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Biomedical subjects

M B Skirrow

Publications and source records attributed to M B Skirrow.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Epidemiology of Campylobacter enteritis.

Campylobacter enteritis is the commonest form of infective diarrhoea in most developed countries of the world. In England and Wales laboratory reports indicate an annual incidence of about 85/100,000, but the true rate is probably nearer 1100/100,000. Measured costs run to many millions of pounds per year. Most infections are sporadic and believed to be foodborne; large outbreaks are infrequent and mostly due to the consumption of raw milk or unchlorinated water. Raw meats and animal products, notably broiler chickens, are the main source of campylobacters in food. A case-control study in the U.S.A., where eating habits are similar to those in Europe, attributed about one-half of human Campylobacter infections to the consumption of chickens. The production of Campylobacter-free chickens is not yet practicable, but considerable progress could be made to this end with sufficient motivation and resources from government and the poultry industry.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Campylobacter.

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Acute Disease↗
PubMed1990

Lectin typing of Campylobacter isolates.

Isolates of Campylobacter jejuni, C coli, C fetus and C laridis were tested for agglutination reactions with a panel of five lectins: Arachis hypogaea, Bauhinia purpurea, Solanum tuberosum, Triticum vulgaris and Wisteria floribunda. Twenty three patterns of agglutination (lectin types) were recorded among 376 isolates. Patterns were consistent and reproducible. Only 4.5% of isolates were untypable because of autoagglutination. Some lectin types were found exclusively or predominantly in a species, but others were shared between species. Forty two per cent of C jejuni and 35% of C coli isolates belonged to lectin type 4. There was no apparent correlation between lectin type and serotype; different lectin types were found among strains of single Penner and Lior serotypes. Lectin typing is a simple and economical procedure suitable for use in non-specialist laboratories, either as an adjunct to serogrouping or, after further development, as a sole typing scheme.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1977

Campylobacter enteritis: a "new" disease.

By selective culture campylobacters (C jejuni and C coli) were isolated from the faeces of 57 (7-1%) out of 803 unselected patients with diarrhoea; none were isolated from 194 people who had not got diarrhoea. Specific agglutinins were found in the sera of 31 out of 38 patients with campylobacter enteritis and 10 of them had a rising titre. Half the patients were aged 15 to 44 years, but the incidence was highest in young children. All the patients with campylobacters had a distinctive clinical illness with severe abdominal pain. Campylobacters are a relatively unrecognised cause of acute enteritis, but these findings suggest that they may be a common cause. Spread of infection was observed within 12 out of 29 households, and in these cases children were usually implicated. Several patients were apparently infected from chickens, both live and dressed, and poultry may be the primary source of the organism. In two cases dogs with diarrhoea were found to be infected with strains indistinguishable from their human contacts. Ten patients acquired their infections while travelling abroad.

Animals↗