bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
External Quality Assessment Program for
Chlamydia trachomatis
Diagnostic Testing by Nucleic Acid Amplification Assays
Authors: Land Sally , Tabrizi Sepehr , Gust Anthony , Johnson Elizabeth , Garland Susan , Dax Elizabeth M. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

We report the results from 57 Australian diagnostic laboratories testing two external quality assessment panels using either the Roche Amplicor
Chlamydia trachomatis
test (R-PCR) or the Abbott LCx
Chlamydia trachomatis
assay (A-ligase chain reaction [LCR]). Panel samples were either normal urine spiked with
Chlamydia trachomatis
antigen or clinical urine specimens. There was no significant difference between laboratories or between assays in detection of
C. trachomatis-
positive clinical samples. Only at the lower limit of detection of the assays did the R-PCR demonstrate increased sensitivity over the A-LCR in the detection of
C. trachomatis
antigen. However, it was found that single-sample testing could lead to decreased test sensitivity. Detection of the presence of inhibitors of nucleic acid amplification differed between laboratories.
Identification of
Streptococcus bovis
Biotype I Strains among
S. bovis
Clinical Isolates by PCR
Authors: Songy Wanda B. , Ruoff Kathryn L. , Facklam Richard R. , Ferraro Mary J. , Falkow Stanley 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

Streptococcus bovis
causes 24% of all streptococcal infective endocarditis cases. There are many reports linking both
S. bovis
bacteremia and endocarditis with various forms of gastrointestinal disease (primarily colonic cancers).
S. bovis
is divided into two biotypes: I and II. The biotype I strain is much more frequently isolated from patients with endocarditis, gastrointestinal disease, or both. We describe here the isolation of biotype I-specific DNA sequences and the development of a PCR test which can identify
S. bovis
biotype I strains among
S. bovis
clinical isolates.
Outbreaks of Disease Suspected of Being Due to Human Monkeypox Virus Infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2001
Authors: Meyer Hermann , Perrichot Mathilde , Stemmler Markus , Emmerich Petra , Schmitz Herbert , Varaine Francis , Shungu Robert , Tshioko Florimond , Formenty Pierre 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT
Seven outbreaks of disease characterized by a pustular rash and suspected to have been caused by human monkeypox virus were investigated. The outbreaks occurred between February and August 2001 in the province of Equateur in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The outbreaks involved a total of 31 persons and caused five deaths. Specimens from 14 patients were available and were analyzed by electron microscopy, virus isolation, and PCR assays specific for monkeypox virus and varicella-zoster virus. We provide evidence that two outbreaks were indeed caused by monkeypox virus (16 cases, with four deaths), that in two outbreaks both monkeypox and varicella-zoster virus were involved (seven cases, with one death), and that two outbreaks were cases of chickenpox caused by infection with varicella-zoster virus (six cases, with no deaths). In one outbreak, no evidence for either monkeypox or chickenpox was found (two cases, with no deaths).
Clinical and Laboratory Features of
Mycobacterium mageritense
Authors: Wallace Richard J. , Brown-Elliott Barbara A. , Hall Leslie , Roberts Glenn , Wilson Rebecca W. , Mann Linda B. , Crist Christopher J. , Chiu Sher H. , Dunlap Robbie , Garcia Maria J. , Bagwell J. Todd , Jost Kenneth C. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

Six clinical isolates of the nonpigmented, rapidly growing species
Mycobacterium mageritense
were recovered from sputum, bronchial wash, blood, sinus drainage, and two surgical wound infections from separate patients in Texas, New York, Louisiana, and Florida. The isolates matched the ATCC type strain by PCR restriction enzyme analysis of the 65-kDa
hsp
gene sequence of Telenti, high-performance liquid chromatography, biochemical reactions, and partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. These are the first isolates of this species to be described in the United States and the first isolates to be associated with clinical disease. Susceptibility testing of all known isolates of the species revealed all isolates to be susceptible or intermediate to amikacin, cefoxitin, imipenem, and the fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides but resistant to clarithromycin. Because of their phenotypic and clinical similarity to isolates of the
Mycobacterium fortuitum
third biovariant complex (sorbitol positive), isolates of
M. mageritense
are likely to go undetected unless selected carbohydrate utilization or molecular identification methods are used.
Bordetella pertussis
Isolates with a Heterogeneous Phenotype for Erythromycin Resistance
Authors: Wilson K. E. , Cassiday P. K. , Popovic T. , Sanden G. N. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

Erythromycin is currently being used for both prophylaxis and treatment of pertussis infections. Erythromycin resistance was first recognized in
Bordetella pertussis
in Arizona in 1994, and since then, three additional resistant isolates have been identified in the United States. To better assess the potential public health impact of erythromycin-resistant
B. pertussis
, we used the disk diffusion assay to evaluate the frequency of erythromycin resistance among 1,030 recently circulating U.S. isolates and found the rate of occurrence to be <1%. We also describe a novel heterogeneous phenotype, with erythromycin-resistant colonies appearing only after a 7-day incubation period. To optimize patient management, we recommend that clinicians be alert to potential treatment failures and that laboratorians use a 7-day incubation period when screening for resistance. Our ongoing national surveillance will continue to monitor for resistant
B. pertussis
isolates and their potential association with changing pertussis epidemiology.
Comparison of CHROMagar Salmonella Medium and Xylose-Lysine-Desoxycholate and Salmonella-Shigella Agars for Isolation of
Salmonella
Strains from Stool Samples
Authors: Maddocks Susan , Olma Tom , Chen Sharon 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

The growth and appearance of 115 stock
Salmonella
isolates on a new formulation of CHROMagar Salmonella (CAS) medium were compared to those on xylose-lysine-desoxycholate agar (XLD), Salmonella-Shigella agar (SS), and Hektoen enteric agar (HEA) media. CAS medium was then compared prospectively to XLD and SS for the detection and presumptive identification of
Salmonella
strains in 500 consecutive clinical stool samples. All stock
Salmonella
isolates produced typical mauve colonies on CAS medium. Nine
Salmonella
strains were isolated from clinical specimens. The sensitivities for the detection of salmonellae after primary plating on CAS medium and the combination of XLD and SS after enrichment were 100%. The specificity for the detection of salmonellae after primary plating on CAS medium (83%) was significantly (
P
< 0.0001) higher than that after primary plating on the combination of SS and XLD media (55%) (a 28% difference in rates; 95% confidence interval, 23.0 to 34%). Twenty-nine non-
Salmonella
organisms produced mauve colonies on CAS medium, including 17
Candida
spp. (59%) and 8
Pseudomonas
spp. (28%). These were easily excluded as salmonellae by colony morphology, microscopic examination of a wet preparation, or oxidase testing. One biochemically inert
Escherichia coli
isolate required further identification to differentiate it from
Salmonella
spp. The use of plating on CAS medium demonstrated high levels of sensitivity and specificity and reduced the time to final identification of
Salmonella
spp., resulting in substantial cost savings. It can be recommended for use for the primary isolation of
Salmonella
spp. from stool specimens. Other media (e.g., XLD) are required to detect
Shigella
spp. concurrently.
Phenotyping and Genotyping of
Sporothrix schenckii
Isolates According to Geographic Origin and Clinical Form of Sporotrichosis
Authors: Mesa-Arango Ana Cecilia , del Rocío Reyes-Montes María , Pérez-Mejía Amelia , Navarro-Barranco Hortensia , Souza Valeria , Zúñiga Gerardo , Toriello Conchita 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

Sporothrix schenckii
isolates of fixed and lymphocutaneous clinical forms from Mexico (MX), Guatemala (GT), and Colombia (CO) as well as environmental isolates from MX were studied by analyzing their phenotypic characteristics (conidial length, thermotolerance by percent growth inhibition [GI] at 35 and 37°C, median lethal dose [LD
50
]) and genotypic characteristics (by random amplified polymorphic DNA [RAPD] analysis-PCR). A significant difference (
P
< 0.01) in the mean conidial length of
S. schenckii
clinical isolates from CO (
x̅
= 4.03 ± 1.04 μm) compared with those of clinical isolates from MX (
x̅
= 2.06 ± 0.53 μm) and GT (
x̅
= 2.68 ± 0.83 μm) was observed. The lowest thermotolerance, as determined by measurement of percent GI, was exhibited by isolates from CO at 35°C (
x̅
= 50.1% ± 15.9%) and 37°C (
x̅
= 72.7% ± 10.9%). In general, the highest virulence, as determined by measurement of the LD
50
for mice, was observed for the MX environmental isolates. RAPD analysis-PCR with 10-mer primers OPBG-01, OPBG-14, and OPBG-19 generated 52 reproducible bands. The 44
Sporothrix
isolates fell into four major groups by hierarchical cluster analysis. The first group (group I), formed by 25 (of 27) isolates from MX, had two subgroups: subgroup Ia with 10 environmental isolates and subgroup Ib with 14 clinical isolates. The second group (group II) had two subgroups: subgroup IIa, formed by isolates from CO, and subgroup IIb, formed by isolates from GT. Groups III and IV each had only one clinical isolate from MX. A principal-component analysis of the same data yielded three distinct groups, depending on the geographical origins of the isolates, including the isolates in groups III and IV from MX, which were grouped with the isolates from MX by principal-component analysis. This study revealed that isolates from CO had low thermotolerances at 35 and 37°C and could be associated with superficial skin lesions in patients with fixed clinical forms of sporotrichosis, the most frequent form of the disease in CO. Distinct patterns dependent on geographical origins were also revealed by RAPD analysis-PCR, but these had no relation to the clinical form of the disease.
Evaluation of the Phenol Ammonium Sulfate Sedimentation Smear Microscopy Method for Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis
Authors: Selvakumar N. , Rahman Fathima , Garg Renu , Rajasekaran S. , Mohan Nalini Sunder , Thyagarajan K. , Sundaram V. , Santha T. , Frieden Thomas R. , Narayanan P. R. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

We compared the sensitivity and specificity of the phenol ammonium sulfate (PhAS) sediment smear microscopy method for detection of acid-fast bacilli with those of direct smear microscopy, using culture results for
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
as the “gold standard.” The sensitivities of the PhAS and direct smear methods were 85% (465 of 547) and 83% (454 of 547), respectively, and the specificity of each method was 97%. The PhAS method was better accepted by the laboratory technicians and safer but necessitates an overnight sedimentation, which delays reporting of results until 1 day after sputum collection.
Inefficiency of 0.3% Carbol Fuchsin in Ziehl-Neelsen Staining for Detecting Acid-Fast Bacilli
Authors: Selvakumar N. , Rahman Fathima , Rajasekaran S. , Narayanan P. R. , Frieden Thomas R. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

We compared the sensitivity and specificity of a modified Ziehl-Neelsen (modified-ZN) staining method for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) with that of the standard Ziehl-Neelsen (standard-ZN) staining method, using culture results with
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
as the “gold standard.” The sensitivity (72%; 101 of 140) of the modified-ZN staining method, which uses 0.3% carbol fuchsin, was significantly lower than that of the standard-ZN staining method (84%; 117 of 140); the modified-ZN method missed 21% of cases detected by the standard-ZN method and 11% more of culture-positive samples than the standard-ZN method. The World Health Organization recommendation of 0.3% carbol fuchsin in the ZN method for staining AFB needs to be reconsidered.
Enterotoxigenic Profiles of Food-Poisoning and Food-Borne
Bacillus cereus
Strains
Authors: Guinebretière Marie-Hélène , Broussolle Véronique , Nguyen-The Christophe 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

The enterotoxigenic profiles of 51
B. cereus
food-related strains were compared to those of 37
B. cereus
food-poisoning strains.
cytK
and association of
hbl-nhe-cytK
enterotoxin genes were more frequent among diarrheal strains (73 and 63%) than among food-borne strains (37 and 33%). Unlike diarrheal strains, food-borne strains showed frequent
nhe
and
hbl
gene polymorphisms and were often low toxin producers.
DNA Hybridization Test: Rapid Diagnostic Tool for Excluding Bacterial Vaginosis in Pregnant Women with Symptoms Suggestive of Infection
Authors: Witt Armin , Petricevic Ljubomir , Kaufmann Ulrike , Gregor Hubertus , Kiss Herbert 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT
This prospective comparative study evaluated a DNA hybridization test (Affirm VPIII) as an alternative to Gram stain for the diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis. We examined vaginal smears from 1,725 pregnant women between the 12th and 36th weeks of gestation with clinical signs of vaginal infection. The DNA hybridization test compared well with Gram stain and can be used as a rapid diagnostic tool to exclude bacterial vaginosis.
Preliminary Evaluation of an Immunochromatographic Strip Test for SpecificTreponema pallidumAntibodies
Authors: Zarakolu Pinar , Buchanan Ian , Tam Milton , Smith Kim , Hook Edward W. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACTWe evaluated a prototype immunochromatographic strip (ICS) test for qualitative detection ofTreponema pallidumantibodies in 353 sera from 157 patients. For sera from 43 syphilis patients, the ICSs were reactive, while for sera from 114 patients without syphilis, including 22 with biologically false-positive Rapid Plasma Reagin test results, the ICSs were nonreactive. The ICS test may expand the available options for serological testing for syphilis.
Emergence of an Influenza B Virus with Antigenic Change
Authors: Nakagawa Naoko , Nukuzuma Souichi , Haratome Shigekazu , Go Shosan , Nakagawa Toshimasa , Hayashi Kozaburo 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT
Influenza B virus Yamagata group strains, isolated in the 2000 to 2001 influenza epidemic season, reacted poorly to the polyclonal ferret sera prepared against strains isolated earlier. The results of genetic analysis clarified that a point mutation of the nucleotide at position 126 in the HA1 region and the corresponding one-amino-acid substitution altered viral antigenicity.
Performance of an IS
6110
-Based PCR Assay and the COBAS AMPLICOR MTB PCR System for Detection of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Complex DNA in Human Lymph Node Samples
Authors: Rimek Dagmar , Tyagi Sachin , Kappe Reinhard 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

We compared the performance of two PCR assays, an IS
6110
-based in-house protocol and the COBAS AMPLICOR MTB PCR (COBAS MTB) system, for the detection of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
complex in 43 human lymph node samples from 40 patients. For the in-house PCR and the COBAS MTB assays, respectively, sensitivities were 87.5% versus 45.5% (
P
< 0.05), specificities were 100.0% versus 91.3% (
P
> 0.05), and inhibition rates were 4.8% versus 19.5% (
P
< 0.05). For the COBAS MTB system, additional
N
-acetyl-
l
-cysteine-NaOH pretreatment of the samples changed neither the inhibition rate nor the sensitivity significantly.
Genotyping of Methicillin-Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
by Assaying for the Presence of Variable Elements Associated with
mecA
Authors: Huygens Flavia , Nimmo Graeme R. , Schooneveldt Jacqueline , Munckhof Wendy J. , Giffard Philip M. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

The region surrounding
mecA
in methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) is highly variable. We describe an approach for the rapid genotyping of MRSA by assaying for the presence or absence of variable or mobile elements previously shown to be associated with the
mecA
region.
Sicca Syndrome Associated with
Tropheryma whipplei
Intestinal Infection
Authors: Bosman Cesare , Boldrini Renata , Borsetti Giuliana , Morelli Sergio , Paglia Maria Grazia , Visca Paolo 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

The case of a 61-year-old woman with Whipple's disease-associated sicca complex is reported.
Tropheryma whipplei
infection was diagnosed by histological and ultrastructural examination of the jejunal mucosa and sequence analysis of the bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA. The role of vitamin A malabsorption in sicca complex secondary to Whipple's disease is discussed.
Isolation of Enzymatically Active Replication Complexes from Feline Calicivirus-Infected Cells
Authors: Green Kim Y. , Mory Aaron , Fogg Mark H. , Weisberg Andrea , Belliot Gaël , Wagner Mariam , Mitra Tanaji , Ehrenfeld Ellie , Cameron Craig E. , Sosnovtsev Stanislav V. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT
A membranous fraction that could synthesize viral RNA in vitro in the presence of magnesium salt, ribonucleotides, and an ATP-regenerating system was isolated from feline calicivirus (FCV)-infected cells. The enzymatically active component of this fraction was designated FCV replication complexes (RCs), by analogy to other positive-strand RNA viruses. The newly synthesized RNA was characterized by Northern blot analysis, which demonstrated the production of both full-length (8.0-kb) and subgenomic-length (2.5-kb) RNA molecules similar to those synthesized in FCV-infected cells. The identity of the viral proteins associated with the fraction was investigated. The 60-kDa VP1 major capsid protein was the most abundant viral protein detected. VP2, a minor structural protein encoded by open reading frame 3 (ORF3), was also present. Nonstructural proteins associated with the fraction included the precursor polypeptides Pro-Pol (76 kDa) and p30-VPg (43 kDa), as well as the mature nonstructural proteins p32 (derived from the N-terminal region of the ORF1 polyprotein), p30 (the putative “3A-like” protein), and p39 (the putative nucleoside triphosphatase). The isolation of enzymatically active RCs containing both viral and cellular proteins should facilitate efforts to dissect the contributions of the virus and the host to FCV RNA replication.
Immunogenicity and Tolerogenicity of Hepatitis B Virus Structural and Nonstructural Proteins: Implications for Immunotherapy of Persistent Viral Infections
Authors: Kakimi Kazuhiro , Isogawa Masanori , Chung JoSan , Sette Alessandro , Chisari Francis V. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACTPersistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is characterized by a weak and narrowly focused CD8+T-cell response to HBV that is thought to reflect the induction of central and/or peripheral tolerance to HBV proteins in neonatal and adult onset infections, respectively. Immunotherapeutic strategies that overcome tolerance and boost these suboptimal responses may lead to viral clearance in chronically infected individuals. The present study was performed to compare the relative immunogenicities and tolerogenicities of HBV structural (envelope [ENV]) and nonstructural (polymerase [POL]) proteins at the CD8+cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) level in transgenic mice that replicate HBV in the liver and secrete infectious virus into the blood, thus representing an excellent model of persistent HBV infection. Interestingly, the mice were tolerant to the ENV but not to the POL proteins at the CTL level. Furthermore, the POL-specific CTLs had no impact on HBV replication or liver function in vivo, even though they were readily induced and reached the liver after DNA immunization, reflecting their relatively low avidity and the low level at which the POL protein is expressed by the hepatocyte. Collectively, these results suggest that the factors that make POL less tolerogenic also make POL-specific CTLs relatively inefficient effector cells when they reach the target organ. Immunotherapeutic strategies to control HBV infection by inducing virus-specific CTL responses in chronically infected subjects should be evaluated in light of this observation.
Enhanced Neurovirulence of Borna Disease Virus Variants Associated with Nucleotide Changes in the Glycoprotein and L Polymerase Genes
Authors: Nishino Yoshii , Kobasa Darwyn , Rubin Steven A. , Pletnikov Mikhail V. , Carbone Kathryn M. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACTBorna disease virus (BDV) infection produces a variety of clinical diseases, from behavioral illnesses to classical fatal encephalitis (i.e., Borna disease [BD]). Since the genomes of most BDV isolates differ by less than 5%, host factors are believed responsible for much of the reported variability in disease expression. The contribution of BDV genomic differences to variation in BD expression is largely unexplored. Here we compared the clinical outcomes of rats infected with one of two related BDV variants, CRP3 or CRNP5. Compared to rats inoculated with CRP3, adult and newborn Lewis rats inoculated with CRNP5 had more severe and rapidly fatal neurological disease, with increased damage to the hippocampal pyramidal neurons and rapid infection of brain stem neurons. To identify possible virus-specific contributions to the observed variability in disease outcome, the genomes of CRP3 and CRNP5 were sequenced. Compared to CRP3, there were four nucleotide changes in the CRNP5 variant, two each in the G protein and in the L polymerase, resulting in four amino acid changes. These results suggest that small numbers of genomic differences between BDV variants in the G protein and/or L polymerase can contribute to the variability in BD outcomes.
Cleavage of Influenza A Virus Hemagglutinin in Human Respiratory Epithelium Is Cell Associated and Sensitive to Exogenous Antiproteases
Authors: Zhirnov Oleg P. , Ikizler Mine R. , Wright Peter F. 
Published: October 2002

ABSTRACT

Proteolytic cleavage of the hemagglutinin (HA) of human influenza viruses A/Aichi/2/68 (H3N2) and A/WSN/34 (H1N1) from HA0 to HA1/HA2 was studied in primary human adenoid epithelial cells (HAEC). HAEC contain a mixture of ciliated and nonciliated secretory cells and mimic the epithelium membrane of the human respiratory tract. Pulse-chase labeling with [
35
S]methionine and Western blot analysis with anti-HA antibodies of cellular and virion polypeptides showed that HAEC cleaved newly synthesized HA0 to HA1/HA2 (“cleavage from within”) and significant amounts of cleaved HA accumulated within cells. It was also shown that HAEC was able to cleave HA0 of incoming virions (“cleavage from without”), whereas the HA0 of nonabsorbed virions free in extracellular fluid were not cleaved, supporting the conclusion that HA0 cleavage in HAEC is cell associated. Low-molecular-weight inhibitors of serine proteases, aprotinin and leupeptin, when added to influenza virus-infected HAEC suppressed HA0 cleavage and reduced the amount of cleaved HA1/HA2 both in cells and in progeny virions and thus diminished the infectivity of the virus. In contrast, the addition of fetal bovine serum, containing a number of high-molecular-weight antiproteases that compete for proteases in the extracellular environment, did not inhibit influenza virus growth in HAEC. These data suggest that in human respiratory epithelium the cleavage of influenza virus HA containing a single arginine in the proteolytic site (i) is a cell-associated process accomplished by serine-type protease(s) and (ii) is sensitive to low-molecular-weight exogenous inhibitors of serine proteases.