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Biomedical subjects

J G Collee

Publications and source records attributed to J G Collee.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

BSE: a decade on--Part 2.

Predicted numbers vary widely but the most authoritative estimate is that about 6950 cases of BSE will occur in cattle in the UK during 1997-2001 if new infections via feed have ceased as expected and if 10% maternal transmission occurs in the last half-year of the maternal incubation period. This assumes no culling or premature slaughter. Agreed cull strategies would reduce these numbers considerably and accelerate the observed rate of decline of the disease, but there is no scientific necessity for any cull. Bovine products that were banned as specified bovine offals in 1989/90 and as specified bovine materials by successive legislation are now excluded from the food and feed chains. As this second of the two-part article on BSE shows, there has been slippage in some of our control measures, but public and animal health are adequately protected if the legislation that has been evolved is enforced along present lines. Meanwhile, for human beings, bovine milk is safe to drink and beef is safe to eat.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1997

BSE: a decade on--Part I.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), popularly known as "mad cow disease", was discovered in 1986 and has accounted for the deaths of over 165,000 cattle in the UK (by the end of January, 1997) with about 34,000 (mainly dairy) herds involved. The syndrome in the cow includes changes in posture and temperament, apprehension, and loss of coordination. There are many parallels with scraple in sheep, with similar neuropathological changes in the hindbrain that give it a spongiform appearance under the microscope. The facts have been broadly reviewed in The Lancet in 1990 and 1993, and in much more detail elsewhere. In a two-part article, the first of which appears here, we now summarise recent developments.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1986

Pathogenic anaerobic bacteria of man.

A range of anaerobic bacteria may be pathogenic to man. Those of particular clinical significance are reviewed and prospects for their control by antibiotic therapy discussed.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
PubMed1985

The role of Robertson's cooked-meat broth in the bacteriological evaluation of surgical specimens.

The results were compared of submitting simple swabs, swabs in Stuart's Transport Medium (STM) and swabs in Robertson's cooked-meat broth (RCMB), from 100 potentially or definitely infected sites in patients undergoing general surgery. Significantly more positive bacterial cultures were obtained from swabs sent in RCMB (65), than from swabs sent either in STM (39) or as simple swabs (32). The isolation of potentially significant organisms from only the RCMB series could influence clinical management. The conventional reluctance of bacteriologists to accept evidence obtained from RCMB cultures seeded directly in the ward or at operation is challenged.

Abscess↗
PubMed1985

Concepts of anaerobic infection in relation to prevention and management.

Concepts of anaerobic infection are reviewed in relation to the management of wounds that might be contaminated by facultative or anaerobic organisms or mixtures of these. Considerations of post-operative wound infections oblige us to consider the indications for per-operative antimicrobial prophylaxis and to bear in mind the role of anaerobes and the possibility of pathogenic synergy in these situations. Pathogenic associations of anaerobes with other organisms are further considered in relation to periodontal disease and anaerobic vaginosis. The various roles of anaerobes in enteropathogenic conditions are briefly considered. There is a continuing obligation on clinical bacteriologists and clinicians to work together towards the more effective prevention and management of infections that may or may not have a significant anaerobic component.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Immunochemical fingerprinting of Clostridium difficile strains isolated from an outbreak of antibiotic-associated colitis and diarrhoea.

Twenty eight strains of Clostridium difficile , isolated from an outbreak of antibiotic-associated colitis and diarrhoea in an orthopaedic ward and from sporadic cases throughout Sweden, were sent to Edinburgh for immunochemical fingerprinting without information about their origin. EDTA extracts of the organisms were examined by crossed immunoelectrophoresis (CIE), polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and electroblot transfer. Two patterns were revealed by CIE: group A (18 strains) and group B (10 strains). PAGE and electroblot transfer revealed one major group of 10 strains (group 1), six small groups of two or three strains and six strains which were unlike any other strain. The CIE group B and PAGE- electroblot group 1 were identical. Nine of the 10 strains in this group were from patients in the outbreak. These findings indicate that a single strain spread in the orthopaedic ward as a nosocomial infection and that this strain differed from most other strains investigated. The PAGE- electroblot technique should, therefore, greatly aid investigations into the epidemiology of C. difficile infections.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1982

Clostridium difficile in association with sporadic diarrhoea.

A total of 154 patients admitted to an infectious diseases unit were included in a year's prospective survey of sporadic diarrhoeal disease. Stools from 19 of them yielded Clostridium difficile, generally on more than one occasion. Twelve of these patients were assessed as having a severe or moderately severe gastrointestinal illness: Cl difficile was the only pathogen isolated from 10 of them, and two had an associated salmonella infection. Seven had had a recent course of antibiotics, but five had not taken antibiotics. Faeces from seven patients with moderate or mild gastrointestinal illness yielded Cl difficile, and two of these patients also had an associated salmonella infection. Two patients in this group had no antibiotic history. From these findings, the occurrence of C difficile in faeces could not be described as antibiotic-associated. Faecal Cl difficile cytotoxin was detected in only six patients, and generally at low levels. In such patients a more relevant pathogenic index might take account of the numbers of Cl difficile present and of their toxigenic potential.

Adult↗