[Intestinal infection caused by Escherichia coli; pathogenesis, clinical characteristics and diagnosis].
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Bacteriological Techniques↗
Biomedical subjects
J Dankert
Publications and source records attributed to J Dankert.
Identification and characterization of a cross-reactive and a unique B-cell epitope on the hsp60 homologue from Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Two monoclonal antibodies (G6 and 7B), generated against a 63-kDa stress protein (GSP63) from Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain VP1, were used to investigate the antigenic heterogeneity of GSP63 among the Neisseriaceae and its antigenic relationship with the Hsp60 heat-shock protein family. Immunoblotting experiments demonstrated antibody reactivity with all pathogenic Neisseria tested and with some of the commensal strains. One of the antibodies (7B) cross-reacted with the 65-kDa M. bovis BCG heat-shock protein and with 14 out of the 21 similarly sized proteins in other bacterial species. The other antibody (G6) specifically recognized neisserial GSP63 homologues. These results demonstrate that GSP63 is a conserved neisserial antigen bearing both a unique neisserial B-cell epitope and a more widely distributed Hsp60 epitope.
Animals↗
Absence of Lyme borreliosis among patients with presumed Bell's palsy.
In a prospective study, 69 patients with a presumed idiopathic (Bell's) peripheral facial palsy were clinically and serologically evaluated for the presence of Lyme borreliosis. In addition, their clinical spectrum was compared with clinical manifestations collected retrospectively in nine patients with symptomatic peripheral facial palsy due to Lyme borreliosis. The seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies, determined by flagellum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, among 69 patients with idiopathic peripheral facial palsy (6%) and 153 healthy controls (4.5%) was not significantly different (odds ratio, 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 0.27 to 5.25). None of the patients with idiopathic peripheral facial palsy had or experienced the development of Lyme borreliosis. All patients with Lyme peripheral facial palsy had additional manifestations not present in patients with idiopathic peripheral facial palsy. These findings show that patients with a Lyme peripheral facial palsy can be differentiated from patients with idiopathic peripheral facial palsy by clinical examination. Therefore, screening of antibodies to B burgdorferi among patients with idiopathic peripheral facial palsy without additional manifestations is not recommended.
Adolescent↗
Physicochemical characterization of Escherichia coli. A comparison with gram-positive bacteria.
Eight Escherichia coli strains were characterized by determining their adhesion to xylene, surface free energy, zeta potential, relative surface charge, and their chemical composition. The latter was done by applying X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). No relationship between the adhesion to xylene and the water contact angles of these strains was found. Three strains had significantly lower surface free energies than the other strains. Surface free energies were either obtained from polar and dispersion parts or from Lifshitz-van der Waals and acid/base parts of the surface free energy. A correlation (r = 0.97) between the polar parts and the electron-donor contributions to the acid/base part of the surface free energy was found. The zeta potentials of all strains, measured as a function of pH (2-11), were negative. Depending on the zeta potential as a function of pH, three groups were recognized among the strains tested. A relationship (r = 0.84) was found between the acid/base component of the surface free energy and the zeta potential measured at pH = 7.4. There was no correlation between results of XPS and IR studies. Data from the literature of XPS and IR studies of the gram-positive staphylococci and streptococci were compared with data from the gram-negative E. coli used in this study. It appeared that in these three groups of bacteria, the polysaccharide content detected by IR corresponded well with the oxygen-to-carbon ratio detected by XPS.
Anion Exchange Resins↗
Changes in the distribution of Haemophilus influenzae type b clones associated with widespread infant vaccination in Finland.
Isolates from 646 consecutive Finnish Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) patients with systemic disease, collected before and during large-scale vaccinations with Hib conjugate vaccines, were analyzed by major outer membrane protein (OMP) subtyping, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) serotyping, and biotyping (BT). Strains with OMP-BT-LPS combinations (clones) 1-I-1 and 1c-I-1 disappeared at the same rate as the disease they were associated with. A preferential decrease in the number of isolates of clone 1-II-1 was recorded, whereas the reduction in disease caused by strains of clone 1-II-9 occurred at a lower rate than expected. The latter clone occurred mainly in the most densely populated area of Finland. Strains belonging to all the common Hib clones were isolated from the 16 infants who acquired Hib disease despite being (partially) vaccinated. Thus, Hib clones disappeared during mass vaccination with conjugate vaccines, although at different rates.
Adolescent↗
Bacterial migration along solid surfaces.
An in vitro system was developed to study the migration of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains. In this system an aqueous agar gel is placed against a solid surface, allowing the bacteria to migrate along the gel/solid surface interface. Bacterial strains as well as solid surfaces were characterized by means of water contact angle and zeta potential measurements. When glass was used as the solid surface, significantly different migration times for the strains investigated were observed. Relationships among the observed migration times of six strains, their contact angles, and their zeta potentials were found. Relatively hydrophobic strains exhibited migration times shorter than those of hydrophilic strains. For highly negatively charged strains shorter migration times were found than were found for less negatively charged strains. When the fastest-migrating strain with respect to glass was allowed to migrate along solid surfaces differing in hydrophobicity and charge, no differences in migration times were found. Our findings indicate that strategies to prevent catheter-associated bacteriuria should be based on inhibition of bacterial growth rather than on modifying the physicochemical character of the catheter surface.
Bacterial Adhesion↗
Identification and molecular analysis of a 63-kilodalton stress protein from Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Iron limitation, glucose deprivation, and growth under low oxygen supply (environmental stress) increased the expression of several proteins of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, including a 63-kilodalton protein identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This gonococcal stress protein (GSP63) was detected in the cytosol and copurified with lithium acetate-derived outer membranes. Successful purification of the protein was achieved by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and by chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose. Gel filtration of the purified protein revealed a molecular weight of approximately 450,000, suggesting that in its native state, the protein consists of a multimer of six to eight subunits. Isoelectric focusing indicated a pI of 5.2. Immunoblotting experiments using a polyclonal antiserum raised against the purified protein demonstrated cross-reactivity with a protein of the same electrophoretic mobility as GSP63 in all eight gonococcal isolates tested. N-terminal amino acid sequencing of the protein revealed up to 65% homology with members of the Hsp60 heat shock protein family, suggesting that GSP63 is related to this group of proteins. This relationship was further substantiated by the immunological cross-reactivity of GSP63 with mycobacterial Hsp60 and the ATP-binding activity of the gonococcal stress protein.
Acetates↗
Molecular epidemiology of Haemophilus influenzae type b in the Gambia.
One hundred two invasive and 64 noninvasive isolates of Haemophilus influenzae were collected in the course of a 2-year prospective field study on the epidemiology of H. influenzae meningitis in The Gambia. The isolates were serotyped, biotyped, and subtyped by outer membrane protein (OMP) profile analysis (OMP subtyping). H. influenzae meningitis was found to be caused by serotype b (95%). In invasive disease, serotype a, although present in the throat of healthy children, caused only occasionally (5.9%) disease. The distribution of biotypes of H. influenzae appeared to be very similar to that found outside The Gambia. A distinct pattern of OMP subtypes, different from other parts of the world, is prevalent in H. influenzae type b (Hib) in The Gambia. OMP subtypes 2, 4, 5, 8, and 9 were observed to be predominant. These subtypes, except subtype 2, have not been described. L subtypes (subtypes 2, 4, and 8) were associated with invasive disease, whereas non-L subtypes (subtypes 5 and 9) were found more often in healthy carriers (P less than 0.001). A significant difference in geographical distribution was found in subtypes of noninvasive Hib strains (P less than 0.05). We conclude that in The Gambia H. influenzae invasive disease is caused mainly by type b strains with a limited number of OMP subtypes, which are different from the subtypes found elsewhere in the world. These data are important for the surveillance of Hib disease in developing countries and are baseline data for a Hib polyribosyl-ribitolphosphate-conjugated vaccine trial in The Gambia. Alternative Hib OMP vaccines should include a set of representative OMPs.
Bacterial Capsules↗
Haemophilus influenzae is frequently detected with monoclonal antibody 8BD9 in sputum samples from patients with cystic fibrosis.
To determine the frequency of Haemophilus influenzae in sputum from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), 477 sputum samples obtained from 86 CF patients were analyzed by standard culture and by the in situ immunoperoxidase staining technique with monoclonal antibody 8BD9. H. influenzae was isolated from 109 sputum samples (23%) from 45 patients (52%) and detected by immunoperoxidase staining in 175 sputum samples (37%) obtained from 63 patients (73%). The results of this study demonstrate the frequent presence of H. influenzae in sputum samples from CF patients.
Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
Growth of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains at solid surfaces.
The adhesion and growth of two catheter-associated (O2K2 and O83K?) and two non catheter-associated (O111K58 and O157K-) uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains on glass, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), a negatively charged copolymer of MMA and methacrylic acid (MAA) and a positively charged copolymer of MMA and trimethylaminoethyl methacrylate chloride (TMAEMA-Cl) were studied. The solid surfaces were placed in a parallel plate perfusion system. After preadhesion of the bacteria onto the surfaces, growth was initiated by perfusing the system with MacConkey broth. Growth was measured by counting adherent bacteria as a function of time. Bacterial strains were characterized by means of water contact angle, microbial adhesion to hydrocarbon (MATH), anion exchange resin retention (ARR) and zeta potential measurements. Solid surfaces were characterized by means of water contact angle and zeta potential measurements. The catheter-associated strains had significantly higher water contact angles, zeta potentials and ARR values than the non catheter-associated strains. Non catheter-associated strains did not grow at the surfaces used. Catheter-associated strains did not grow at the positively charged surface but exhibited growth at the other surfaces. Strains grew more rapidly at surfaces with a relatively high negative zeta potential and a low water contact angle than at surfaces with a relatively low negative zeta potential and a high water contact angle. The growth of strain O2K2 on glass was significantly reduced when urine instead of MacConkey broth was used as perfusion medium.
Anion Exchange Resins↗
Meningitis due to a multiply resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in a child in The Netherlands.
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Child, Preschool↗
[A tuberculosis project in Ecuador].
OBJECTIVE: Determination of the frequency of pulmonary tuberculosis in an Indian community in Ecuador among symptomatic patients and contacts of patients with tuberculosis. Pulmonary tuberculosis was defined as the presence of acid fast rods in sputum. SETTING: Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador. DESIGN: Sputum samples were collected with the aid of an educational drama. About 5000 persons were informed on tuberculosis by this performance. The sputum samples from 241 persons were examined for presence of acid-fast rods with a direct Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain and a ZN stain after concentration of the sputum. If ZN stain was negative, the sputum was cultured on Löwenstein-Jensen medium or on Coletsos medium. The Löwenstein-Jensen medium was past the expiration date. RESULTS: Bacteriological examination of the sputum samples from 241 patients and controls brought to light 65 (26.9%) individuals with acid-fast rods in the sputum. Forty per cent of the affected patients were between the ages of 20 and 34. Investigation of 82 contact persons revealed 19 (23.2%) positive cases. The results of culturing of the sputum samples were disappointing: only 6 of 152 (3.9%) samples showed growth of acid-fast rods. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of pulmonary tuberculosis (as defined by the presence of acid fast rods in sputum) is high in the community investigated, much higher than the official data on the prevalence of tuberculosis indicate. It is important to investigate contacts of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis to trace a source and to trace new cases.
Adolescent↗
[The relationship between predisposing factors in liver abscesses and the causative bacteria].
In order to assess the correlation between bacteria isolated from liver abscesses and factors predisposing to liver abscesses, a retrospective study of clinical and bacteriological data on 21 patients with 27 episodes of pyogenic abscesses was carried out at the University Medical Centre, Amsterdam. Out of 27 episodes, 15 (55%) were associated with biliary or pancreatic disease; in seven of these 15 episodes more than one microorganism was cultured. Enterobacteriaceae were isolated in 13 (85%) of 15 episodes. Anaerobic bacteria were recovered only when operations in the pancreatico-biliary area had been performed previously. Seven episodes (26%) were related to extrahepatic disease; anaerobic bacteria (Bacteroides and Fusobacterium spp.) were isolated in five of these seven episodes. Streptococcus milleri seemed especially prominent, since this bacterium was cultured in six of seven episodes. Enterobacteriaceae were not involved in these seven episodes. Other factors predisposing to liver abscesses (15%) were diabetes mellitus n = 2), paraproteinaemia (n = I), and metastatic carcinoid (n = I). Blood cultures were positive in 65% of 23 episodes, but 40% of the positive cultures contained a smaller number of bacterial species than could be cultured from the abscess itself. Bacteria isolated from liver abscesses are related to the underlying predisposing condition. For diagnosis of the underlying condition and antibiotic therapy, puncture and bacteriologic examination of the abscess is essential.
Adult↗
Lack of eradication of Helicobacter pylori after omeprazole.
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Adult↗
Spiderweb vitritis in Lyme borreliosis.
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Adult↗
Meningococcal chest infections in a general hospital.
In the course of one calendar year (1989-1990), 46 specimens of respiratory secretions (from 44 patients) cultured in the microbiology department of a large district general hospital in The Netherlands were found to yield Neisseria meningitidis. Twenty-eight of the 46 samples yielded pure cultures of meningococci and 18 yielded other recognised respiratory pathogens as well. Only one patient had pneumonia, whereas 19 had acute respiratory infections and 18 acute purulent exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. The remaining patients, who had a variety of symptoms, all had purulent sputum. Only 8 of the 44 patients were under 40 years of age; 21 were aged more than 60 years. Serological grouping and subtyping showed a predominance of group B strains (in 24 of 44 patients) and 13 strains were non-groupable. The importance of recognising or overlooking meningococci in cultures of respiratory secretions is discussed.
Acute Disease↗
Adhesion of Escherichia coli on to a series of poly(methacrylates) differing in charge and hydrophobicity.
The adhesion of three Escherichia coli strains on to six poly(methacrylates) differing in hydrophobicity and surface charge was measured as a function of time under laminar flow conditions. Polymers used were poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) and copolymers of MMA or HEMA with either 15% methacrylic acid (MAA) or 15% trimethylaminoethyl methacrylate-HCl salt (TMAEMA-Cl). Bacterial and polymer surfaces were characterized by means of water contact angles and zeta potentials. Both the sessile drop contact angles and the zeta potentials of the bacterial surfaces were significantly different. No significant differences in the sessile drop contact angles of the polymer surfaces were observed. Using the Wilhelmy plate technique large contact angle hysteresis was observed for the different polymer surfaces. Surfaces of copolymers with MAA had more negative zeta potentials than those of the corresponding homopolymers. Surfaces of copolymers with TMAEMA-Cl had positive zeta potentials. The highest numbers of adherent bacteria were found on materials with positive zeta potentials, irrespective of the bacterial strain used. Bacterial adhesion on to copolymers with MAA was less than on to the corresponding homopolymers. Bacterial equilibrium adhesion values correlate with the zeta potentials of the polymer surfaces (r greater than 0.85). On substrates with less negative zeta potentials high numbers of adhered bacteria were observed. Additionally, the equilibrium bacterial adhesion values could be related with receding contact angles of polymer surfaces with negative zeta potentials (r greater than 0.86). High equilibrium adhesion values were obtained for polymers with high contact angles. No correlation between the zeta potentials and contact angles of the bacteria with the adhesion values was found.
Bacterial Adhesion↗
Bacterial contamination of growth hormone solution and injection equipment during use by growth hormone deficient children.
The frequency of bacterial contamination of growth hormone solution and injection equipment use by 20 growth hormone deficient children was studied. In a cross-over study the children were randomized to begin using, for their growth hormone injections, either the recently developed growth hormone injection pen or the conventional syringe method. A comparison was then made of these two methods of injection over a 6-week period and the vials, pen-cartridges, syringes and needles were cultured. When the pen was used 5.3% of the 114 vials, 15.5% of the 110 cartridges and 11.2% of the 98 needles were found to be contaminated; when the syringe was used 3.5% of the 113 vials, 7.1% of the 98 syringes and 9.1% of the 99 needles were contaminated. To ensure microbiological safety during the preparation and injection of the growth hormone solution, regular instruction and reassessment of the injection technique for patients on long-term treatment are advocated. This applies even when disposable items are used. As no statistically significant difference was noted between the number of contaminated items used with either the pen or the syringe method, we conclude that the growth hormone pen is suitable for growth hormone administration.
Adolescent↗