penicillin susceptibility of pneumococci isolated from blood
Authors: Lauer B A , Reller L B
Published: January 2020

To learn the prevalence of penicillin-resistant pneumococci and the distribution of serotypes in proved pneumococcal infections, we studied 98 pneumococci recovered from blood over a 4-year period. Penicillin susceptibility was determined by the agar dilution method. Serotyping was done by the capsular swelling (quellung) test. Only one strain showed diminished susceptibility to penicillin (minimal inhibitory concentration, 0.12 micrograms/ml). Twenty-three different serotypes were identified; types 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, and 19 were the most frequent. Type 4 was the most common serotype. Sixty-two percent of strains were serotypes included in a recently licensed 14-type pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (Pneumovax, Merck), and an additional 16% were antigenically related serotypes. Even though penicillin-resistant strains of pneumococci may rarely cause bacteremic pneumococcal infection, we suggest that isolates from cerebrospinal fluid, blood, and other normally sterile body fluids be tested for penicillin susceptibility. Inclusion of additional serotypes in future pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines should be based on the current distribution of serotypes in large series of proved pneumococcal infections.
Mycobacterium avium complex: significance of isolation from bone marrow culture
Authors: Kozinn W P , Damsker B , Bottone E J
Published: January 2020

Six patients with bone marrow cultures yielding Mycobacterium avium complex were encountered at the Mount Sinai Hospital between 1969 and 1976. One additional isolate of the same mycobacterial species was recovered from splenic cyst fluid of a seventh patient. Because none of the patients had illnesses apparently due to M. avium complex, the isolates were unexpected and unexplained. Six of the seven patients had other acute or chronic infectious processes, occurring alone or superimposed on a preexisting disease. These patients were therefore unusual, because nontuberculous mycobacteria have previously been obtained from bone marrow cultures exclusively in patients who had either disseminated or pleuropulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteriosis. The isolation of M. avium complex from the reticuloendothelial tissue of these seven patients may reflect an asymptomatic infection or alternatively may lack significance. Either premise can only be judged by continued careful evaluation of similar findings.
Evaluation of three commercially available test products for serogrouping beta-hemolytic streptococci
Authors: Slifkin M , Pouchet-Melvin G R
Published: January 2020

Three beta-streptococci serogrouping kits, Phadebact, SeroSTAT, and Streptex, were evaluated as to their sensitivity, accuracy, and suitability as methods for serogrouping streptococci in a clinical microbiology laboratory. The majority of the primary isolates examined by the various methods associated with each of the three kits were correctly identified. The Streptex direct mixed-culture procedure was more often associated with the observation of cross-reactivity than with the direct procedures of the other two kits which did not employ mixed growth cultures. Furthermore, the Streptex kit was associated with more false-negative responses than those determined by the other two kits under evaluation. These results appeared to be due to the relatively poor sensitivity of the Streptex grouping reagents. The Streptex test procedures required more labor than the other kit procedures, requiring a 1-h enzymatic extraction step for the release of the group antigens. The SeroSTAT kit provided only a direct procedure and, thus, is limited in its application. The Phadebact procedures were the most versatile by providing not only a direct and a 24-h grouping procedure, but also by including a 4-h method that may be employed as required by the clinical microbiologist.
Latex test for serodiagnosis of infectious mononucleosis
Authors: Levey B A , Lo T M , Caldwell K E , Fletcher M A
Published: January 2020

A glycoprotein was isolated from bovine erythrocytes which has 20% carbohydrate and migrates on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as a single band. This glycoprotein carries the reactivity of bovine erythrocytes with Paul-Bunnell heterophile antibody of infectious mononucleosis. This bovine glycoprotein was coupled to carboxyl-modified latex particles with water-soluble carbodiimide. The resulting reagent was then used to develop a new test for the detection of infectious mononucleosis antibody. The bovine erythrocyte glycoprotein-latex reagent is more stable than sheep or horse erythrocytes, the traditional reagents for detection of infectious mononucleosis antibody. This new reagent is used in a direct slide test; no preabsorption of the sera is necessary. In the present study the glycoprotein-latex reagent compared favorably in terms of sensitivity and specificity with two standard tests for infectious mononucleosis antibody. Ninety-nine serum samples were tested. Agreement of the latex test with a stabilized horse erythrocyte spot test was 90%. Ten samples were weakly positive with the latex test and negative with the horse cell test. Only one of these was also positive with an enzyme-treated sheep cell test. This latter test was somewhate more sensitive than the latex test.
Rapid, reproducible enzyme immunoassay for gentamicin
Authors: Phaneuf D , Francke E , Neu H C
Published: January 2020

An enzyme immunoassay for gentamicin utilizing glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was compared to the radioimmunoassay. The enzyme immunoassay for gentamicin was accurate, specific, and easily performed. It offers an ulternative method to assay aminoglycosides and could be used in institutions using enzyme immunoassay to assay other drugs.
Etiological characterization of hepatitis B surface antigen-negative hepatitis among adult patients in Athens, Greece
Authors: Mathiesen L R , Papaevangelou G , Purcell R H , Grammatikopoulos D , Contoyannis P , Wong D
Published: January 2020

In a 4-month period, 216 cases of acute viral hepatitis were diagnosed in adults at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Athens, Greece. Twenty-six percent of these were hepatitis B surface antigen negative. A full set of clinical specimens was obtained from 19 of these patients, who were studied in depth for the etiology of their hepatitis. A total of 7 of the 19 patients had serological evidence of hepatitis A virus infection, and 2 had evidence of recent hepatitis B virus infection. The remaining 10 patients lacked evidence of hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus, cytomegalovirus, or Epstein-Barr virus infection related to their illness and were classified as having type non-A, non-B hepatitis. Types A and non-A, non-B hepatitis were clinically similar in these adults patients. However, patients with type non-a, non-B hepatitis were, on the average, older and more likely to have received parenteral inoculations during the 6 months before contracting hepatitis. Approximately 76% of the 216 consecutive cases of acute viral hepatitis were probably type B, approximately 10% were probably type A, and approximately 14% were probably type non-A, non-B, although the latter two types may be underestimated because of the possibility of superinfection with these viruses in asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen carriers. Thus, all three types of viral hepatitis appear to be important in the etiology of liver disease in Athens, Greece.
Serological testing for hepatitis B in male homosexuals: special emphasis on hepatitis B e antigen and antibody by radioimmunoassay
Authors: Murphy B L , Schreeder M T , Maynard J E , Hadler S C , Sheller M J
Published: January 2020

Serological markers for hepatitis B virus in male homosexuals demonstrated a high prevalence of past and present infection. Seropositivity of 91% for hepatitis B e antigen or antibody was demonstrated by radioimmunoassay in hepatitis B surface antigen-positive specimens.
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in central Canada
Authors: Brunton J , Hinde D , Langston C , Gross R , Rowe B , Gurwith M
Published: January 2020

During epidemiological studies carried out in urban and rural areas of the midwestern Canadian province of Manitoba, we cultured enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) from 16 (1.7%) of 945 diarrheal stools and 4 (0.3%) of 1,282 normal stools. ETEC was found in not more than 2.3% of diarrheal stools obtained from any population during any season. Diarrhea associated with ETEC persisted for a mean of 9 days. Two children were dehydrated and required intravenous fluid therapy, and one adult suffered a cholera-like syndrome. Half of the children required hospitalization for management of their diarrhea. Two adults and two children who harbored ETEC were completely asymptomatic. The pattern of toxin production correlated with serotype and the serotypes encountered were (with a few exceptions) similar to those found in other areas. We conclude that ETEC is an uncommon cause of diarrhea, both in rural and urban areas of central Canada. However, the possibility that ETEC might cause severe sporadic cases or epidemics of gastroenteritis remains.
Bacterial abundance on hands and its implications for clinical trials of surgical scrubs
Authors: Spradlin C T
Published: January 2020

The numbers of bacteria on the hands of 157 subjects volunteering for a clinical trial of a surgical scrub preparation were evaluated statistically. Differences among the volunteers with respect to day-to-day variability in bacterial counts were the most important source of variation in these counts. Generally, more bacteria were found on the left hand than on the right. The experimental plan, proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, contained criteria for acceptability of subjects which were found to exclude at least as many suitable volunteers as they admitted. The plan was also found to require more testing on more volunteers than was necessary to establish the efficacy of the surgical scrub.
Interpretation of spectrophotometric absorbance values to define results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays
Authors: Heck F C , Williams J D , Pruett J
Published: January 2020

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method was used to classify bovine serum as positive, negative, or doubtful for antibodies to Brucella abortus. Spectrophotometric data from assays of 64 serologically positive and 32 serologically negative bovine sera were analyzed statistically to define the range of spectrophotometric absorbance values which classify sera. Statistical analysis indicated that absorbance values less than 0.08 should be considered negative and values greater than 0.14 should be considered positive, with intermediate values declared doubtful, and that the probability of erroneously classifying a positive serum as negative or a negative serum as positive is less than 0.005.
Conditions for conducting the indirect hemolysis test for detection of antibodies to Brucella abortus
Authors: Hoffmann E M , Deyoe B L , Nicoletti P L , Tedder T F
Published: January 2020

Some conditions were examined for performing the indirect hemolysis test for bovine brucellosis. An antigen extracted by using dimethyl sulfoxide was used for all of the assays. Optimal results were obtained by using bovine erythrocytes coated with alkali-treated antigen at a concentration of 800 micrograms/ml. Exceeding this level did not give greater sensitivity. The sensitivity of the test could be decreased by increasing the number of coated erythrocytes used in the test. Evidence was also provided for the presence of heat-labile antibodies in the sera of vaccinated cattle. Heat treatment (58 degrees C for 50 min) caused a reduction in titer of all sera tested. It was also shown that lysis of erythrocytes was complete in less than 60 min. Therefore, it would be possible to reduce the time needed for analysis. Non-alkali-treated ("native") antigen would bind to bovine erythrocytes, but it was less effective in the test than alkali-treated material. Erythrocytes coated with relatively large amounts of the native antigen were less suspectible to lysis than were cells which had been treated with lower concentrations.
Comparison of histological and immunological techniques for detection of Pneumocystis carinii in rat bronchial lavage fluid
Authors: Milder J E , Walzer P D , Coonrod J D , Rutledge M E
Published: January 2020

We compared histological and immunological techniques in the early diagnosis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in bronchial lavage fluid of steroid-treated rats. The rats were sacrificed weekly and lavage fluids were: (i) examined with cresyl echt violet and Giemsa stains; (ii) examined for P. carinii antigens by indirect fluorescent-antibody, counterimmunoelectrophoresis, and double-diffusion techniques, using high-titer spectific antisera to P. carinii raised in rabbits. P. carinii was detected in lavage fluid by cresyl echt violet at 2 weeks of steroids and persisted even with steroid tapering; the intensity of the infection in lavage fluid closely paralleled that in the lungs. P. carinii was not detected in lavage by Giemsa stain until 4 weeks and disappeared from the fluids with steroid tapering. P. carinii was detected by indirect fluorescent antibody as early as 1 week of steroids, and the results correlated well with those of cresyl echt violet. P. carinii antigens were not detected in lavage fluids or serum by counterimmunoelectrophoresis or double-diffusion techniques. Although precipitin lines sometimes occurred, they were nonspecific. In this model, cresyl echt violet and indirect fluorescent antibody were the preferred techniques for the early diagnosis of P. carinii infection in bronchial lavage fluid.
Rapid gas-chromatographic method for identification of metabolic products of anaerobic bacteria
Authors: Rizzo A F
Published: January 2020

The volatile fatty acids, alcohols, nonvolatile fatty acids, and ketones produced by anaerobes can be separated and identified by using a single type of gas-chromatographic column. A rapid and simple procedure is described.
Correlation of autoagglutination and virulence of yersiniae
Authors: Laird W J , Cavanaugh D C
Published: January 2020

Virulent strains of Yersinia pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica invariably autoagglutinated in tissue culture media when grown at 36 degrees C. Avirulent strains did not possess this property.
Comparison of rectal swabs and stool cultures for the detection of gastrointestinal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Crossley K , Solliday J
Published: January 2020

In a survey of gastrointestinal staphylococcal colonization conducted in hospitalized burned patients, rectal swab cultures yielded Staphylococcus aureus significantly more often (34/65, 52%) than simultaneously collected stool cultures (24/65, 37%; P less than 0.01).
Detection of specific anti-leptospiral immunoglobulins M and G in human serum by solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
Authors: Adler B , Murphy A M , Locarnini S A , Faine S
Published: January 2020

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect leptospire-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG in the sera of patients infected with leptospiral serovars hardjo, pomona, or copenhageni. All patients produced specific IgM and IgG detectable by ELISA. In contrast, only a few patients produced IgG agglutinins whereas all produced IgM agglutinins. The specificity and sensitivity of the test suggest that the ELISA anti-IgM technique is a suitable method for detecting leptospiral antibodies in human sera for diagnostic and epidemiological purposes.
Rapid isolation of bacteria from septicemic patients by use of an antimicrobial agent removal device
Authors: Wallis C , Melnick J L , Wende R D , Riely P E
Published: January 2020

The new Antimicrobial Removal Device increased the efficacy of conventional methods for isolating bacteria from the blood of septicemic patients. The device removes as much as 100 microgram of antibiotics per ml from whole blood without a significant decrease in bacteria. Of 51 patients studied, 31 yielded positive cultures, and the Antimicrobial Removal Device permitted earlier isolation of the causative agent from blood. Subcultured within the first 12 h yielded 12 positive isolates, as the 31 agents were isolated more rapidly after Antimicrobial Removal Device permitted earlier isolation of the causative agent from blood. Subcultures within the first 12 h yielded 12 positive isolates, as compared to 2 when subcultured without processing in the device. Overall, 21 of the 31 agents were isolated more rapidly after Antimicrobial Removal Device treatment, and four samples were positive only after such treatment. One agent was not isolated in the treated culture.
Comparison of drug sensitivity testing with microdilution quantitative minimum inhibitory concentration and the Autobac I system
Authors: Jacob C V , Kleineman J
Published: January 2020

Antibiotic susceptibility studies were compared by the quantitative minimum inhibitory concentration and Autobac I. Four hundred common isolates from clinical materials including both gram-negative and -positive organisms were evaluated. Results demonstrate that the Autobac I method can provide reliable semiquantitative estimation of bacterial susceptibility that correlates well with an acceptable standard procedure. The specific advantages of the Autobac I system in addition to the reliability demonstrated are speed, objectivity of interpretation, and ability to provide a printed result. These advantages can result in increased speed of reporting, which may reduce hospital stay and patient morbidity as well as providing needed information more rapidly in critically ill patients with bacterial infections.
Identification of toxigenic Clostridium difficile by counterimmunoelectrophoresis
Authors: Welch D F , Menge S K , Matsen J M
Published: January 2020

A counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) technique which reacted positively with culture filtrates of Clostridium difficile was developed and compared with a cytotoxicity assay in human embryonic lung cell cultures. CIE, employing C. sordellii antitoxin, detected 17 of 17 C. difficile strains. Of those positive by CIE, 13 were cytotoxic in cell culture. Fourteen Clostridium species other than C. difficile, C. sordellii, and C. bifermentans were negative by CIE. C. sordellii and C. bifermentans gave positive CIE results but were not cytotoxic. Similar sensitivity of toxin detection was observed for both methods. Optimal conditions for performing CIE included use of 48-h chopped meat-glucose broth cultures as the antigen source, use of a 10x-concentrated U.S. Standard C. sordillii antitoxin, and electrophoresis for 1.5 h in 0.05 M tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane-barbital-sodium barbital, pH 8.8, at a constant current of 6 mA/slide. CIE appears to be a suitable alternative to the cytotoxicity assay and may serve as a means for presumptive identification of C. difficile.
Seroepidemiology of clinical isolates of Klebsiella in Connecticut
Authors: Blanchette E A , Rubin S J
Published: January 2020

The distribution of capsular serotypes of 200 clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca from four Connecticut hospitals was determined. Serotyping was done by an indirect fluorescent-antibody technique. Hospitals included three community hospitals from the Hartford area and one university hospital in New Haven. During the test period, epidemiological surveillance did not detect any nosocomial epidemic involving Klebsiella species. Ninety-two percent of the isolates were typable. Of the 72 possible serotypes, 62 were represented among these strains. Forty-two percent of the typable strains were distributed among 10 serotypes. The predominant serotypes were types 31, 22, and 18 representing 19% of the typable strains (8, 6, and 5%, respectively). No one particular serotype was associated exclusively with a specific site of infection.
Sequential vaginal cultures from normal young women
Authors: Sautter R L , Brown W J
Published: January 2020

Vaginal specimens were collected two to three times a week for 1 month from seven nurses. A total of 65 specimens were collected. Each sample consisted of three swabs and a saline wash. Semiquantitation of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria, mycoplasma and ureaplasma, and yeast was performed. Numerous species were recovered in each specimen; at least 37 species were isolated. Lactobacilli, Corynebacterium, Ureaplasma, Mycoplasma, Bacteroides melaninogenicus, and Candida albicans, when present, tended to remain throughout the entire month. Other organisms were present on a more sporadic basis. The number of organisms varied greatly during the sampling for each individual, whereas the types of organisms isolated from a particular subject remained relatively constant.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting antibodies in cattle in a herd in which anaplasmosis was diagnosed
Authors: Thoen C O , Blackburn B , Mills K , Lomme J , Hopkins M P
Published: January 2020

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for detecting antibodies in anaplasmosis with an antigen prepared from infected bovine erythrocytes. Protein A labeled with horseradish peroxidase was used as conjugate. A comparison was made of results of ELISA, complement fixation test (CFT), and card test (CT) on sera from 97 cows in a herd in which anaplasmosis had been diagnosed. Positive ELISA reactions were observed in serum dilutions of 1:20 or greater in each of 26 cows positive by CFT and in 18 of 22 cows suspected by CFT. Of 49 cows negative by CFT, 31 were negative by ELISA. Positive ELISA reactions were observed in 45 cows positive by CT; 27 of 44 cows negative by ct were negative by ELISA. No ELISA reactions were detected in the sera of 23 cows found negative in the CFT and CT or in 8 cows negative in CFT and positive in CT. No positive CFT, CT, or ELISA reactions were observed in sera of cattle in a noninfected herd.
Broiler chickens as potential source of Campylobacter infections in humans
Authors: Grant I H , Richardson N J , Bokkenheuser V D
Published: January 2020

Of 46 broiler chickens from a live poultry market in New York City, 38 (83%) harbored Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni in their rectal flora. The observed mean number of C. fetus per g of feces was 4.4 x 10(6). The organisms survived in the feces for at least 96 h at 4 degrees C whether stored in the gut or transferred to a vial. The best survival medium for pure cultures of C. fetus subsp.jejuni was heart infusion broth supplemented with sterile blood and kept in a microaerophilic atmosphere.
Antigenic relationships and rapid identification of Peptostreptococcus species
Authors: Wong M , Catena A , Hadley W K
Published: January 2020

Antisera against whole cells of each Peptostreptococcus species (P. anaerobius, P. micros, P. parvulus, and P. productus) were produced in rabbits. When these antisera were reacted against sonically disrupted cells and culture supernatant fluids in Ouchterlony tests, lines of identity were obtained among the antigens from all the species and uninoculated culture medium. When the antisera were subsequently absorbed with the dehydrated culture medium used to grow the peptostreptococci, all cross-reactions in heterologous antigen-antibody combinations were eliminated, leaving only species-specific precipitin arcs. These absorbed antisera, specific for each Peptostreptococcus species by Ouchterlony tests, were used for rapid identification studies. Staphylococcus aureus-bearing protein A was sensitized with each absorbed antiserum. These reagents produced specific coagglutination reactions with suspensions of each Peptostreptococcus reference strain and with 16 clinical isolates. No cross-reactions occurred with the Streptococcus intermedius, Peptococcus magnus, or Peptococcus asaccharolyticus strains tested.
Discrepancies between results obtained by agar and broth techniques in testing of drug combinations
Authors: Kurien S , Lorian V
Published: January 2020

One hundred strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis were tested by the double-disk agar diffusion method for their susceptibility to cephalothin, to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, and to combinations of these drugs. Forty-five strains showed a bridging inhibition zone between the two disks, suggesting a synergistic effect of the combination of cephalothin plus sulfamethoxozole-trimethoprim against these strains. Ten of these strains were retested against the individual drugs and their combination by the twofold broth dilution method. No strain showed higher susceptibility to any combination as compared with cephalothin alone.
Parainfluenza virus isolation enhancement utilizing a portable cell culture system in the field
Authors: Parkinson A J , Muchmore H G , Scott L V , Miles J A
Published: January 2020

Using a portable minaturized cell culture system, enhanced recoveries of parainfluenza virus types 1 and 3 were made in the field from symptomatic human adult subjects working at remote Antarctic stations.
Comparison of seven enzyme immunoassay systems for measurement of cytomegalovirus
Authors: Yolken R H , Stopa P J
Published: January 2020

The relative sensitivities of seven different enzyme immunoassay (EIA) systems for the measurement of cytomegalovirus (CMV) were compared. Methods which used two separate antisera to CMV provided the greatest degree of sensitivity. Equivalent sensitivity was noted with the use of either enzyme-labeled antiglobulin or unlabeled staphylococcal protein A and rabbit enzyme-antienzyme complex to measure the second anti-CMV antibody bound to the solid phase. Single-antibody methods were less sensitive than the double-antibody methods but were more sensitive than an inhibition EIA. However, the sensitivity of the inhibition EIA was improved when CMV-antibody complexes were separated from unreacted antibody by means of precipitation with polyethylene glycol. Double-antibody EIA systems are preferable when antisera prepared in two different animal species are obtainable. However, a number of single-antibody EIA systems can be formulated for use in situations where only a single antiserum is available.
Serogroups and biotypes among beta-hemolytic streptococci of canine origin
Authors: Biberstein E L , Brown C , Smith T
Published: January 2020

A study of hemolytic streptococci from clinical infections in dogs revealed the presence of four serogroups, with one to four biotypes in each, based on carbohydrate fermentation patterns. Of 254 isolates tested, 206 belonged to Lancefield group G, 30 to group C, 7 to group E, and 1 to group A. Ten isolates could not be grouped. Reactions on the three key carbohydrates, lactose, trehalose, and sorbitol, revealed four biotypes each in groups G and C, and two in group E and among the ungroupable cultures. The most common pattern, seen in 154 cultures, was lactose fermentation with no action on trehalose and sorbitol, and corresponded to that described for Streptococcus canis (Stafseth et al., J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 90:769-781, 1937). Most of the strains originated from skin, subcutaneous and wound infections, genitourinary lesions, otitis externa, and respiratory disease. Data suggest that group G streptococci may be preferentially parasites of the urogenital tract.
Involvement of the central nervous system in acute, uncomplicated measles virus infection
Authors: Hänninen P , Arstila P , Lang H , Salmi A , Panelius M
Published: January 2020

A prospective study on acute, uncomplicated measles infection was carried out in 59 patients hospitalized for an ordinary measles infection. A clinical and serological diagnosis of an acute measles infection was made in all cases. Serial serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens were taken two to five times from each patient and tested for pleocytosis, albumin, and measles-specific antibodies. Pleocytosis was found in 18 patients (30%), usually shortly after the onset of rash. Nine patients had antibodies against measles virus in their CSF. Six of them seemed to have damage to the blood-brain barrier, but in two cases there was a very high serum antibody titer with a normal serum/CSF ratio. One patient had a local antibody production against measles virus in the central nervous system. Conventional electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded on 22 children, and a separate, quantitative EEG study with two to six consecutive recordings was also performed on a group of nine patients. Moderate or strong slowing of background EEG activity was found in 50% of the patients. In the consecutive recordings, the changes culminated a few days after the onset of rash. No correlation seemed to exist between the changes in the CSF and the age of the patient, on the one hand, and slowing of the EEG, on the other.
Isolation of Vibrio-like group, EF-6, from patients with diarrhea
Authors: Huq M I , Alam A K , Brenner D J , Morris G K
Published: January 2020

The Vibrio-like organism EF-6 was isolated from more than 500 patients with diarrhea in Bangladesh between October 1976 and June 1977. Bacteriological studies indicate that EF-6 is a member of the family Vibrionaceae and that it should be provisionally placed in the genus Vibrio. EF-6 was isolated from patients who had diarrhea, but was not conclusively implicated as the etiological agent. Pending further study, EF-6 should be considered a potential enteropathogen.
Differentiation of strains of Escherichia coli: multiple typing approach
Authors: Crichton P B , Old D C
Published: January 2020

Results from biotyping, resistotyping, hemagglutinin typing, and antibiotic sensitivity testing allowed discrimination of 184 cultures of Escherichia coli and indicated that from each of 20 patients, multiple specimens yielded isolates of a single strain despite the diversity of sites sampled; from each of another 13 patients, strains of different types were isolated. Whereas only 52% of cultures were typed with 24 commerical O antisera, all were characterized by biotyping (27 types) and resistotyping (39 types). Because they identified too few types, hemagglutinin testing (14 types) and antibiogram testing (9 types) were of limited discriminatory value when used alone but aided strain identification when used in conjunction with biotyping and resistotyping. Identification of strains as the same or different is most likely to be achieved by the combined use of several of these systems, each of which may be used in laboratories unable to perform complete serological analysis of strains of E. coli, and we judge that biotyping and resistotyping would provide the most useful information.
Recurrent urinary tract infections in men: a role for aberrant bacterial forms?
Authors: Gleckman R A , Crowley M M , Natsios G A , Madoff S
Published: January 2020

We studied 11 infected, asymptomatic elderly men who had experienced recurrent urinary tract infections classified as bacterial relapse. These men did not have ileal loop bladders, urethral catheters, suprapubic catheters, or condom drainage. We had to process more than 1,000 urines from men attending the urology clinic to identify the 11 study patients. A positive antibody-coated bacteria immunofluorescence test was detected on the urinary sediments of each of these men. This selective study group was subjected to excretory urography and a 2-week course of antibiotics, in accordance with the results of in vaitro susceptibility tests. Two patients experienced a "cure." Recurrences developed in eight patients (six relapses, two reinfections), and in one patient a superinfection emerged. No pathogenetic role could be attributed to aberrant bacterial forms in this elderly population of asymptomatic men with recurrent, invasive urinary tract infections.
Aerobic and anaerobic urethral flora of healthy females in various physiological age groups and of females with urinary tract infections
Authors: Marrie T J , Swantee C A , Hartlen M
Published: January 2020

We characterized the aerobic and anaerobic urethral flora of healthy females in three physiological age groups (premenarcheal, reproductive, and postmenopausal) and of females with urinary tract infections. The mean number of species per sample was 6.5, 7.7, and 10.3 for each of the physiological age groups, respectively, and 6.5 for the urinary tract infection group. Marked quantitative changes were seen with age and disease. Aerobes accounted for 65.6 and 73.8% of the flora of the premenarcheal and reproductive age groups, respectively, whereas anaerobes were dominant in the postmenopausal age group, accounting for 65.5% of the flora. Aerobic gram-negative rods were not isolated from any of the premenarcheal or reproductive-age subjects. Of the 10 postmenopausal subjects, 5 carried aerobic gram-negative rods, but these organisms accounted for only 1% of the flora. In contrast, they constituted 95% of the urethral flora of the urinary tract infection group. Bacteroides melaninogeneicus was commonly isolated and was the dominant isolate in the postmenopausal age group. Bacteroides fragilis was recovered from 7 of the 10 postmenopausal subjects, but these organisms constituted only 3% of the total flora. The factors responsible for the changes in urethral flora with age remain to be determined.
Clinical laboratory evaluation of a screening medium (CN screen) for Cryptococcus neoformans
Authors: Cooper B H
Published: January 2020

Results obtained with 433 yeast isolates indicated that the CN screen medium could be used with confidence for presumptive identification of Cryptococcus neoformans. Of 49 C. neoformans isolates tested, only four stock isolates yielded false-negative results upon initial testing. After repeated subculturing on Sabouraud agar and retesting, these four isolates yielded correct results. Essentially, no false-positive results were obtained, and the data suggested that false-negative results could be eliminated by using fresh isolates of C. neoformans preincubated at 25 degrees C on Sabouraud glucose agar.
Thermodissociation of staphylococcal immune complexes and detection of staphylococcal antigen in serum from patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia
Authors: Tabbarah Z A , Wheat L J , Kohler R B , White A
Published: January 2020

We describe a simple and rapid method to dissociate antigen-antibody complexes to allow antigen detection by radioimmunoassay. Immunoglobulins and immune complexes were precipitated from serum in 50%-saturated ammonium sulfate. The precipitate was dissolved in distilled water and heated at 90 degrees C for 15 min to free the antigen and denature the antibody irreversibly. With this treatment, the sensitivity for detecting staphylococcal antigen added to human serum improved greater than or equal to 16-fold and was similar to the sensitivity in buffer. After intravenous injection of antigen into a rabbit with high levels of staphylococcal antibodies, antigen was detected only after thermodissociation. Also, in 4 of 26 patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, circulating antigen was detected after thermodissociation. Thermodissociation of immune complexes is a simple, rapid method and should be useful for detecting other heat-stable antigens.
Coproantibodies in hepatitis A: detection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immune electron microscopy
Authors: Locarnini S A , Coulepis A G , Kaldor J , Gust I D
Published: January 2020

A collection of 104-fecal specimens from 45 patients with hepatitis A, 14 patients with hepatitis B, 10 patients with non-A, non-B hepatitis, 6 patients with diseases other than hepatitis, and 18 healthy adults were studied for the presence of secretory immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin M to hepatitis A virus by solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immune electron microsopy. Specific fecal antibody was found only in patients with hepatitis A. Of 54 specimens from patients with hepatitis A, only 10 (18.5%) possessed detectable levels of fecal antibody, and each of these was collected within 10 days from the onset of dark urine. All 10 fecal specimens contained hepatitis A-specific secretory immunoglobulin A, and 4 were also positive for hepatitis A-specific immunoblobulin M. Four of the 10 antibody-positive specimens also contained hepatitis A virus particles which could be shown by immune electron microscopy to be coated with specific secretory immunoglobulin A. Since specific fecal antibody was not detected in all the patients with hepatitis A that were studied, it would appear to have limited diagnostic value, although its detection is evidence of recent infection.
Rapid identification of Staphylococcus aureus by using lysostaphin sensitivity
Authors: Severance P J , Kauffman C A , Sheagren J N
Published: January 2020

Lysostaphin sensitivity was evaluated as a rapid screening test to differentiate Staphylococcus aureus from other species of staphylococci and micrococci. A total of 168 strains of staphylococci, 108 of which were S. aureus, were cultured overnight in brain infusion broth. Gram stains were peformed before and after a 1:10 dilution of the culture was exposed to 2 micrograms of lysostaphin per ml at 37 degrees C for 30 min. A reduction of 90% or greater in the number of organisms seen on comparison of the pre- and posttreatment Gram stains was considered a "positive" test result and was found in 106 of 108 S. aureus strains; 60 of 60 non-S. aureus staphylococci had a negative test result, showing no difference between the pre- and posttreatment Gram stains. Identical results were obtained using commerical blood culture media in place of brain heart infusion broth. Also studied prospectively were 100 blood or broth cultures which the clinical microbiology laboratory identified as containing gram-positive cocci suggestive of staphylococci. All 33 cultures later found to contain S. aureus gave positive test results; 67 of 67 non-S. aureus staphylococci, micrococci, and steptococci were negative.
Paecilomyces lilacinus as the cause of chronic maxillary sinusitis
Authors: Rockhill R C , Klein M D
Published: January 2020

Paecilomyces lilacinus was isolated on two separate occasions from the left antrum of a patient with chronic maxillary sinusitis. The clinical presentation and characteristics of the fungus and the sinus debris histopathology are discussed.
Three new serotypes of Salmonella
Authors: Sutch K E , Blackburn B O
Published: January 2020

Three new Salmonella serotypes belonging to Kauffmann's subgenus I (F. Kauffmann, The Bacteriology of Enterobacteriaceae, 1966) were identified. These serotypes were Salmonella brazos 6,14,18:a:e,n,z15, Salmonella midway 6,14,24:d:1,7, and Salmonella balboa 48a, 48b:z41:monophasic.
Micro-indirect hemagglutination test for detection of antibodies to the Ibc protein of group B Streptococcus
Authors: Thangavelu C P , Koshi G
Published: January 2020

A micro-indirect hemagglutination test was developed for detecting antibody against the Ibc protein of group B Streptococcus. Formalin-preserved, tanned sheep erythrocytes were sensitized with a partially purified preparation of Ibc protein from a type Ic strain of group B streptococci. A total of 76% of 103 sera from pregnant and nonpregnant women had demonstrable antibody against this protein, with titers ranging from 10 to 320. Examination of five pairs of mother and cord sera revealed passive transfer of these antibiodies from mother to infant. This testing on a limited number of sera also revealed that elevated antibody titers against Ibc protein were more common among carriers of group B streptococci, especially those harboring strains with Ibc protein antigen, than among noncarriers. The technique described was found to be simple, specific, sensitive, and reproducible and may be of value in assessing the immune status of pregnant women as well as for epidemiological purposes.
Production of alkaline protease by Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Cryz S J , Iglewski B H
Published: January 2020

A highly sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay has been developed for Pseudomonas aeruginosa alkaline protease. Production of alkaline protease was found to be strain variable and medium dependent.