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Biomedical subjects

H Kator

Publications and source records attributed to H Kator.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Experimental mycobacteriosis in striped bass Morone saxatilis.

Striped bass Morone saxatilis were infected intraperitoneally with approximately 10(5) Mycobacterium marinum, M. shottsii sp. nov., or M. gordonae. Infected fish were maintained in a flow-through freshwater system at 18 to 21 degrees C, and were examined histologically and bacteriologically at 2, 4, 6, 8, 17, 26, 36 and 45 wk post-infection (p.i.). M. marinum caused acute peritonitis, followed by extensive granuloma development in the mesenteries, spleen and anterior kidney. Granulomas in these tissues underwent a temporal progression of distinct morphological stages, culminating in well-circumscribed lesions surrounded by normal or healing tissue. Mycobacteria were cultured in high numbers from splenic tissue at all times p.i. Standard Ziehl-Neelsen staining, however, did not demonstrate acid-fast rods in most early inflammatory foci and granulomas. Large numbers of acid-fast rods were present in granulomas beginning at 8 wk p.i. Between 26 and 45 wk p.i., reactivation of disease was observed in some fish, with disintegration of granulomas, renewed inflammation, and elevated splenic bacterial densities approaching 10(9) colony-forming units g(-1). Infection with M. shottsii or M. gordonae did not produce severe pathology. Mild peritonitis was followed by granuloma formation in the mesenteries, but, with 1 exception, granulomas were not observed in the spleen or anterior kidney. M. shottsii and M. gordonae both established persistent infections in the spleen, but were present at densities at least 2 orders of magnitude less than M. marinum at all time points observed. Granulomas in the mesenteries of M. shottsii- and M. gordonae-infected fish resolved over time, and no reactivation of disease was observed.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Elimination of fecal coliforms and F-specific RNA coliphage from oysters (Crassostrea virginica) relaid in floating containers.

Declining oyster (Crassostrea virginica) production in the Chesapeake Bay has stimulated aquaculture based on floats for off-bottom culture. While advantages of off-bottom culture are significant, the increased use of floating containers raises public health and microbiological concerns, because oysters in floats may be more susceptible to fecal contamination from storm runoff compared to those cultured on-bottom. We conducted four commercial-scale studies with market-size oysters naturally contaminated with fecal coliforms (FC) and a candidate viral indicator, F-specific RNA (FRNA) coliphage. To facilitate sampling and to test for location effects, 12 replicate subsamples, each consisting of 15 to 20 randomly selected oysters in plastic mesh bags, were placed at four characteristic locations within a 0.6- by 3.0-m "Taylor" float, and the remaining oysters were added to a depth not exceeding 15.2 cm. The float containing approximately 3,000 oysters was relaid in the York River, Virginia, for 14 days. During relay, increases in shellfish FC densities followed rain events such that final mean levels exceeded initial levels or did not meet an arbitrary product end point of 50 FC/100 ml. FRNA coliphage densities decreased to undetectable levels within 14 days (16 to 28 degrees C) in all but the last experiment, when temperatures fell between 12 and 16 degrees C. Friedman (nonparametric analysis of variance) tests performed on FC/Escherichia coli and FRNA densities indicated no differences in counts as a function of location within the float. The public health consequences of these observations are discussed, and future research and educational needs are identified.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Sorbitol-fermenting bifidobacteria as indicators of diffuse human faecal pollution in estuarine watersheds.

Sorbitol fermenting bifidobacteria were evaluated as indicators of non-point source human faecal pollution to three sub-estuaries with elevated faecal coliform densities. Human-specific bifidobacteria correlated with identifiable human sanitary deficiencies in feeder streams to estuarine creeks in two of three watersheds examined, one rural and one moderately developed. Sorbitol-fermenting bifidobacteria were recovered at densities ranging from 1 to 90 colony-forming-units 100 ml-1 in 11 of 258 water samples but were undetected in sediment (n = 68) and scat from resident wildlife (deer, muskrat and raccoon, n = 20). Failure to detect sorbitol-fermenting bifidobacteria in water samples during the summer months was consistent with laboratory microcosm results showing non-recoverability of Bifidobacterium adolescentis after 5-9 d in membrane-filtered estuarine water at 23 and 30 degrees C, but persistence for 4 weeks at 10 degrees C. Persistence of sewage-derived bifidobacteria in membrane-filtered freshwater at 15 degrees C was also observed. Recovery of sorbitol-fermenting bifidobacteria was complicated by high background levels of Gram-positive rods and cocci. Use of propionic acid and reduced pH (pH = 5.0), or use of a two-step resuscitation protocol using non-selective and selective media, did not improve recovery. Although human specific bifidobacteria hold promise as indicators of diffuse faecal contamination, methodological constraints now limit its application to situations of gross contamination, or sampling potential sources during environmental conditions conducive to bifid persistence.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Enumeration of Enterococcus sp. using a modified mE method.

A modified mE medium (mEI) containing the chromogenic substrate indoxyl-beta-D-glucoside to detect beta-D-glucosidase activity was evaluated with respect to specificity and recovery of enterococci from environmental waters. Extending incubation from 24 to 48 h improved enterococci recovery but 77% of the colonies classified as non-target were confirmed as enterococci. Randomly chosen enterococcal isolates from sewage, exposed in microcosms containing 0.22 micron membrane filtered fresh or estuarine water, exhibited differences in persistence as a function of exposure treatment. Decreasing the concentration of or eliminating indoxyl-beta-D-glucoside from mE did not significantly affect recovery of purified isolates.

Bacteriological Techniques↗
PubMed1988

Survival of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in estuarine environments.

Survival of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in estuarine waters was compared over a variety of seasonal temperatures during in situ exposure in diffusion chambers. Sublethal stress was measured by both selective-versus-resuscitative enumeration procedures and an electrochemical detection method. E. coli and Salmonella spp. test suspensions, prepared to minimize sublethal injury, were exposed in a shallow tidal creek and at a site 7.1 km further downriver. Bacterial die-off and sublethal stress in filtered estuarine water were inversely related to water temperature. Salmonella spp. populations exhibited significantly less die-off and stress than did E. coli at water temperatures of less than 10 degrees C. Although the most pronounced reductions (ca. 3 log units) in test bacteria occurred during seasonally warm temperatures in the presence of the autochthonous microbiota, 10(2) to 10(4) test cells per ml remained after 2 weeks of exposure to temperatures of greater than 15 degrees C. Reductions in test bacteria were associated with increases in the densities of microflagellates and plaque-forming microorganisms. These studies demonstrated the survival potential of enteric bacteria in estuarine waters and showed that survival was a function of interacting biological and physical factors.

Escherichia coli↗
PubMed1979

Sublethal stress in Escherichia coli: a function of salinity.

Sublethal stress in Escherichia coli was detected in various test media after exposure (in vitro) to seawater of various salinites. Stress was measured with an electrochemical detection technique and a beta-galactosidase assay. Test media included EC medium, medium A-1, and tryptic soy broth modified to contain lactose for beta-galactosidase assay experiments. Stress was defined as the difference between a predicted electrochemical response time calculated for unstarved cells from a standard curve and the observed electrochemical response time for cells starved in seawater. The higher the salinity, the greater the stress for all test media examined. Stress was most pronounced in EC and was attributed primarily to initial die-off of starved cells exposed to the test medium at the elevated temperature of 44.5 degrees C. Lag time and growth rates in test media were not significantly affected by salinity. beta-Galactosidase specific activity, assayed in starved cells after transfer to an induction medium at 44.5 degrees C for 150 min, was inversely related to the salinity of the starved cell suspension. The consequences of these observations with respect to coliform enumeration methods are discussed.

Bacteriological Techniques↗