Campylobacter

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 1997 Feb, 18(2), 115 - 21
A mixed foodborne outbreak with Salmonella heidelberg and Campylobacter jejuni in a nursing home; Layton MC et al.; OBJECTIVE: To investigate a mixed Salmonella heidelberg and Campylobacter jejuni foodborne outbreak in a nursing home . DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study with a nested case-control design . Cases were defined by positive stool-culture results . Controls needed to be both asymptomatic and culture-negative . SETTING AND PATIENTS: Residents of a 580-bed nursing home in Brooklyn, New York . RESULTS: Of the 580 residents, 119 (21%) developed illness . Of the 93 symptomatic patients who submitted specimens, cultures were positive for S heidelberg in 24 (26%), C jejuni in 14 (15%), and both microorganisms in 25 (27%) . Only the pureed diet was associated highly with infection by either Salmonella (odds ratio {OR}, 17.6; 95% confidence interval {CI95}, 4.8-68.7; P < .001), Campylobacter (OR, 13.3; CI95, 3.2-59.2; P < .001), or both organisms (OR, 8.9; CI95, 2.7-30.3; P < .001) . Among the 42 pureed foods served during the 5 days before the outbreak, five meat or poultry items were associated most strongly with culture positivity . Of these five meat items, only a chopped-liver salad was implicated by the two employees reporting illness . A reported food-handling error occurred when ground, cooked chicken livers were placed in a bowl containing raw chicken-liver juices . INTERVENTION: Recommendations for proper cleaning and sanitizing of kitchen equipment to prevent cross-contamination between raw and cooked foods . CONCLUSIONS: Mixed foodborne outbreaks occur rarely . During this outbreak, contamination of a single food item with multiple bacterial pathogens was the likely source of transmission . Improper food-handling techniques that promote growth of one microorganism also allow growth of other pathogens that may be present . Because different sources and routes of transmission may be implicated for different pathogens, specific preventive measures may vary depending on the organisms involved.

APMIS, 1997 Feb, 105(2), 157 - 60
Feasibility of Helicobacter pylori identification by a slide agglutination test; Maeland JA et al.; Culture isolation and identification of Helicobacter pylori represents a considerable work load in clinical microbiology . The aim of this study was to test if antibody-mediated bacterial agglutination could be used for rapid identification of H . pylori . Rabbit antiserum against H . pylori strain I and against another strain, H . pylori 330, which was very weakly agglutinated (1+) by anti-H . pylori I serum, were mixed and used in a slide agglutination test . Of 107 consecutive clinical isolates tested, 101 (94%) strains showed 2+ or 3+ reaction using the antiserum mixture, whereas 6 (6%) strains could not be evaluated owing to autoagglutinability . Bacteria of a variety of other species, including Campylobacter spp., showed no agglutination with the antiserum mixture . The results support the notion that reliable identification of the majority of cultured H . pylori strains should be possible in less than 3 min by agglutination testing.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1997 Feb, 50(2), 200 - 5
{Pharmacokinetic, bacteriological and clinical studies on azithromycin in children}; Tajima T et al.; Azithromycin (AZM) in fine granules was studied for its pharmacokinetics and clinical efficacies in eight child patients with ages between 1 month and 8 years . Informed consent was received from all of their parents . AZM was administered to the patients once a day at a dose of 10 mg/kg for 3 days . The clinical efficacies of AZM in 8 patients with microbial infections (pneumonia in one, Mycoplasma pneumonia in two, acute tonsillitis in one, pertussis in one, Campylobacter enteritis in one, infectious enteritis in one, Salmonella enteritis in one) were evaluated as "excellent" in five cases, "good" in two and "not evaluable" in one . As for the microbial efficacy, isolated strains were eradicated in 2 out of 3 patients . No adverse reaction was found except for one case with abnormal laboratory change, that is mildly increased GPT value . Plasma samples were collected from 3 cases . The elimination half-life of AZM was 45.8 hours . AUC0-infinity was 12.6 micrograms.hr/ml . Urine sample was collected from one . AZM concentration in urine was 35.0 micrograms/ml during a period between 48 and 72 hours after the start of treatment.

Pediatr Neurol, 1997 Feb, 16(2), 149 - 51
Cranial polyneuropathy with elevated serum antiganglioside antibody; Matsubara K et al.; We report a 6-year-old girl with cranial polyneuropathy with elevated serum levels of antiganglioside antibodies . She manifested herpetic vesicles around the right upper eyelid and mouth without antecedent infection . She developed facial asymmetry and double vision 5 days after the first appearance of the vesicles . Neurological examination on admission disclosed palsies of the bilateral sixth and twelfth cranial nerves and right third and seventh cranial nerves, but limb muscle weakness, ataxia, and areflexia were not observed . Cerebrospinal fluid examination and MRI of the brain showed no abnormalities . Serum antibodies to gangliosides GQ1b and GT1b, but not GM1, and those to Campylobacter jejuni were significantly increased on admission and on the hospital day 14 . These observations suggest that the present case is a variant form of Miller Fisher syndrome or Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis subsequent to asymptomatic C . jejuni infection . We treated her with intravenous administration of high-dose methylprednisolone and acyclovir, but almost no effect was observed . All cranial nerve palsies, however, had resolved completely approximately 4 months later . This may be the first pediatric case in which cranial polyneuropathy and antiganglioside antibodies were associated.

Zentralbl Bakteriol, 1997 Feb, 285(3), 368 - 78
Molecular biology in diagnosis and epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori: PCR for the detection and AP-PCR for characterization of patient isolates; Schwarz E et al.; Infection with Helicobacter pylori causes chronic active gastritis and has been associated with gastric and duodenal ulcer disease . In biopsy samples of 110 patients with clinical symptoms of active gastritis, H . pylori was detected by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using species-specific primers defining a 858 bp DNA fragment of H . pylori urease beta-subunit . Sensitivity and specificity of the PCR was compared with culture, histology and Warthin-Starry stain (WSs), detection of H . pylori urease antibodies in serum and urease testing with the Campylobacter-like organism (CLO) test . PCR yielded specific amplification products in 53 cases, whereas culture of the organisms was positive in a subset of 50 cases . Only direct detection in histological sections of biopsy specimens had a higher sensitivity, with 65 positive samples . In contrast, the CLO test was negative in eleven culture-positive and PCR-positive cases . Significant urease antibody titres were found in 39 patients with histologically confirmed diagnosis . These results placed the sensitivity of PCR between tat of the Warthin-Starry stain (WSs) and that of culture . Therefore, PCR can be proposed as a useful rapid and time-saving technique for the detection of H.pylori in gastritis . For epidemiological purposes, fingerprinting with arbitrarily chosen primers by AP-PCR was evaluated . Strain-specific patterns with up to 13 fragments were achieved with 10-nucleotide or longer primers (21-nt) with a G + C content > or = 55% . Thirty-five of 40 strains investigated by this method were distinguishable with a single primer . These results suggest a high level of DNA sequence diversity within this species with the possibility of confirming the clonality in consecutive isolates from a single individual . Alternatively, an increased in-vivo mutation rate could be responsible for DNA divergence, resulting in specific strains for each individual patient.

J Med Microbiol, 1997 Feb, 46(2), 157 - 63
Lineages within Campylobacter jejuni defined by numerical analysis of pulsed-field gel electrophoretic DNA profiles; Gibson J et al.; Forty-seven Penner heat-stable (HS) serotype reference strains for Campylobacter jejuni and 47 serologically non-typable strains were examined by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) DNA restriction analysis . The SmaI and KpnI digest profiles were compared by numerical analysis . Most strains grouped differently in the two analyses but strain lineages were inferred where the two agreed . Genetic relationships between reference strains in the cross-reacting HS4 complex were examined . Three clonal lines were evident and comprised: (i) HS4, HS13 and HS16; (ii) HS50 and HS65; (iii) HS43 . The majority of those C . jejuni expressing HS antigens not recognised by currently available antisera had > 50% PFGE DNA digest similarity to one or more Penner scheme reference strain(s) and so did not necessarily represent distinct genetic lineages . PFGE analysis provided a high level of discrimination amongst strains of C . jejuni but overall similarity estimates for defining types must be based on the analysis of more than one restriction pattern.

Vet Microbiol, 1997 Feb, 54(2), 185 - 93
DNA fingerprinting of Campylobacter fetus using cloned constructs of ribosomal RNA and surface array protein genes; Denes AS et al.; DNA fragments coding for the ribosomal RNA and the surface array proteins of Campylobacter fetus have been cloned from a genomic library constructed in Escherichia coli . They were used in the molecular characterization of C . fetus (subsp . fetus; subsp . venerealis) strains by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method . Ribotyping results showed that all strains of the two subspecies can be classified under one ribogroup implying very close relatedness . The sapA gene DNA marker, however, discriminated all the strains regardless of the subspecies when chromosomal DNA was restricted with HindIII, HaeIII, XbaI or EcoRV . These results illustrate that the sapA probe is potentially useful in fingerprinting C . fetus strains and in determining the relationships of strains for epidemiological purposes.

Poult Sci, 1997 Feb, 76(2), 314 - 7
Campylobacter jejuni seasonal recovery observations of retail market broilers; Willis WL et al.; This study investigated possible seasonal trends in the Campylobacter jejuni carrier state of market broilers . In this study, broiler carcasses, 15 each of two major companies, were obtained from a local supermarket each month for an entire year to evaluate the presence of C . jejuni on the carcasses . Direct plating and the whole carcass rinse procedure were used for C . jejuni detection . Resuscitation of damaged cells and preenrichment of low numbers of micoorganisms were accomplished by Hunt's procedure . None of the carcasses tested positive from direct plating of skin flora in this study . After both Company A and Company B broiler samples were enriched, 69% (229/330) of the raw commercial broilers were, positive for C . jejuni . The highest recovery rates were obtained during the warmer months of the year, from May through October (93, 97, 97, 87, 87, and 93% respectively), and the lowest were obtained in December (7%) and January (33%) . Storage time, due to slow movement of broilers, appeared to affect the detectability of C . jejuni during December and January . This study shows that seasons of the year influence C . jejuni detectability and the carrier state in market broilers at retail level.

Carcinogenesis, 1997 Feb, 18(2), 383 - 9
N-nitrosation of medicinal drugs catalysed by bacteria from human saliva and gastro-intestinal tract, including Helicobacter pylori; Ziebarth D et al.; Micro-organisms commonly present in human saliva and three DSM strains (Helicobacter pylori, Campylobacter jejuni and Neisseria cinerea), which can be isolated from the human gastro-intestinal tract, were assayed in vitro for their capacity to catalyse N-nitrosation of a series of medicinal drugs and other compounds . Following incubation at pH 7.2 in the presence of nitrate (or nitrite) for up to 24 (48) h, the yield of N-nitroso compounds (NOC) was quantified by HPLC equipped with a post-column derivatization device, allowing the sensitive detection of acid-labile and acid-stable NOC . Eleven out of the 23 test compounds underwent bacteria-catalysed nitrosation by salivary bacteria, the yield of the respective nitrosation products varying 800-fold . 4-(Methylamino)antipyrine exhibited the highest rate of nitrosation, followed by dichlofenac > metamizole > piperazine > five other drugs, whilst L-proline and L-thioproline had the lowest nitrosation rate . Ten drugs including aminophenazone, cimetidine and nicotine, did not inhibit bacterial growth, allowing transitory nitrite to be formed, but no N-nitroso derivatives were detected . Three drugs inhibited the proliferation of bacteria and neither nitrite nor any NOC were formed . Using metamizole as an easily nitrosatable precursor, two strains, Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pylori, were shown to catalyse nitrosation in the presence of nitrite at pH 7.2 . As compared to Neisseria cinerea used as a nitrosation-proficient control strain, H . pylori was 30-100 times less effective, whilst C . jejuni had intermediary activity . The results of our sensitive nitrosation assay further confirm that bacteria isolated from human sources, possessing nitrate reductase and/or nitrosating enzymes such as cytochrome cd1-nitrite reductase (Calmels et al., Carcinogenesis, 17, 533-536, 1996), can contribute to intragastric nitrosamine formation in the anacidic stomach when nitrosatable precursors from exogenous and endogenous sources are present.

Infect Immun, 1997 Feb, 65(2), 478 - 83
Purification and characterization of Campylobacter rectus surface layer proteins; Nitta H et al.; Campylobacter rectus is a putative periodontopathogen which expresses a proteinaceous surface layer (S-layer) external to the outer membrane . S-layers are considered to play a protective role for the microorganism in hostile environments . The S-layer proteins from six different C . rectus strains (five human isolates and a nonhuman primate {NHP} isolate) were isolated, purified, and characterized . The S-layer proteins of these strains varied in molecular mass (ca . 150 to 166 kDa) as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis . They all reacted with monospecific rabbit antiserum to the purified S-layer of C . rectus 314, but a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay demonstrated a strong antigenic relationship among the five human strains, while the NHP strain, 6250, showed weaker reactivity . Amino acid composition analysis showed that the S-layers of four C . rectus strains contained large proportions of acidic amino acids (13 to 27%) and that >34% of the amino acid residues were hydrophobic . Amino acid sequence analysis of six S-layer proteins revealed that the first 15 amino-terminal amino acids were identical and showed seven residues of identity with the amino-terminal sequence of the Campylobacter fetus S-layer protein SapA1 . CNBr peptide profiles of the S-layer proteins from C . rectus 314, ATCC 33238, and 6250 confirmed that the S-layer proteins from the human strains were similar to each other and somewhat different from that of the NHP isolate (strain 6250) . However, the S-layer proteins from the two human isolates do show some structural heterogeneity . For example, there was a 17-kDa fragment unique to the C . rectus 314 S-layer . The amino-terminal sequence of this peptide had homology with the C . rectus 51-kDa porin and was composed of nearly 50% hydrophobic residues . Thus, the S-layer protein from C . rectus has structural heterogeneity among different human strains and immunoheterogeneity with the NHP strain.

Infect Immun, 1997 Feb, 65(2), 428 - 33
Examination of diarrheagenicity of cytolethal distending toxin: suckling mouse response to the products of the cdtABC genes of Shigella dysenteriae; Okuda J et al.; Some strains of Escherichia coli, Shigella spp., and Campylobacter spp . that have been implicated in diarrheal disease produce cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) . CDT induces unique morphological changes in Chinese hamster ovary cells, but its association with diarrheal disease is unclear . We studied the diarrheagenicity of CDT using the cdt genes that we originally cloned from Shigella dysenteriae . The cdt genes were subcloned into a high-copy-number plasmid in E . coli JM109 to achieve high-level CDT production into the culture supernatant . An isogenic CDT- derivative was constructed by deletion of the 0.9-kb sequence internal to the cdt genes . A suckling mouse model was established, in which the intragastrically administered culture supernatant of the CDT+ E . coli strain induced excretion of loose and/or watery feces more often than did that of the CDT- strain in 24 h . The partially purified CDT preparation induced profuse watery diarrhea by 12 h in this model . High-level intestinal fluid accumulation in 4 h appeared to be related to the watery diarrhea . The results indicate that CDT is diarrheagenic to suckling mice and suggest that diarrheagenicity is dependent on CDT level . The preparations containing wild-type CDT induced tissue damage (necrosis and reparative hyperplasia) in the descending colon, whereas the tissues of the small intestines remained apparently intact . Association between the colonic damage and diarrhea is unclear and needs further investigation.

J Clin Microbiol, 1997 Feb, 35(2), 462 - 7
Identification of Serpulina species associated with porcine colitis by biochemical analysis and PCR; Fellstrom C et al.; A PCR system for the detection and identification of group IV spirochetes (Serpulina pilosicoli) was designed to complement biochemical tests, e.g., the hippurate hydrolysis and beta-glucosidase tests, and to verify the accuracy of a previously proposed biochemical classification system . The PCR assay was based on amplification of a segment of the 16S rRNA gene . Both primers were constructed to selectively amplify the 16S rRNA gene of Serpulina pilosicoli . All analyzed Serpulina strains exhibiting the capacity to hydrolyze hippurate and lacking beta-glucosidase activity, including the type strain for spirochetal diarrhea, P43, were amplified with the PCR system . All other tested strains, including type and field strains of different phenotypes of Serpulina species, as well as Salmonella species, Campylobacter species, and Escherichia coli strains, were negative in the assay . Among the tested strains were 18 Scottish field isolates originating from the mucosae of pigs with colitis . A simple classification scheme, suitable for routine classification of porcine intestinal spirochetes, is also presented . The scheme is based on hemolysis, indole production, and the hippurate hydrolysis test.

Gene, 1997 Jan 31, 185(1), 63 - 7
Identification of a functional homolog of the Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium cysM gene encoding O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B in Campylobacter jejuni; Garvis SG et al.; The final step of L-cysteine biosynthesis in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium consists of the formation of L-cysteine from O-acetylserine and sulfide . This reaction can be catalyzed by two enzymes, O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase A and O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B, the former of which has been more rigorously characterized . In contrast to O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase A, O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B is preferentially used for cysteine biosynthesis during anaerobic growth and is able to utilize thiosulfate as a substrate . Campylobacter jejuni is a micro-aerophilic, Gram-negative bacterium, and a member of the epsilon subdivision of eubacteria . We have cloned, sequenced, and expressed a gene from C . jejuni that encodes a protein of 299 aa with a calculated molecular mass of 32,367 Da . Complementation analysis of an E . coli cysteine auxotroph with the pMEK34-14 recombinant plasmid containing a 1.2-kb insert of chromosomal DNA from C . jejuni revealed that transformants were capable of growth in medium containing either sulfide or thiosulfate as sole sulfur sources . These data indicate that the cloned C . jejuni gene is a functional homolog of the cysM gene that codes for O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B in E . coli and S . typhimurium.

World Health Stat Q, 1997, 50(1-2), 57 - 66
Economic costs and trade impacts of microbial foodborne illness; Buzby JC et al.; This article presents the economic costs of foodborne diseases for selected countries, the approaches used to calculate these costs, and a discussion on the interaction between microbial food safety issues and international trade in food . The human illness costs due to foodborne pathogens are estimated most completely in the United States of America, where, each year, 7 foodborne pathogens (Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli O157:H7 . Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, and Toxoplasma gondii) cause an estimated 3.3-12.3 million cases of foodborne illness and up to 3900 deaths . These 7 pathogens are found in animal products and cost the United States an estimated $6.5-$34.9 billion (1995 US$) annually . The presence of foodborne pathogens in a country's food supply not only affects the health of the local population, but also represents a potential for spread to pathogens to visitors to the country and to consumers in countries which import food products . With more complete data on foodborne illnesses, deaths, costs and international trade rejections in each country, indicators could be developed by which changes in food safety can be monitored.

Pediatr Med Chir, 1997 Jan-Feb, 19(1), 31 - 5
{Evaluation of pediatric patients hospitalized for acute diarrhea from 1990 to 1996}; Casini T et al.; Infectious diarrhea is a common disorder in children in Italy, which may lead to hospitalization especially during infancy . In order to obtain data about epidemiology and clinic pictures of acute diarrhea, the carts of 1295 paediatric outpatients, hospitalized for this pathology in the time between 1990-1996 at the Children's Hospital "Meyer" of Florence, were analyzed . An offending organism could be isolate in 43.3% of patients; Rotaviruses are the leading cause of diarrhea, followed by salmonella spp . Furthermore the role of Campylobacter as common bacterial pathogen worldwide has been clarified.

Acta Vet Hung, 1997, 45(3), 317 - 29
Novel approaches to control of bacterial infections in animals; Barrow PA; Bacterial infections of poultry remain of great importance world-wide in terms of economic effects and public health . They include infections caused by Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter and Pasteurella . Through the introduction of rigid hygienic measures it is possible to breed and rear poultry free of these pathogens . However, the cost to the industry would be prohibitive and economically disastrous . Biological measures have been introduced albeit in a relatively empirical way . Antibiotic therapy and prophylaxis is used extensively with the associated problems of development of resistance . Killed vaccines are used but are not usually very effective . Live vaccines are increasingly becoming acceptable and studies are under way to increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of these infections so that vaccine development may become less empirical . Work with live vaccines to be used against Salmonella has shown that they may be administered orally to newly-hatched chicks . The vaccine strain colonises the gut extensively and prevents re-infection by other Salmonella strains by a genus-specific mechanism which is similar to that which occurs during down-regulation of bacterial growth in stationary-phase nutrient broth cultures . The mechanism of this phenomenon is currently being studied . This approach may also be applied to control Campylobacter infections . Bacteria of the Pasteurella group and E . coli may produce septicaemic infections in poultry . Recent work with K1+ E . coli infections in mice has shown that virulent bacteriophages may be used to treat or prevent septicaemias and meningitides . This work has been extrapolated to chickens with a similar degree of success and it suggests that some infections of this sort in animals and man may be amenable to this approach . In-bred lines of chickens have been found to vary greatly in their susceptibility to systemic Salmonella infections . This is probably mediated by one gene and the effect is dominant and not linked to sex or MHC . The mouse natural resistance gene (NrampI) does not appear to contribute greatly to this effect . Differences in the extent of gut colonisation by Salmonella in in-bred and out-bred lines can also be detected . These results are very exciting and open up opportunities for disease control for the future.

Acta Vet Hung, 1997, 45(3), 307 - 15
Safe poultry meat production in the next century; Mulder RW; The revolutionary industrialisation of the poultry industry in the last 30 years has made the food poultry meat available for large groups of consumers . Due to its nutritional, sensory and economical characteristics, poultry meat is by far the most popular animal food product world-wide . Epidemiological reports, however, incriminate poultry meat as a source for outbreaks of human food poisoning . The organisms involved are Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp . and, to a lesser extent, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Clostridium perfringens and Aeromonas spp . Contamination of the end-product with pathogenic microorganisms is a reflection of the contamination of the live birds and, therefore, measures to be taken by industry to avoid contamination of the consumer-ready product should start at that level . In terms of the critical control point approach of the HACCP concept, the quantitative contribution of critical phases in the production chain towards end-product contamination should be estimated in order to take the necessary intervention or corrective steps . To guarantee the production of safe poultry meat, knowledge of the capability of microorganisms to colonise the gastrointestinal tract is needed and the use of vaccines, antimicrobials and competitive exclusion microfloras as well as the implementation of new processing technology should be encouraged.

Microbiol Immunol, 1997, 41(6), 461 - 7
Overproduction of Campylobacter ferritin in Escherichia coli and induction of paracrystalline inclusion by ferrous compound; Wai SN et al.; The ferritin gene (cft) of Campylobacter jejuni was overexpressed in cells of Escherichia coli using a T7 RNA polymerase expression system . Many round particles which were the same size as the ferritin particles purified from C . jejuni were observed in the lysate of the cft-overexpressed E . coli cells . Since most of them were devoid of a central electron dense core consisting of ferric irons, the Campylobacter ferritins over-produced in E . coli seemed to be apoferritin . When large amounts of ferrous iron (supplied as FeSO4) were added to culture medium, the cft-overexpressed cells formed large inclusion bodies of paracrystalline arrays comprised of ferritin particles with central electron dense cores . The addition of ferric irons did not produce paracrystalline inclusion.

Adv Exp Med Biol, 1997, 412, 1 - 19
Comparative histopathology of intestinal infections; Moon HW; Intestinal infections are characterized by a range of histologic changes . Some examples (moving progressively deeper into the tissue from the intestinal lumen) are: 1) Enterotoxigenic E . coli infections are characterized by layers of E . coli adherent to villous epithelium, usually with little or no apparent structural damage to the mucosa . 2) The term enteropathogenic E . coli infection designates a disease characterized by E . coli attached intimately to the epithelial cell surface membrane with effacement of brush border microvilli . 3) Rotavirus infections are characterized by destruction of villous epithelial cells . Parvovirus infections are characterized by destruction of crypt epithelial cells . 4) Some intracellular infections with Campylobacter-like organisms are characterized by epithelial cell hyperplasia . 5) Hemorrhagic colitis in humans, caused by enterohemorrhagic E . coli strains, is characterized by mucosal hemorrhage and edema indicative of vascular necrosis . 6) Most of these lesions are accompanied by some degree of inflammation . Neurophils and lymphocytes mediate some of the structural and functional changes characteristic of these infections . Some changes are mediated directly by microbial products . Additional examples of the complexity of these diseases are: 1) Edema disease of swine is characterized both by adherent E . coli and vascular necrosis (each process mediated by a different bacterial virulence attribute) . 2) Rotavirus infections are characterized both by destruction of villous epithelial cells and compensatory hyperplasia of crypt epithelial cells . 3) There is suggestive evidence that enterohemorrhagic E . coli infections may involve: a) destruction of epithelial brush border by attaching-effacing E . coli, b) neutrophil mediated epithelial cell destruction, c) Shiga-like toxin mediated epithelial cell destruction and d) Shiga-like toxin mediated vascular necrosis which in turn causes ischemic damage to epithelium.

Scand J Infect Dis, 1997, 29(2), 197 - 8
Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus cholecystitis in a patient with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma; Takatsu M et al.; Acute cholecystitis due to Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus is very uncommon . We report a case of cholecystitis and obstructive jaundice in which cultured bile grew this organism . The patient had a 4-year history of hepatocellular carcinoma, resulting in common bile duct obstruction due to abdominal lymph node metastasis . Microscopic examination of her bile showed multiple Gram-negative curved organisms and C . fetus subsp . fetus was isolated under microaerophilic conditions . Therefore, we should be aware of this organism and use microaerophilic culture in association with the result of microscopic examination of bile specimens.

Rinsho Shinkeigaku, 1997 Jan, 37(1), 41 - 3
{A case of Guillain-Barré syndrome after the travel in southeast Asia--isolation of Campylobacter jejuni PEN 5 serotype}; Koide T et al.; A 57-year-old man, while on travel in Malaysia, suffered from diarrhea after he ate fruits . He developed limbs weakness without sensory disturbance after his return to Japan . Serum from the patient had high IgG anti-GM1 antibody titer . Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from his stool . The serotype belonged to PEN 5 . The patient received double-filtration plasmapheresis 7 times during from days 6 to 17 . Muscle strength began to recover gradually on day 10, and returned to normal 5 months after the onset of neurologic symptoms . Repeated neurophysiologic studies indicated that the axonal degeneration of motor nerves was predominant process . This case suggests that Guillain-Barre syndrome is a complication of traveler's diarrhea.

J Med Assoc Thai, 1997 Jan, 80(1), 26 - 33
Acute diarrhea in under five-year-old children admitted to King Mongkut Prachomklao Hospital, Phetchaburi province; Suwatano O; A prospective epidemiological and clinical study of acute diarrhea in children under 5 years old was done at King Mongkut Prachomklao Hospital in order to provide baseline data for health officers to make a strategic plan to reduce the diarrheal mortality and morbidity, which is one of the mid-decade goals for children . There were 105 cases of acute diarrhea patients admitted to the Pediatric ward between May 1995 and April 1996 . Seventy-six per cent of them were in the younger age group (> 1 month-2 years old) while 23.8 per cent were in the older age group (2-5 years old) . Causative pathogens were identified in 64 patients (61%) . Younger patients had a higher percentage of identifiable pathogens (66.7%) than older patients (44.4%) . Rotavirus was the most common pathogen isolated (17.2%) . The other common pathogens identified were Eschericia coli (14.1%), Campylobacter jejuni (14.1%), Shigella (12.5%), Entamoeba histolytica (7.8%) and Salmonella (3.1%) . Mixed infections were reported in 31.3 per cent of these patients . Clinical presentations and stool characteristics were difficult to distinguish from most of the pathogens . However, Rotavirus was highly suspected if a younger child presented with fever, watery to loose stool with the predominant symptom of vomiting . Mucous, mucous-bloody stool gave a clue to the diagnosis of Shigella and Entamoeba histolytica . Most cases had at least mild to moderate dehydration, so oral rehydration solution (ORS) was successfully given in only 31.4 per cent of patients . Antibiotics were prescribed to 51.4 per cent of patients in this study . Healthcare personnel should emphasize to parents and caretakers about good hygienic behavior to reduce the episodes of diarrhea and the use of ORS every time when their children have diarrheal episodes to reduce the disease severityPIP: A prospective epidemiological and clinical study of acute diarrhea among children under age 5 years was conducted at King Mongkut Prachomklao Hospital to provide baseline data for health officers developing a strategic plan to reduce levels of diarrheal morbidity and mortality . 105 cases of acute diarrhea were admitted to the pediatric ward between May 1995 and April 1996 . 76% were aged 1 month to 2 years; the rest were 2-5 years old . Causative pathogens were identified among 64, with pathogens identified among 66.7% of the younger children and 44.4% of the older children . Rotavirus was the most common pathogen isolated (17.2%), followed by Escherichia coli (14.1%), Campylobacter jejuni (14.1%), Shigella (12.5%), Entamoeba histolytica (7.8%), and Salmonella (3.1%) . Mixed infections were reported in 31.3% of the patients . There was not much difference between clinical presentations and stool characteristics for most of the pathogens . Since most cases had at least mild to moderate dehydration, oral rehydration solution was successfully given in only 31.4% of cases and antibiotics were prescribed to 51.4% of patients .

J R Coll Physicians Lond, 1997 Jan-Feb, 31(1), 53 - 6
Postinfective diarrhoea and bile acid malabsorption; Niaz SK et al.; Postinfective irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea and idiopathic bile acid malabsorption remains an enigma . We examined the records of 84 patients whose 75SeHCAT scans were indicative of bile acid malabsorption (< 15% one week retention) . Identifiable causes of bile acid malabsorption were: previous ileal surgery (7), Crohn's disease (22), radiation enteritis (13), vagotomy, gastrectomy or cholecystectomy (10) and miscellaneous (3) . Sixteen of 29 patients with apparently idiopathic bile acid malabsorption gave a clear history of acute gastroenteritis before the onset of chronic diarrhoea lasting from 0.25-18 years until their positive 75SeHCAT scan . Only four cases of campylobacter, and one each of shigella and salmonella were documented . Extensive investigation failed to detect other possible pathologies . In response to bile acid sequestrants, mean stool frequency fell from 7.2 per day to 2.1 per day (p < 0.001) . We have observed that postinfective chronic diarrhoea is associated with chronic bile acid malabsorption, which can be successfully treated with bile acid sequestrants such as cholestyramine.

Immunol Invest, 1997 Jan-Feb, 26(1-2), 55 - 65
Rapid diagnosis of periodontal infections: findings in AIDS patients; Zambon JJ; A small number of bacterial pathogens in the human oral cavity cause the different forms of periodontal disease . Of the approximately two hundred different oral bacterial species, about a dozen have been associated with these diseases including localized juvenile periodontitis, rapidly progressing periodontitis, and adult periodontitis . These species include Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides forsythus, Campylobacter rectus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Prevotella intermedia . Several rapid methods have been developed to detect these species in clinical samples . These include immunologic methods such as immunofluorescence, nucleic acid assays such as DNA-DNA hybridization in dot blots and enzyme assays . Immunofluorescence microscopy has been used to determine the prevalence and relative proportions of these pathogens in dental plaque samples from 194 subjects including HIV-infected and uninfected male homosexuals and intravenous drug users.

J Vet Med Sci, 1997 Jan, 59(1), 85 - 7
Direct detection of Campylobacter jejuni in chicken cecal contents by PCR; Chuma T et al.; Campylobacter jejuni in chicken feces was detected by PCR and Southern blot hybridization (SBH) . The detection limits of C . jejuni in chicken feces were 34,000 cells by PCR and 340 cells by SBH . Some cecal contents of chickens up to 3 weeks old were C . jejuni positive by SBH whereas all of them were negative by PCR . Two of 51 cecal contents of 18-day-old chicken embryos were C . jejuni positive by PCR and SBH; but, C . jejuni were not isolated from the samples by conventional culture with selective enrichment.

Indian J Med Res, 1997 Jan, 105, 9 - 14
Rapid identification of Campylobacter jejuni strains by polymerase chain reaction & their restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis; Mahendru M et al.; A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was developed for specific identification of C . jejuni . A primer pair of a conserved region of flagellin A (fla A) gene identified all 15 strains of C . jejuni isolated from human faeces . None of the control strains like Helicobacter pylori, Vibrio cholerae Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium except C . coli exhibited any amplified product by PCR . A predicted 450 bp could also be amplified from 4 chicken caecal contents positive for C . jejuni-C coli by culture . The caecal contents remained positive for C . jejuni-C . coli by PCR after preservation at 4 degrees C for one week when no viable organism could be detected . Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (RFLP) of fla A amplified product by using Bgl II enzyme classified 15 strains into 5 types . Three C . jejuni strains isolated from the same patient over a period of 3 wk showed the same RFLP pattern . The present study indicates that PCR is specific for C . jejuni-C . coli and it has the potential for rapid diagnosis of infection . RFLP can be a good epidemiological marker for C . jejuni infection.

Int J Food Microbiol, 1997 Jan, 34(1), 79 - 88
Genotypic diversity of Campylobacter lari isolated from mussels and oysters in The Netherlands; Endtz HP et al.; In order to gain insight into the epidemiology of Campylobacter lari infection in The Netherlands due to the consumption of raw mussels and oysters, batches of these shellfish were screened for the presence of Campylobacter spp . during a 6 month period in 1993-1994 . Apparently, 41 out of 59 batches of mussels and 11 out of 41 batches of oysters were colonized with Campylobacter spp . A subset of the isolates was further characterized by additional phenotypic tests, numerical analysis of electrophoretic protein patterns, and genotyping by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) . Protein electrophoretic analysis of 39 Campylobacter spp . cultured from 24 batches of mussels and oysters, revealed that all isolates, except two, were C . lari . Two strains with an aberrant protein pattern were identified as C . coli and C . hyointestinalis, respectively . Nalidixic acid susceptible campylobacters (NASC) and urease-positive thermophylic campylobacters (UPTC) did not form separate clusters and should be considered biovars only . Several strains were both urease positive and nalidixic acid susceptible, which represents a new biovar within C . lari . The results of RAPD demonstrated the presence of 3 distinct genetic variants, implying that even within a single batch of shell fish, relatively extensive DNA polymorphisms can be found . It is therefore apparent that this complex group of C . lari is characterized by a high degree of genetic diversity, implying the presence of a heterogenous population of C . lari in crustacean organisms living in marine waters in a restricted area in The Netherlands.

Lett Appl Microbiol, 1997 Jan, 24(1), 59 - 64
Isolation and characterization of a novel catalase-negative, urease-positive Campylobacter from cattle faeces; Atabay HI et al.; Forty-four strains of a phenotypically unique Campylobacter were isolated from the faeces of 26 of 45 cows in a single herd . Isolation involved enrichment and membrane filtration onto blood agar or plating onto cefoperazone amphotericin teicoplanin agar . The strains exhibited phenotypic characteristics typical for Campylobacter species . However, they were unusual in that they produced urease and copious H2S in triple sugar iron (TSI) medium, but did not produce catalase . They did not grow aerobically . None of the strains grew on modified cefoperazone charcoal deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) . Macrorestriction profiles of chromosomal DNA were prepared for 15 strains using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) . Twelve of 15 profiles were identical and all appeared to be closely related . These catalase-negative, urease-positive campylobacters (CNUPC) represent a group not previously reported . Their sensitivity to antibiotics normally used in selective media for campylobacters might explain why they have not previously been encountered . Their ecological significance and importance with respect to human and animal disease remain to be assessed.

J Med Microbiol, 1997 Jan, 46(1), 34 - 8
Application of the Mast resistotyping scheme to Campylobacter jejuni and C . coli; Owen RJ et al.; The Mast resistotyping scheme was assessed with 228 strains of Campylobacter jejuni and C . coli from enteric infections in man and from a diverse selection of other sources (livestock, chickens and river water) . Most (153 of 158) C . jejuni examined were of the three most common Penner (heat stable, HS) serotypes, HS1, HS2 and HS4 complex . Fourteen resistotypes were identified in the 158 strains of C . jejuni and 16 in the 70 isolates of C . coli . The predominant codes were 00 (44% of C . jejuni; 33% of C . coli) and 40 (21% of both species) . The scheme was simple to use but reproducibility and interpretation of sensitivity zones--notably for fluorouracil, triphenyltetrazolium chloride and metronidazole--was occasionally problematic . Overall, resistotypes did not correlate with Penner HS serotypes or with three key genomic markers (ribotype, PFGE macrorestriction-type and fla-type) . Although resistotyping offers a rapid means for distinguishing between some strains of C . jejuni and C . coli, discrimination for common resistotypes can be achieved only in combination with other typing methods.

J Neuroimmunol, 1997 Jan, 72(1), 59 - 66
IgM anti-GM1 antibodies in the Guillain-Barré syndrome: a serological predictor of the clinical course; Bech E et al.; It has been suggested that antibodies against GM1 are involved in the pathogenesis of the Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) . Recently, we have developed a standardized ELISA assay for anti-GM1 antibodies of IgM type well-suited for longitudinal patient studies . The relationship between serum antibodies against GM1 and Campylobacter jejuni was investigated in patients with GBS and in patients with C . jejuni infection . Patients with a short-lasting anti-GM1 elevation had a fast recovery, whereas patients with slow recovery had a long-lasting anti-GM1 elevation . A linear relationship was found between significant clinical recovery and the time until the anti-GM1 peak was halved (R = 0.9, p < 0.01) . The absolute level of anti-GM1 did not predict the length of the recovery nor was the level of anti-GM1 related to the clinical disability at its nadir . Our data indicate that monitoring of the IgM anti-GM1 level can predict clinical recovery in GBS patients.

Eur Radiol, 1997, 7(1), 3 - 9
Infectious ileocecitis caused by Yersinia, Campylobacter, and Salmonella: clinical, radiological and US findings; Puylaert JB et al.; Yersinia, Campylobacter, and Salmonella are pathological microorganisms which incidentally may specifically infect the ileocecal area (infectious ileocecitis) . In such cases pain in the right lower quadrant is the predominant symptom, and diarrhea is absent or only mild . This symptomatology can lead to an unnecessary laparotomy for suspected appendicitis . At surgery a normal appendix is removed, while there is edematous thickening of ileum and cecum, and enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes . These ileocecal abnormalities give rise to a fairly characteristic US image, enabling the radiologist to rapidly differentiate infectious ileocecitis from appendicitis, thus preventing an unnecessary laparotomy . Infectious ileocecitis caused by Yersinia, Campylobacter, and Salmonella is a common mimicker of appendicitis, and its incidence at this moment is grossly underestimated . Ultrasound is presently the only means to prevent an unnecessary operation for this condition which is principally self-limiting and innocuous.

Clin Infect Dis, 1997 Jan, 24 Suppl 1, S67 - 73
Trends in bacterial resistance to fluoroquinolones; Acar JF et al.; The emergence of resistance to fluoroquinolones in virtually all species of bacteria was recognized soon after the introduction of these compounds for clinical use more than 10 years ago . Various resistance mechanisms, often interdependent, may explain different levels of resistance . Epidemiological factors, local antibiotic policies, patients' characteristics, origin of the strains, and geographic location are among the factors contributing to highly variable resistance rates . During the last several years, resistance to fluoroquinolones has remained very high among methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains and in intensive care unit patients, and it has increased among nosocomial isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . More worrisome are recent reports of an overall increase in resistance to fluoroquinolones among bacteria responsible for community-acquired infections, such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, Campylobacter species and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Fortschr Med, 1996 Dec 20, 114(35-36), 485 - 7
{Importation of cholera from Turkey . Case report of cholera acquired in Istanbul}; Burkhardt U et al.; Following a short holiday in Istanbul, a 41-year-old man developed severe infectious enteritis accompanied by exsiccosis, hypokalemia and renal insufficiency . The patient was initially treated symptomatically under the assumption that he had traveller's diarrhea or Campylobacter enteritis . Finally, cholera vibrios were detected in several stool samples . Although Turkey is not considered to be endemic for cholera, a number of cases originating there have now been diagnosed in Germany . For the diagnosis of cholera, special microbiological expertise and techniques are required, and these are apparently not available in every medical laboratory . In view of the increasing spread of cholera worldwide, and the penchant of the German population for travelling abroad, diarrhea occurring after a visit to a foreign country should always prompt the physician to consider the possibility of cholera and to request relevant microbiological examinations of stool samples in a specialized laboratory.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1996 Dec 15, 145(3), 469 - 72
Outer membrane characteristics of Campylobacter jejuni grown in chickens; Chart H et al.; A type of in vivo phenotype of Campylobacter jejuni was obtained by maintaining bacteria in the peritoneal cavities of chickens for one week . These bacteria, which had not been subcultured on laboratory media, were used to prepare outer membranes for comparison with C . jejuni grown in vitro . Flagella with subunits of 65 kDa and a single porin with a protein subunit of 49 kDa were expressed constitutively; however, outer membrane proteins of 55, 35 and 20 kDa, and intermediate-chain lipopolysaccharide were only expressed by bacteria maintained in chickens.

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd, 1996 Dec 14, 140(50), 2517 - 9
{Campylobacter infections in pregnancy}; Corel LJ et al.; In two pregnant women aged 39 and 35, who presented with fever and diarrhoea, Campylobacter was cultured from a blood sample . They were treated with antibiotics . One had a healthy neonate, in the other intrauterine foetal death had occurred . Campylobacter species have increasingly been recognized as possible causes of septic abortion, premature labour and neonatal sepsis . Early recognition and treatment of maternal Campylobacter infection may reduce the risk of serious foetal or neonatal complications.

Gene, 1996 Dec 12, 183(1-2), 219 - 24
Characterization of Campylobacter upsaliensis fur and its localization in a highly conserved region of the Campylobacter genome; Bourke B et al.; Despite increasing recognition of the importance of Campylobacter upsaliensis in human disease little is known about either the virulence properties or genetics of this enteric pathogen . The complete coding sequence of a C . upsaliensis gene has yet to be published . We have cloned and sequenced the complete iron-uptake regulatory (fur) gene from the type strain of this species . The C . upsaliensis fur homolog was isolated from a genomic library of C . upsaliensis ATCC 43954 constructed in phage lambdaGEM-11 . The open reading frame identified encodes a polypeptide consisting of 156 amino acids . The 5'-flanking region of the C . upsaliensis fur gene contains 3 putative Fur-binding sequences and two catabolite activator-binding sequences indicating the potential for autogenous and cAMP-mediated regulation, respectively . Primer extension analysis identified a single transcription start site 262 nt upstream from the AUG initiation codon . Sequence analysis indicates that the Fur protein of C . upsaliensis is highly homologous (87% amino acid identity) to Campylobacter jejuni Fur . Furthermore, the arrangement of the lysS and glyA genes downstream of fur is precisely conserved in both C . upsaliensis ATCC 43954 and C . jejuni TGH9011 . Using the polymerase chain reaction close linkage of fur with lysS and glyA was also observed among multiple isolates of C . upsaliensis, C . jejuni and C . coli suggesting a possible functional relevance for this conserved genetic arrangement in campylobacteria.

Commun Dis Rep CDR Rev, 1996 Dec 6, 6(13), R179 - 83
Risk factors for outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease linked to domestic catering; Ryan MJ et al.; The epidemiology of general outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease associated with domestic catering for large numbers is described and compared with foodborne outbreaks in other settings . From 1 January 1992 to 31 December 1994, the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre identified 101 foodborne general outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease associated with domestic catering in England and Wales (16% of all foodborne outbreaks) . Salmonella species were associated with 77 of the 101 outbreaks and S . enteriditis phage type 4 accounted for 57 . Small round structured viruses were implicated in five outbreaks, Clostridium perfringens in four, Bacillus cereus in two, and Campylobacter sp and Escherichia coli in one each . No pathogen was identified in 11 outbreaks . Outbreaks occurred most commonly in summer . The commonest vehicles implicated were poultry/eggs in 44 outbreaks, desserts in 13, and meat/meat products in nine . Salad/vegetables, sauces, and fish/shellfish were each implicated in eight outbreaks . Raw shell eggs were implicated in a fifth of outbreaks . Inappropriate storage was the commonest fault, reported in association with 50 outbreaks (ambient temperature for long periods before serving in 29), inadequate heat treatment was reported in 35, cross contamination in 28, an infected food handler in 11, and other faults in 14 . Outbreaks associated with catering on domestic premises were independently more likely than outbreaks in other settings to be associated with salmonellas, inappropriate storage of food, and consumption of poultry, eggs, or sauces . Public health services need to direct messages about the use, preparation, and storage of food to those who cater on domestic premises.

Med J Aust, 1996 Dec 2-16, 165(11-12), 672 - 5
Foodborne disease: current trends and future surveillance needs in Australia; Crerar SK et al.; Review of 128 outbreaks of foodborne disease (affecting almost 6000 people, with six deaths) between 1980 and 1995 and available surveillance data showed that foodborne disease in Australia is similar to that in other industrialised countries . Campylobacter spp . and non-typhoidal Salmonella spp . were the most commonly reported pathogens . However, Australia, unlike the UK and US, lacks a comprehensive national surveillance system for foodborne diseases . This is essential to improve control of these diseases.

J Diarrhoeal Dis Res, 1996 Dec, 14(4), 255 - 9
Adherence, invasion and cytotoxin assay of Campylobacter jejuni in HeLa and HEp-2 cells; Prasad KN et al.; Campylobacter jejuni is an important human enteropathogen worldwide . Chickens are the major reservoir and source of campylobacter infection . Ten clinical isolates from human and five chicken strains were tested for the adherence, invasion and cytotoxin assay in HeLa and HEp-2 cells . All human strains adhered to both the HeLa (10(3) to 3 x 10(4) bacteria/mL of cell lysate) and HEp-2 cells (2 x 10(3) to 4 x 10(4) bacteria/mL of lysate) . All chicken strains also adhered to the HEp-2 cells (10(2) to 10(3) bacteria/mL), but only two strains adhered to the HeLa cells . Six clinical and none of the chicken strains invaded the mammalian cells . Both the adherence and invasion were better observed in HEp-2 than in HeLa cell lines . All three isolates from patients having invasive diarrhoea and only one strain from a patient having watery diarrhoea produced cytotoxin . All three invasive strains also adhered to polystyrene surface after the localised destruction of the HEp-2 cells, a phenomenon not reported earlier . Adherence was markedly inhibited by the whole cell lysate and the acid glycine extracts, and the results were comparable . This study indicates that the clinical isolates of C . jejuni are more virulent than the chicken strains, HEp-2 is better for the adherence/invasion assay and HeLa is better for cytotoxin assay . The acid glycine extracts probably contain the key adhesins for C . jejuni.

Oral Dis, 1996 Dec, 2(4), 263 - 71
Matrix metalloproteinases-1, -3 and -8 and myeloperoxidase in saliva of patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection; Mellanen L et al.; OBJECTIVE: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive patients have frequently severe gingival inflammation and/or attachment loss . In addition many infectious diseases affect their periodontium with varying clinical manifestations . Matrix metalloproteinases seem to play a key role in physiological periodontal remodelling and pathological tissue destruction . The aim of the present study was to characterize the presence, molecular forms, cellular sources, activities, and relative amounts of fibroblast-type (matrix metalloproteinase {MMP}-1) and neutrophil (MMP-8) collagenases, as well as their potential activator stromelysin-I (MMP-3) and myeloperoxidase in saliva of HIV-seropositive patients at different phases of HIV-infection . HIV-seronegative, healthy, age-matched patients served as controls . PATIENTS AND METHODS: Saliva samples were characterized by Western blotting using antibodies specific for MMP-1, MMP-3 and MMP-8 . Interstitial collagenase activities were measured using quantitative sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis/laser densitometry assay . Myeloperoxidase was analysed using quantitative dot blotting . RESULTS: Clinical and microbiological evaluation of HIV-seropositive patients' periodontium showed the presence of putative periodontopathogens ie Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (Aa), Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), Prevotella intermedia (Pi), Peptostreptococcus micros (Psm) and Campylobacter rectus (Cr) in their periodontal pockets . The amount of Candida increased with the severity of HIV-infection . Clinical and microbiological findings of HIV-seropositive patients suggested that they have a tendency to develop periodontal disease . Interstitial collagenase activities were found to be increased in saliva of different phases of HIV-infected patients compared to the controls . Independent of the phase of HIV-infection saliva samples contained pro- and active forms of MMP-1, -3 and -8 using Western blotting . Saliva samples from healthy controls were found to contain hardly any immunoreactivities for MMP-1 or MMP-8, but considerable amounts of MMP-3 were detected . Quantitative dot blotting demonstrated increased amounts of myeloperoxidase in HIV-patients' saliva relative to controls . CONCLUSION: The present results showed increased amounts of MMP-1, -3, -8 and myeloperoxidase in HIV-patients' saliva . MMP-1 and -8 may have been activated by MMP-3 and/or oxidants generated by myeloperoxidase . The increased amounts of MMPs and myeloperoxidase may reflect and directly participate in HIV-infection associated periodontitis.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1996 Dec, 40(12), 2891 - 3
Identification of the tetracycline resistance gene, tet(O), in Streptococcus pneumoniae; Widdowson CA et al.; Five isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae resistant to tetracycline but lacking tet(M) were studied . The tetracycline resistance gene, tet(O), was detected for the first time in the pneumococcus . The gene was amplified and sequenced and found to share 99% nucleotide sequence identity and 99, 99, and 98% deduced amino acid sequence identity with the tet(O) resistance genes of Streptococcus mutans, Campylobacter coli, and Campylobacter jejuni, respectively.

Neurologia, 1996 Dec, 11 Suppl 5, 75 - 80
{Antiganglioside antibodies in neuropathies and motor neuronopathies}; Gallardo E et al.; The presence of antiganglioside antibodies is associated with several neurologic disorders . These antibodies recognize several epitopes, generally saccharides present in these glucolipids . The presence of antiGM antibodies has been described in certain clinical syndromes, the main one being multifocal motor neuropathy with and without conduction blocks . The frequency of antiGM1 class IgM antibody falls between 20 and 80% in this disease . Axon predominant Guillain-Barre syndrome is also associated with high titers of antiGM1 antibodies, although in this case class IgG is implicated . The most important association to date has been established between Miller-Fisher syndrome and the presence of antiGQ1b antibodies . Several authors have reported molecular similarities among these gangliosides and bacterial lipopolysaccharides, mainly Campylobacter iejuni . The principal aims in the study of antiganglioside antibodies are to establish their pathogenic role as well as the clinical usefulness of analyzing for them, and to discover new specificities that aid in the diagnosis and classification of neuropathies, whether they are predominantly motor disorders or chronic sensory ones.

Kansenshogaku Zasshi, 1996 Dec, 70(12), 1227 - 33
{Evolution of susceptibilities of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from diarrhoeal cases to fluoroquinolones in Tokyo}; Tadano K et al.; Recently, the increase in the number of resistant strains of Campylobacter jejuni to fluoroquinolone has been reported in European countries . We also studied antimicrobial susceptibilities of 600 clinical isolates of Campylobacter jejuni isolated during a 6 year period from 1989 through 1994 in four Tokyo Metropolitan Hospitals . The susceptibility to 6 antimicrobial agents, norfloxacin (NFLX), ofloxacin (OFLX), ciprofloxacin (CPFX), nalidixic acid (NA), erythromycin (EM) and tetracycline (TC) were examined . The overall resistant rates were as follows: NFLX, 45 strains (7.5%); OFLX, 45 strains (7.5%); CPFX, 44 strains (7.3%); NA, 62 strains (10.3%); EM, 4 strains (0.6%) and TC, 259 strains (43.2%) . The number of resistant strains to fluoroquinolones and NA has increased significantly since 1993 in Japan, but the susceptibility to erythromycin has still remained the same level during the past 6 years . The susceptibility to TC was variable, and MICs gave a bimobal distribution, as pointed out previously . The resistance pattern of NFLX, OFLX, CPFX and NA were observed most frequently in those isolates.

Lab Anim Sci, 1996 Dec, 46(6), 623 - 7
Proliferative enteropathy of rabbits: the intracellular Campylobacter-like organism is closely related to Lawsonia intracellularis; Hotchkiss CE et al.; The intracellular Campylobacter-like organism associated with proliferative enteropathy of rabbits is closely related to Lawsonia intracellularis, the primary pathogen in porcine intestinal adenomatosis . Polymerase chain reaction primers based on the 16S rRNA gene of L . intracellularis were used to amplify DNA harvested from intestinal tissues of rabbits with severe proliferative intestinal lesions containing curved argentophilic intracellular bacteria . Sequencing of a 180-nucleotide DNA fragment of the 550-base pair-amplified polymerase chain reaction product revealed >98% similarity between the organism associated with the rabbit disease and the homologous sequence found in L.intracellularis.

J Vet Med Sci, 1996 Dec, 58(12), 1181 - 5
Incidence of diarrhea with antibiotics and the increase of clostridia in rabbits; Hara-Kudo Y et al.; Rabbits were treated with a single intravenous injection of various antibiotics . More than 40 per cent of the animals showed diarrhea after being treated with sulbactam/cefoperazone, cefmetazole, clindamycin, piperacillin or aspoxicillin . Clostridium difficile was isolated from sulbactam/cefoperazone-treated diarrheic rabbits, with their cecal contents showing positive reaction in a latex agglutination test for C . difficile enterotoxin . However, 27 cefmetazole-induced diarrheic cases were not associated with C . difficile . Other enteropathogenic bacteria, such as Campylobacter spp., Bacillus cereus, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Vibrio spp., Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium spiroforme, were not isolated from either of diarrheic rabbit . However, the counts of clostridia remarkably increased in the intestine of cefmetazole-associated diarrheic rabbits . This was ascribed to the overgrowth of Clostridium innocuum and Clostridium sporogenes . There were no remarkable differences in changes in other bacterial population between diarrheic and non-diarrheic rabbits.

FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol, 1996 Dec 1, 16(2), 105 - 15
Molecular mimicry of host structures by bacterial lipopolysaccharides and its contribution to disease; Moran AP et al.; The core oligosaccharides of low-molecular-weight lipopolysaccharide (LPS), also termed lipooligosaccharide (LOS), of pathogenic Neisseria spp . mimic the carbohydrate moieties of glycosphingolipids present on human cells . Such mimicry may serve to camouflage the bacterial surface from the host . The LOS component is antigenically and/or chemically identical to lactoneoseries glycosphingolipids and can become sialylated in Neisseria gonorrhoeae when the bacterium is grown in the presence of cytidine 5'-monophospho-N-acetylneuraminic acid, the nucleotide sugar of sialic acid . Strains of Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae also express similarly sialylated LPS . Sialylation of the LOS influences susceptibility to bactericidal antibody, may decrease or prevent phagocytosis, cause down-regulation of complement activation, and decrease adherence to neutrophils and the subsequent oxidative burst response . The core oligosaccharides of LPS of Campylobacter jejuni serotypes which are associated with the development of the neurological disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), exhibit mimicry of gangliosides . Cross-reactive antibodies between C . jejuni LPS and gangliosides are considered to play an important role in GBS pathogenesis . In contrast, the O-chain of a number of Helicobacter pylori strains exhibit mimicry of Lewis(x) and Lewis(y) blood group antigens . The role of this mimicry remains to be investigated, but may play a role in bacterial camouflage, the induction of autoimmunity and immune suppression in H . pylori-associated disease.

J Neuroimmunol, 1996 Dec, 71(1-2), 155 - 61
Antibody to GalNAc-GD1a and GalNAc-GM1b in Guillain-Barré syndrome subsequent to Campylobacter jejuni enteritis; Yuki N et al.; N-Acetylgalactosaminyl GD1a (GalNAc-GD1a) is a proposed target molecule for serum antibody in some patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) (Kusunoki et al., 1994) . We examined autoantibody to GalNAc-GD1a in sera from 58 GBS patients . Eight GBS patients had high IgG anti-GalNAc-GD1a antibody titers, 3 of whom also had high IgM anti-GalNAc-GD1a antibody titers . These 8 patients had experienced gastrointestinal infection before the onset of their neurological symptoms . Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from 4 of them . An absorption test indicated the presence of the GalNAc-GD1a epitope in lipopolysaccharides of C . jejuni . Sera that had anti-GalNAc-GD1a antibody reacted with several acidic glycolipids in bovine peripheral nerve, one of which was identified as N-acetylgalactosaminyl GM1b (GalNAc-GM1b) . Serum binding to GalNAc-GM1b was decreased by absorption with GalNAc-GD1a . The presence of GalNAc-GM1b as well as GalNAc-GD1a has been reported in human peripheral nerves . We assume that C . jejuni, which bears the {GalNAc beta 1-4 (NeuAc alpha 2-3) Gal beta 1-3 GalNAc beta 1-} epitope, is the immunogen and that the glycoconjugates with the epitope are target molecules for the autoantibody in peripheral nerves of some GBS patients.

Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 1996 Dec, 8(12), 1219 - 21
Campylobacter jejuni peritonitis in a patient with liver cirrhosis; Vermeij CG et al.; A 56-year-old man with alcoholic liver cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class C), ascites and hepatocellular carcinoma developed acute diarrhoea and fever . Ascites granulocyte count was 5760 per microliters . Campylobacter jejuni grew in cultures from faeces, blood and ascites . The patient was successfully treated with erythromycin . Although the incidence of bacterial infections including peritonitis is high in patients with end-stage liver cirrhosis, this is one of very few cases in which Campylobacter jejuni has been identified as the causative microorganism.

Gastrointest Endosc, 1996 Dec, 44(6), 663 - 6
Results of culture form colonoscopically obtained specimens for bacteria and fungi in HIV-infected patients with diarrhea; Beaugerie L et al.; BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to determine the diagnostic yield of culture for bacteria and fungi from colonic biopsy specimens in 290 consecutive HIV-infected patients with diarrhea . METHODS: During each colonoscopy, three biopsy specimens were homogenized and cultured on media for Salmonella and Shigella and for Campylobacter and Yersinia, on Loewenstein medium and on Sabouraud medium . RESULTS: Cultures were found positive for one (n = 32) or two (n = 5) infectious agents in 37 cases, i.e., in 12.8% of the patients . Bacteria were isolated in 24 cases, and identified as Campylobacter jejunl-coli (n = 14), Salmonella (n = 2), Shigella (n = 1), or Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 7) . Among the 14 patients with C . jejuni-coli intestinal infection, 11 had normal-appearing mucosa at colonoscopy, and 3 had a concomitant stool culture negative for Campylobacter . Mycobacterial cultures were positive for Mycobacterium avium intracellulare in 6 patients, who were already known as having a disseminated M . avium intracellulare infection from positive blood cultures . Fungal cultures were positive for Candida in 10 cases, without clear clinical significance . CONCLUSIONS: The overall yield of culture for bacterial pathogens from colonic tissue in HIV-infected patients with diarrhea is low, but some individual cases of C . jejuni-coli infections may be detected from colonic tissue culture and not diagnosed by concomitant stool culture.

Epidemiol Infect, 1996 Dec, 117(3), 463 - 70
Experimental studies on the infectivity of non-culturable forms of Campylobacter spp . in chicks and mice; van de Giessen AW et al.; The significance of non-culturable forms of Campylobacter spp., especially with regard to the epidemiology of this organism in poultry flocks, was explored . Two different experiments were conducted to produce non-culturable Campylobacter spp . and test their ability to colonize the animal gut . In the first experiment a mixture of 28 different strains of Campylobacter spp . from various sources was inoculated in both sterilized surface water and potassium phosphate buffer and stored at 4 degrees C . After Campylobacter spp . were no longer detectable by culture in the microcosms, the mixtures of non-culturable cells were used to challenge both chicks and mice . Recovery of non-culturable Campylobacter spp . from the animals was not successful at 4 weeks after administration . In the second experiment the survival of six individual strains of Campylobacter spp . in sterilized surface water at 4 degrees C was studied and the resulting non-culturable cells were used to challenge chicks . None of the campylobacter strains could be recovered from the chicks at 2 weeks after administration . We conclude that occurrence of non-culturable forms of Campylobacter spp . capable of colonizing chicks is not a common phenomenon and that non-culturable forms of Campylobacter spp . are likely to be insignificant for importantly to the epidemiology of the organism in Dutch broiler flocks.

Epidemiol Infect, 1996 Dec, 117(3), 457 - 62
A milk-borne campylobacter outbreak following an educational farm visit; Evans MR et al.; After a nursery school trip to a dairy farm, 20 (53%) of 38 children and 3 (23%) of 13 adult helpers developed gastrointestinal infection . Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from 15 primary cases and from 3 of 9 secondary household cases . A cohort study of the school party found illness to be associated with drinking raw milk (relative risk 5.4, 95% confidence interval 1.4-20.4, P = 0.001) . There was a significant dose response relationship between amount of raw milk consumed and risk of illness (chi 2-test for linear trend 12.1, P = 0.0005) but not with incubation period, severity of symptoms or duration of illness . All 18 human campylobacter isolates were C . jejuni resistotype 02 and either biotype I (number 16) or biotype II (number 2) . Campylobacter was also isolated from samples of dairy cattle and bird faeces obtained at the farm but these were of different resisto/biotypes . Educational farm visits have become increasingly popular in recent years and this outbreak illustrates the hazard of exposure to raw milk in this setting.

J Appl Bacteriol, 1996 Dec, 81(6), 635 - 40
Heat-stable serotyping antigens expressed by strains of Campylobacter jejuni are probably capsular and not long-chain lipopolysaccharide; Chart H et al.; The role of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the serotyping of Campylobacter jejuni based on heat-stable antigens was examined using SDS-PAGE and a silver stain for carbohydrate . None of the 32 type strains of Camp . jejuni expressed long-chain LPS . Rabbit antibodies, prepared to 10 selected strains of Camp . jejuni, reacted with surface-exposed carbohydrate antigens, which were not LPS . This study suggests that the heat-stable antigens of Camp . jejuni, which form the basis for the established Penner serotyping scheme, are probably capsular and not LPS.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1996 Dec 1, 145(2), 209 - 14
Degradation of lactoferrin by periodontitis-associated bacteria; Alugupalli KR et al.; The degradation of human lactoferrin by putative periodontopathogenic bacteria was examined . Fragments of lactoferrin were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and measured by densitometry . The degradation of lactoferrin was more extensive by Porphyromonas gingivalis and Capnocytophaga sputigena, slow by Capnocytophaga ochracea, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Prevotella intermedia, and very slow or absent by Prevotella nigrescens, Campylobacter rectus, Campylobacter sputorum, Fusobacterium nucleatum ssp . nucleatum, Capnocytophaga gingivalis, Bacteroides forsythus and Peptostreptococcus micros . All strains of P . gingivalis tested degraded lactoferrin . The degradation was sensitive to protease inhibitors, cystatin C and albumin . The degradation by C . sputigena was not affected by the protease inhibitors and the detected lactoferrin fragments exhibited electrophoretic mobilities similar to those ascribed to deglycosylated forms of lactoferrin . Furthermore a weak or absent reactivity of these fragments with sialic acid-specific lectin suggested that they are desialylated . The present data indicate that certain bacteria colonizing the periodontal pocket can degrade lactoferrin . The presence of other human proteins as specific inhibitors and/or as substrate competitors may counteract this degradation process.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1996 Dec, 62(12), 4614 - 20
Microbial ecology of Campylobacter jejuni in a United Kingdom chicken supply chain: intermittent common source, vertical transmission, and amplification by flock propagation; Pearson AD et al.; A study of Campylobacter jejuni on a broiler chicken farm between 1989 and 1994 gave an estimated isolation rate of 27% (3,304 of 12,233) from a 0.9% sample of 1.44 million broiler chickens from six to eight sheds over 32 consecutive rearing flocks comprising 251 broiler shed flocks . During the study, C . jejuni was found in 35.5% of the 251 shed flocks but only 9.2% (23 of 251) had Campylobacter isolates in successive flocks, with 9 of those 23 sheds having the same serotype between consecutive flocks, indicating a low level of transmission between flocks . Analysis of a systematic sample of 484 of 3,304 (14.6%) C . jejuni isolates showed that 85% were of 10 serotype complexes but 58% were of 3 serotype complexes, indicating a high degree of strain similarity throughout the entire study . The three commonest types were detected in 8 of 32 flocks during the 5-year study period, suggesting an intermittent common external Campylobacter source . This hypothesis was tested by a retrospective cohort analysis of C . jejuni rates and types by reference to hatchery supplier of the 1-day-old chicks . Isolation rates of C . jejuni and frequency distribution of types were determined in 6-week-old broiler chickens identified by the hatchery supplying the original chicks . The isolation rate of C . jejuni in broilers, supplied by hatchery A, was 17.6%, compared to 42.9% (P < 0.0001) for broilers reared from chicks supplied by hatchery B . In two instances, when both hatcheries were used to stock the same farm flock, Campylobacter isolates were found only in those sheds with chicks supplied by hatchery B . Thus, the frequency distribution of Campylobacter types for chickens supplied by the two hatcheries over the 5-year period showed marked dissimilarity . These findings suggest that the isolation rate and type of Campylobacter isolates in broiler chickens was associated with the hatchery supplying chicks . The lack of diversity of types and the intermittent high positivity of sheds is evidence for a common source of C . jejuni introduced by vertical transmission rather than contamination at the hatchery or during transportation.

Infect Immun, 1996 Dec, 64(12), 4933 - 9
Murine intranasal challenge model for the study of Campylobacter pathogenesis and immunity; Baqar S et al.; Campylobacter jejuni infection of mice initiated by intranasal administration was investigated as a potential model for studies of pathogenesis and immunity . By using a standard challenge (5 x 10(9) CFU), C . jejuni 81-176 was more virulent for BALB/c (72% mortality) than for C3H/Hej (50%), CBA/CAJ (30%), or C58/J (0%) . Intranasal challenge of BALB/c was used to compare the relative virulence of three reference strains; C.jejuni 81-176 was more virulent (killing 83% of challenged mice) than C . jejuni HC (0%) or C . coli VC-167 (0%) . The course of intranasally initiated C . jejuni 81-176 infection in BALB/c was determined . C . jejuni was recovered from the lungs, intestinal tract, liver, and spleen at 4 h after challenge, the first interval evaluated . After this initial interval, three distinct patterns of infection were recognized: (i) a progressive decline in number of C . jejuni CFU (stomach, blood, lungs), (ii) decline followed by a second peak in the number of organisms recovered at 2 or 3 days postchallenge (intestine, liver, mesenteric lymph nodes), and (iii) persistence of approximately the same number of C.jejuni CFU during the course of the experiment (spleen) . Intranasally induced infection initiated with a sublethal number of bacteria or intranasal immunization with killed Campylobacter preparations resulted in both the generation of Campylobacter antigen-specific immune responses and an acquired resistance to homologous rechallenge . The model was used to evaluate the relative virulence of nine low-in vitro-passage (no more than five passages) isolates of C . jejuni species from patients with diarrhea . The patient isolates were differentially virulent for mice; one killed all exposed mice, three were avirulent (no deaths) and the remainder showed an intermediate virulence, killing 17 to 33% . Mouse virulence of Campylobacter strains showed a trend toward isolates originating from individuals with watery diarrhea; however, no association was found between mouse virulence and other signs or symptoms . There were no observed relationships between mouse virulence and bacterial Lior serotype or Fla polymorphic group . Intranasal challenge of BALB/c with C . jejuni is a useful model for the study of infection and vaccination-acquired immunity to this agent.

J Clin Microbiol, 1996 Dec, 34(12), 3129 - 37
Differentiation of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and intergenic regions and Mycobacterium tuberculosis katG genes by structure-specific endonuclease cleavage; Brow MA et al.; We describe here a new approach for analyzing nucleic acid sequences using a structure-specific endonuclease, Cleavase I . We have applied this technique to the detection and localization of mutations associated with isoniazid resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and for differentiating bacterial genera, species and strains . The technique described here is based on the observation that single strands of DNAs can assume defined conformations, which can be detected and cleaved by structure-specific endonucleases such as Cleavase I . The patterns of fragments produced are characteristic of the sequences responsible for the structure, so that each DNA has its own structural fingerprint . Amplicons, containing either a single 5'-fluorescein or 5'-tetramethyl rhodamine label were generated from a 620-bp segment of the katG gene of isoniazid-resistant and -sensitive M . tuberculosis, the 5' 350 bp of the 16S rRNA genes of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella arizonae, Shigella sonnei, Shigella dysenteriae, Campylobacter jejuni, staphylococcus, hominis, Staphylococcus warneri, and Staphylococcus aureus and an approximately 550-bp DNA segment comprising the intergenic region between the 16S and 23S rRNA genes of Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella arizonae, Shigella sonnei, and Shigella dysenteriae serotypes 1, 2, and 8 . Changes in the structural fingerprints of DNA fragments derived from the katG genes of isoniazid-resistant M . tuberculosis isolates were clearly identified and could be mapped to the site of the actual mutation relative to the labeled end . Bland patterns which clearly differentiated bacteria to the level of genus and, in some cases, species were generated from the 16S genes . Cleavase I analysis of the intergenic regions of Salmonella and Shigella species differentiated genus, species, and serotypes . Structural fingerprinting by digestion with Cleavase I is a rapid, simple, and sensitive method for analyzing nucleic acid sequences and may find wide utility in microbial analysis.

Gene, 1996 Nov 28, 181(1-2), 109 - 12
The aroA gene of Campylobacter jejuni; Wosten MM et al.; The gene for 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase (aroA) cloned from Campylobacter jejuni (Cj) strain 81116 was identified by complementation of an Escherichia coli (Ec) auxotrophic aroA mutant . The Cj aroA gene has been sequenced . It encodes an enzyme of 428 amino acids (aa), that is homologous to other bacterial EPSP synthases, especially that of Bacillus subtilis with which it has a 39% aa identity . The transcriptional start point was mapped . It is present in an upstream open reading frame (ORF) that has a strong homology to the gene encoding phenylalanine tRNA synthetase (pheS) . Downstream from aroA another ORF is present which is homologous to the lytB gene of Ec . The stop codon of the aroA gene overlaps the start codon of lytB.

Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen, 1996 Nov 20, 116(28), 3366 - 9
{Water-borne campylobacter infection--probably caused by pink-footed geese . Two outbreaks in Nord-Trøndelag, Stjørtdal in 1994 and Verdal in 1995}; Varslot M et al.; The authors describe two water-borne outbreaks of Campylobacter gastroenteritis that occurred in central Norway in 1994 and 1995 . The epidemics were probably caused by contamination of drinking water by the stools of Pink-footed geese on the way from Svalbard to Germany-Netherlands . Campylobacter jejuni from the stools of the geese was transmitted to the population via untreated drinking water, causing disease in 50% of the population . About 1,000 persons suffered from gastroenteritis caused by contaminated drinking water in these two epidemics.

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 1996 Nov-Dec, 26(3-4), 103 - 8
Comparison of polymerase chain reaction and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis for the epidemiological typing of Campylobacter jejuni; Shi ZY et al.; Seventeen sporadic Campylobacter jejuni enteritis cases occurred in Taichung City, Taiwan between July 1995 and September 1995 . Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC-1) primed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques were compared for the epidemiological typing of the 17 C . jejuni isolates . Fourteen distinct PFGE fingerprint patterns were observed . Fifteen distinct PCR fingerprint patterns were demonstrated . Two clusters of isolates (isolates 5 and 6; isolates 10, 11 respectively) were found to be genetically indistinguishable by both methods . In conclusion, we consider that PFGE is a highly reproducible method for determining the relatedness among the C . jejuni isolates in this study, although their limited numbers of restriction fragments may reduce the discriminatory power . Although less reproducible than PFGE typing, ERIC-1 primed PCR can be used as a simple and rapid tool to discriminate different strains of C . jejuni.

J Dent Res, 1996 Nov, 75(11), 1901 - 8
Plaque pH and microflora of dental plaque on sound and carious root surfaces; Aamdal-Scheie A et al.; Given the hypothesis that root caries is the result of acid formation by acidogenic micro-organisms, the present study was performed to relate sucrose-induced pH response of dental plaque on root surfaces to the microbial composition of the overlying plaque . Seventeen caries-active elderly Chinese with poor oral hygiene and with both sound and carious root surfaces were examined . Plaque pH was measured before and up to one hour after a controlled sucrose mouthrinse . Plaque samples for microbiologic analyses were collected from 2 sound and 2 or 3 carious pH-measurement sites in each subject . The prevalence of the following micro-organisms was assessed as % of total viable counts on Brucella agar: Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella melaninogenica, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Campylobacter rectus, Capnocytophaga spp., Actinomyces viscosus, Actinomyces naeslundi, Streptococcus spp., S . sanguis, S . mitis, S . mutans, S . sobrinus, Lactobacillus spp., and Candida spp . There was no difference in plaque pH response on sound and carious root surfaces . The plaque pH response was more pronounced in the maxilla than in the mandible for both sound and carious sites . There was no difference in microbial composition of dental plaque on sound and carious root surfaces . The pH response to sucrose was the same regardless of the presence or absence of mutans streptococci . Our results thus do not readily support the traditional concept of caries formation.

Berl Munch Tierarztl Wochenschr, 1996 Nov-Dec, 109(11-12), 434 - 9
{Helicobacter pylori: antibodies in sera of pigs and calves}; Seidel KE et al.; 64 sera of pigs and 22 sera of calves were investigated in a Helicobacter pylori-ELISA . The test system was validated with positive and negative reference sera . In contrast to other investigations it was tried to exclude false positive results by absorbing the sera with Wolinella succinogenes, Campylobacter jejuni subsp.jejuni, E . coli and Proteus mirabilis . This proved to be necessary, as the extinctions of some sera were reduced considerably . Using this technique sera of 5 pigs and 6 calves could be identified, which fulfilled the following criteria: 1 . The extinctions were statistically significant above the mean value of the corresponding group after absorption with Campylobacter jejuni subsp.jejuni . 2 . After absorbing the sera of pigs with 3 and the sera of calves with 4 bacteria the extinctions were above 50% of that of the human positive serum . 3 . The extinctions of these sera were-like the positive reference sera-nearly not influenced by the absorption . These results indicate the presence of serum antibodies in pigs and calves, which react with epitops from Helicobacter pylori.

J Periodontol, 1996 Nov, 67(11), 1164 - 9
The adherence of periodontopathogens to periodontal probes . A possible factor in intra-oral transmission?
Papaioannou W, Bollen CM, Van Eldere J, Quirynen M.
Periodontal probes have previously been shown to harbor several bacterial types or species after probing periodontally diseased pockets . This study aims to identify and quantify periodontopathogens that may adhere to a periodontal probe by culturing techniques . It also examines the probe's roughness on its capability to collect bacteria, comparing Merrit-B probes (with deep indentations) with TPS probes (with smooth surfaces) . From the differential phase contrast microscopy findings it was seen that, while paper-points harbored nearly 50% motile rods or spirochetes, the periodontal probes were just at, or below, the 20% threshold level for pathogenicity (23.6% for the Merrit-B probe and 11.3% for the TPS probe) . The cultural data showed that paper-points had significantly higher (P < 0.05) numbers of anaerobic bacteria than the 2 probe types, which still harbored up to 10(7) CFU . No significant differences could be detected between the probes . When specific periodontopathic species were considered, it was seen that for all species, even for Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans or Porphyromonas gingivalis, the detection frequency was comparable for the 3 sampling devices . However, the levels of Prevotella intermedia and Campylobacter rectus was significantly higher in samples from paper-points (P < 0.05), but still their numbers reached even 10(5) on the probes . Differences among the 2 probe types were again negligible . Periodontal probes harbor relatively high numbers of bacteria found in periodontal pockets and may be able to carry them over to other sites . Further studies are needed to determine if, and to what extent, transmission occurs during periodontal probing.

FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol, 1996 Nov, 16(1), 45 - 9
A combined polymerase chain reaction and restriction endonuclease enzyme assay for discriminating between Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni; Comi G et al.; A combined polymerase chain reaction and restriction endonuclease (RE) enzyme assay was developed to discriminate between Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni . Amplimers of the FlaA gene obtained by PCR were digested with AluI and HinfI to distinguish C . coli from C . jejuni . With AluI digestion C . jejuni-specific bands were observed at 110, 140 and 160 bp and C . coli-specific bands at 293 and 147 bp . C . jejuni-specific bands of 349 and 109 bp were found by HinfI digestion but HinfI did not digest the FlaA amplimer of C . coli . This combined technique is fast and easy to perform, and distinguishes the two campylobacters unequivocally.

Clin Diagn Lab Immunol, 1996 Nov, 3(6), 669 - 77
Development of a rapid and specific colony-lift immunoassay for detection and enumeration of Campylobacter jejuni, C . coli, and C . lari; Rice BE et al.; Contamination of retail poultry by Campylobacter spp . is a significant source of human diarrheal disease . We have developed a colony-lift immunoassay (CLI) for the detection of Campylobacter jejuni, C . coli, and C . lari isolated from such sources and grown on selective agar medium or on filter membranes . This technique has been successfully utilized to quantify Campylobacter colonies within 18 to 28 h after sampling . Hydrophobic, high-protein-binding membranes were prewet with methanol and used to imprint bacterial cells from the agar or filter membrane, while leaving colonies intact and viable . The membranes were air dried, peroxidase neutralized, blocked with bovine serum albumin in phosphate-buffered saline, and hybridized for 5 min with an affinity-purified, horseradish peroxidase-labeled goat anti-Campylobacter antibody preparation (Kirkegaard and Perry Laboratories) . The membranes were washed briefly, exposed to a 3,'5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine membrane substrate, rinsed in deionized water, and allowed to dry . Lifted colonies of Campylobacter were identified by a blue color reaction on the membrane . Replicas of the membranes were made by marking the location of the Campylobacter colonies on clear transparencies, which were subsequently utilized to locate the original colony on the filter membrane or agar plate . The specificity of this antibody preparation has been evaluated against a wide range of Campylobacter spp., including American Type Culture Collection type and references strains, retail poultry isolates, and isolates obtained from cloacal swabs of live commercial broiler chickens . Specificity against numerous non-Campylobacter spp . obtained from the same sources was also evaluated . The CLI provided a rapid and simple means for detection and enumeration of enteropathogenic Campylobacter organisms . We have successfully combined this CLI procedure with methods recently developed in our laboratories for retail meat and poultry sampling . Potentially, broader applications for use of this technique include detection and enumeration of campylobacters from clinical, veterinary, and environmental samples.

South Med J, 1996 Nov, 89(11), 1123 - 4
Transient Campylobacter bacteremia in a healthy child; Smally AJ et al.; A 7-month-old immunocompetent child was brought to the emergency department with fever and diarrhea . Blood and stool cultures grew Campylobacter species . Campylobacter bacteremia resolved without treatment.

Presse Med, 1996 Oct 5, 25(29), 1331 - 2
{Campylobacter fetus meningitis in adults}; Wilhelm JM et al.; Campylobacter fetus is an uncommon cause of meningitis in the adult . We report a case observed in an 84-year-old man with alcoholic cirrhosis . The patient presented fever, jaundice and a state of mental confusion . Blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures identified Campylobacter fetus sensitive to several antibiotics . Ciprofloxacine-ceftriaxone combination replaced the antibiotics prescribed empirically prior to identification and led to regression of the fever and normal mental status within 4 days . Spinal tap on day 7 showed 20 white cells, 85% lymphocytes and normal protein level . Unfortunately, the patient later developed edema and ascitis with major jaundice . Oligo-anuria could not be controlled and the patient died two weeks after admission . Campylobacter fetus meningitis is predominantly seen in men, mean age of onset 50 years . Clinical signs are not specific and diagnosis can only be obtained on the basis of cerebrospinal fluid results . Adapted antibiotics are required.

Res Microbiol, 1996 Oct, 147(8), 641 - 9
Flagellin gene profiling of Campylobacter jejuni heat-stable serotype 1 and 4 complex; Santesteban E et al.; Flagellin gene (flaA) sequence polymorphisms were used to discriminate amongst 167 strains of Campylobacter jejuni serotype HS1 and the HS4 complex . Direct PCR of cell suspensions provided a rapid method for analysing DNase-negative strains, whereas purified DNA was necessary for the DNase-positive strains . Nine different PCR-RFLP patterns (genotypes) were identified by analysis with Hinfl and 12 with Ddel, giving a total of 19 combined flaA profile types . The most common combined fla types were H1D1 (35%) and H1D2 (20%) for serotype HS1, and H1D2 (23%) and H4D7 (43%) for serotype HS4 . Comparison of flaA typing with other key subtyping methods for C . jejuni showed it to be less discriminatory than pulsed field gel electrophoretic (PFGE) profiling, but more so than ribotyping . Fla types provided a useful indication of strain diversity, but as some were conserved across different serotypes, ribotypes and PFGE types, the same fla type could not be used as the sole basis for grouping strains . We provide evidence for several distinct subgroups based on conserved multiple genomic criteria within the HS1 and HS4 strains, and conclude that monitoring of such subgroups could provide a novel basis for future epidemiological surveillance of C . jejuni.

Aust N Z J Public Health, 1996 Oct, 20(5), 457 - 62
Haemolytic-uraemic syndrome in the Hunter: public health implications; Miles TA et al.; Three cases of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome in the Hunter area were reported in February 1995 . An investigation was initiated to identify any verocytotoxic Escherichia coli in clinical samples that could be associated with the development of the disease . Escherichia coli O6:H- and O2:H7 were isolated from Case 1 . No organisms were identified for Case 2, and Case 3 samples yielded Campylobacter jejuni . In addition, efforts were made to trace sources of any such pathogens in food samples or in the environment generally . Shiga-like toxins were found in meat products sampled from butchers' shops patronised by the families of the three cases . However, it was not found possible to match stool samples with samples of food from sources used by the families of the children . Environmental factors seemed likely to have played a significant role in the development of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome in Case 3 . It is suggested that the incidence of the disease may be reduced by increasing the frequency of testing of meat products for Shiga-like toxins I and II and through educational and research programs.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1996 Oct, 49(10), 917 - 25
{Clinical evaluation of azithromycin in pediatric infections}; Nishimura T et al.; Azithromycin (AZM) was studied for its clinical efficacy in pediatric infections . The study on AZM was carried out in 43 patients whose diagnoses were given as follows: pharyngitis in five cases, tonsillitis in one, bronchitis in four, pneumonia in four, Mycoplasma pneumonia in 14, scarlet fever in nine, impetigo in four, pyodermia in one and Campylobacter enteritis in one . The patients received AZM once daily at 1.6 approximately 20.0 mg/kg body weight for three to five days . Effectiveness of AZM was evaluated in 39 cases and the drug was rated "excellent" in 15, "good" in 19, "fair" in one, "poor" in four, resulting in an efficacy rate of 87.2% . Twenty bacterial isolates were identified as causative isolates in 19 patients: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Campylobacter jejuni and Mycoplasma pneumoniae . AZM eradicated 16 isolates but four persisted after therapy . One patient complained of loose stool, while two patients were found with decreases in white blood cell counts, and seven showed increases in eosinophils . However, no serious case of adverse event was reported.

Avian Dis, 1996 Oct-Dec, 40(4), 945 - 9
Isolation of paramyxovirus serotype 7 from ostriches (Struthio camelus); Woolcock PR et al.; Paramyxovirus serotype 7 (PMV-7) was isolated from pooled intestinal contents of two 5-month-old ostriches (Struthio camelus) . The pathogenicity of the virus was comparable with lentogenic strains of Newcastle disease virus (PMV-1) in chicken and chicken embryo pathogenicity tests . The relationship of the virus to the observed pathology of proliferative nonsuppurative enteritis is unknown; the Campylobacter jejuni isolated was presumably the primary pathogen . To our knowledge, this is the first report of an isolation of PMV-7 from ostriches.

Infect Immun, 1996 Oct, 64(10), 4060 - 6
Adherence to lipids and intestinal mucin by a recently recognized human pathogen, Campylobacter upsaliensis; Sylvester FA et al.; Campylobacter upsaliensis is a recently recognized human enteric pathogen associated with enteritis, colitis, bacteremia, and sepsis . Very little is known about the mechanisms of pathogenesis of this organism . The goals of this study were to determine whether C . upsaliensis binds to epithelial cells and whether there are specific lipid molecules that might serve as cell membrane receptors . In addition, we also explored C . upsaliensis binding to purified human small-intestinal mucin, since the mucus gel overlying the epithelium provides an initial contact surface for the bacteria and must be penetrated for the organisms to reach their cell receptors . Binding of C . upsaliensis to model epithelial cells was shown by microscopy adhesion assays, and binding to lipids was detected by thin-layer chromatography-overlay assays . Bacteria bound to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), gangliotetraosylceramide (Gg4), and, more weakly, to phosphatidylserine (PS) . There was no binding to ceramide, cholesterol, phosphatidylcholine, and globosides . Using receptor-based microtiter well immunoassays, we observed binding to be equal, specific, and saturable for PE and Gg 4 but low and nonspecific for PS . At least five bacterial surface proteins (50 to 90 kDa) capable of PE binding were identified by a lipid-silica affinity column technique . In slot blot overlay assays, biotin-labeled C . upsaliensis also bound in a concentration-dependent fashion to purified human small-intestinal mucin, implying that these microorganisms also express an adhesin(s) recognizing a specific mucin epitope(s) . We speculate that binding to mucins may influence access of the bacteria to cell membrane receptors and thereby influence host resistance to infection.

Trop Med Int Health, 1996 Oct, 1(5), 679 - 83
Aetiology of acute diarrhoea in hospitalized children in Hong Kong; Biswas R et al.; To determine the role of enteric pathogens in acute childhood diarrhoea in Hong Kong, 388 children with diarrhoea and 306 children of similar age without diarrhoea were evaluated in a hospital-based study during a one-year period from August 1994 to July 1995 . Of the diarrhoeal cases, 55% were under 1 year and 95% were below 5 years of age . On admission, 22% had some dehydration but none was severely dehydrated . All children were well nourished . Oyer 60% of children with diarrhoea had one or more pathogens in their stool . Rotavirus was the most commonly isolated pathogen (34.6%), followed by Salmonella (23.3%), Campylobacter (4.7%) and Shigella (2.1%) . Rotavirus was not assessed in the controls and was detected mainly during the winter months December to February . Bacterial pathogens were identified more commonly in diarrhoea patients (30%) than in controls (5.6%) (P < 0.001) . Despite rapid recent socioeconomic development in Hong Kong, non-typhoidal Salmonella diarrhoea remains a significant local problem in infants under 1 year . Further detailed assessment of the transmission and prevention of this infection is required.

Microb Pathog, 1996 Oct, 21(4), 299 - 305
Host signal transduction and endocytosis of Campylobacter jejuni; Wooldridge KG et al.; Caveolae are plasma membrane invaginations found in a variety of mammalian cells and are implicated in clathrin-independent endocytosis and signal transduction . Here we show that pretreatment of Caco-2 cell monolayers with filipin III, which disrupts caveolae by chelating cholesterol, significantly reduces the ability of Campylobacter jejuni to enter these cells . Furthermore inhibitors of host protein tyrosine phosphorylation, the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (Pl 3-kinase) inhibitor wortmannin, and cholera toxin, all significantly reduced invasion of Caco-2 cells by C . jejuni.

J Appl Bacteriol, 1996 Oct, 81(4), 425 - 32
A probability matrix for the identification of campylobacters, helicobacters and allied taxa; On SL et al.; A probabilistic identification matrix for campylobacteria, comprising 76 phenotypic characters and 37 taxa, is described . The accuracy and integrity of the matrix was evaluated using established computer-assisted methods . Certain taxa (for example, Campylobacter concisus and Camp . gracilis) demonstrated significant phenotypic diversity; previous data corroborated these findings . Differentiation between a few pairs of taxa proved difficult, although discriminatory characteristics were noted in each of these cases . The results indicate that most campylobacteria can be identified accurately and objectively with phenotypic tests when probabilistic methods of data assessment are employed.

Pediatr Infect Dis J, 1996 Oct, 15(10), 876 - 83
Enteropathogens associated with childhood diarrhea in Italy . The Italian Study Group on Gastrointestinal Infections; Caprioli A et al.; BACKGROUND: Infectious diarrheal diseases remain an important cause of childhood morbidity in industrialized countries . The knowledge of the etiology and epidemiology of childhood diarrhea in a given area is needed to plan any measure designed to prevent or ameliorate diarrheal illness and to develop practice guidelines for the most appropriate stool examination procedures . METHODS: We evaluated 618 children with diarrhea and 135 controls prospectively for viral, bacterial and parasitic enteric pathogens . Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli was identified by gene probes specific to different virulence factors . Stool filtrates were examined for the presence of free bacterial toxins by a cell culture cytotoxicity assay . Clinical and epidemiologic data were recorded and analyzed in relation to microbiologic findings . RESULTS: Enteropathogens were identified in 59% of children with diarrhea and in 10.4% of asymptomatic controls . The agents mainly associated with disease were rotavirus (23.6%), Salmonella (19.2%) and Campylobacter (7.9%) . Rotavirus was significantly more frequent among children observed as inpatients whereas Campylobacter was significantly more common in outpatients . Infections with diarrheagenic E . coli, Shigella flexneri, yersinia enterocolitica, Cryptosporidium and Giardia were observed in a limited number of patients . The clinical presentation of children was not sufficiently characteristic to permit presumptive diagnosis of a specific pathogen . conversely the presence of blood and/or leukocytes in stools had a high positive predictive value for Salmonella or Campylobacter infection . CONCLUSION: The results of this study will be useful for planning strategies to prevent and control diarrheal diseases in our country.

Curr Opin Neurol, 1996 Oct, 9(5), 329 - 33
The immunopathology of Guillain-Barré syndrome; Saida K; Identification of new antigens in different patterns of Guillain-Barre syndrome has led to new pathophysiological concepts of Guillain-Barre syndrome and the related Miller-Fisher syndrome . Patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome occurring after Campylobacter jejuni infection have been found to develop more frequently axonal and motor forms of the syndrome . Anti-GM1 antibodies decreased Na+ current in the presence of complement . In acute axonal Guillain-Barre syndrome, macrophages were found in the periaxonal space without damaging myelin sheath . Important epitopes may be localized on the axolemma, but further studies are needed to confirm these observations.

Ann Pharmacother, 1996 Oct, 30(10), 1141 - 9
Dirithromycin: a new macrolide; Wintermeyer SM et al.; OBJECTIVE: To review the clinical microbiology and therapeutic use of dirithromycin, emphasizing comparative data between dirithromycin and the standard macrolide erythromycin, as well as clarithromycin and azithromycin . DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search of English-language literature during the years 1966-1996, and an extensive review of journals were conducted to prepare this article . DATA EXTRACTION: The data on pharmacokinetics, adverse effects, and drug interactions were obtained from open and controlled studies . Controlled single- or double-blind studies were evaluated to assess the efficacy of dirithromycin in the treatment of various upper and lower respiratory tract infections, as well as skin and soft tissue infections . DATA SYNTHESIS: The spectrum of activity of dirithromycin is similar to that of erythromycin, clarithromycin, or azithromycin, with some notable exceptions . Dirithromycin was more active in vitro against Campylobacter jejuni and Borrelia burgdorferi than was erythromycin or clarithromycin, but in general demonstrated less activity than erythromycin, clarithromycin, or azithromycin against a majority of microorganisms . The pharmacokinetic profile of dirithromycin offers the advantages of once-daily dosing and high and prolonged tissue concentrations; dosing adjustments are not needed in the elderly or in patients with renal or mild hepatic impairment . Clinical efficacy and bacteriologic eradication rates with dirithromycin and erythromycin are comparable for the treatment of respiratory and skin and soft tissue infections due to susceptible pathogens . Dirithromycin appears to have adverse effect profiles similar to those of the other macrolides, with reported problems most often related to the gastrointestinal tract . Dirithromycin does not seem to cause clinically important interactions with drugs such as theophylline, oral contraceptives, cyclosporine, or terfenadine . CONCLUSIONS: Dirithromycin offers some attractive pharmacokinetic properties . The long elimination half-life of dirithromycin allows once-daily dosing and higher and more prolonged tissue concentrations than are achievable with erythromycin . The spectrum of activity, adverse effect profile, clinical efficacy, and bacteriologic eradication rate of dirithromycin may be similar to those of erythromycin . No significant drug interactions with dirithromycin have been reported . Based on available data, dirithromycin may not offer any unique clinical advantage over clarithromycin or azithromycin . Future clinical trials may reveal a special role for dirithromycin in patient care.

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 1996 Oct, 61(4), 362 - 8
Isolation and characterisation of T lymphocytes from sural nerve biopsies in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy; Ben-Smith A et al.; OBJECTIVES: To characterise cultured T lymphocytes from nerve biopsies in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) . METHODS: Sural nerve biopsies, obtained from six patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome, four with CIDP, and six controls with other neuropathies, were cultured with 20 U/ml recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) for eight weeks . Flow cytometry was used to determine the phenotype of cultured T lymphocytes . Their proliferative responses to a range of bacterial antigens were also examined . RESULTS: T cell lines were established from four of six patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome, one of four with CIDP, one patient with peripheral nerve vasculitis, and none of five controls with non-inflammatory neuropathies . One of these T cell lines from a patient with Guillain-Barre syndrome, preceded by Campylobacter jejuni infection, consisted entirely of gamma delta TCR+ T lymphocytes . The peripheral blood of this patient also contained an increased frequency of gamma delta T cells when stimulated with C jejuni . The nerve derived T cell lines failed to show a proliferative response to bacterial antigens or to a preparation of myelin proteins . CONCLUSIONS: A new technique to isolate T cells from nerve biopsies in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome and CIDP is reported . This technique may prove to be a useful tool in the investigation of the pathogenesis of other inflammatory neuropathies such as peripheral nerve vasculitis . The isolation of a gamma delta TCR+ nerve T cell line is of interest because of the possibility that these cells might respond to glycolipid epitopes common to C jejuni and peripheral nerve gangliosides.

J Clin Microbiol, 1996 Oct, 34(10), 2479 - 82
Helicobacter canis isolated from a dog liver with multifocal necrotizing hepatitis; Fox JG et al.; On the basis of biochemical, phenotypic, and 16S rRNA analysis, a novel gram-negative bacterium, isolated from normal and diarrheic dogs as well as humans with gastroenteritis, has been recently named Helicobacter canis . A 2-month-old female crossbred puppy was submitted to necropsy with a history of weakness and vomiting for several hours prior to death . The liver had multiple and slightly irregular yellowish foci up to 1.5 cm in diameter . Histologically, the liver parenchyma contained randomly distributed, occasionally coalescing hepatocellular necrosis, often accompanied by large numbers of mononuclear cells and neutrophils . Sections of liver stained by the Warthin-Starry silver impregnation technique revealed spiral- to curve-shaped bacteria predominantly located in bile canaliculi and occasionally in bile ducts . Aerobic culture of liver was negative, whereas small colonies were noted on Campylobacter selective media after 5 days of microaerobic incubation . The bacteria were gram negative and oxidase positive but catalase, urease, and indoxyl acetate negative; nitrate was not reduced to nitrite, and the organism did not hydrolyze hippurate . The bacteria were also resistant to 1.5% bile . Electron microscopy revealed spiral-shaped bacteria with bipolar sheathed flagella . By 16S rRNA analysis, the organism was determined to be H . canis . This is the first observation of H . canis in active hepatitis in a dog and correlates with recent findings of Helicobacter hepaticus- and Helicobacter bilis-related hepatic disease in mice . Further studies are clearly warranted to ascertain whether H . canis-associated hepatitis is more widespread in canines as well as a cause of previously classified idiopathic liver disease in humans.

J Clin Microbiol, 1996 Oct, 34(10), 2432 - 4
Encephalopathy associated with enteroinvasive Escherichia coli 0144:NM infection; Ephros M et al.; Central nervous system manifestations typically occur with Shigella gastroenteritis and also in enteric Salmonella and Campylobacter infections . To date no association between enteroinvasive Escherichia coli infection and neurologic symptoms has been described . Two children with diarrhea caused by E . coli 0144:NM had otherwise unexplained encephalopathy manifested by profound stupor in one child and by obtundation and meningismus in the other one . These cases of infection occurred in northern Israel during a period of an unusually high rate of enteric infection caused by this organism . None of the microbiologic properties studied were uniquely attributable to the encephalopathic cases . The two encephalopathic as well as all eight nonencephalopathic isolates studied possessed the 140-MDa invasive plasmid . All 10 isolates examined produced small amounts of cytotoxin by the HeLa cell assay, all were nonmotile, and all had identical antibiograms . Eight of 10 of the isolates had identical plasmid profiles, while 2 isolates (from nonencephalopathic patients) had slightly different plasmid profiles . This is the first report of encephalopathy associated with enteroinvasive E . coli.

Ann Neurol, 1996 Oct, 40(4), 635 - 44
Acute motor axonal neuropathy: an antibody-mediated attack on axolemma; Hafer-Macko C et al.; The acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) form of the Guillain-Barre syndrome is a paralytic disorder of abrupt onset characterized pathologically by motor nerve fiber degeneration of variable severity and by sparing of sensory fibers . There is little demyelination or lymphocytic inflammation . Most cases have antecedent infection with Campylobacter jejuni and many have antibodies directed toward GM1 ganglioside-like epitopes, but the mechanism of nerve-fiber injury has not been defined . In 7 fatal cases of AMAN, immunocytochemistry demonstrated the presence of IgG and the complement activation product C3d bound to the axolemma of motor fibers . The most frequently involved site was the nodal axolemma, but in more severe cases IgG and C3d were found within the periaxonal space of the myelinated internodes, bound to the outer surface of the motor axon . These results suggest that AMAN is a novel disorder caused by an antibody- and complement-mediated attack on the axolemma of motor fibers.

Epidemiol Infect, 1996 Oct, 117(2), 245 - 50
Epidemiological study on risk factors and risk reducing measures for campylobacter infections in Dutch broiler flocks; van de Giessen AW et al.; From September 1991 until August 1993 an epidemiological study involving 20 Dutch broiler farms was conducted to identify risk factors and risk reducing measures for campylobacter infections in broiler flocks . Campylobacter spp . were detected in 64 (57%) of the 112 broiler flocks and in 25 (63%) of the 40 broiler cycles examined . Univariate analysis of farm management data was performed followed by logistic regression analysis of selected risk and risk reducing factors . The presence of other farm animals, including pigs, cattle, sheep and fowl, other than broilers, was found to be independently associated with an increased risk of campylobacter infections in broiler flocks (odds ratio (OR) = 11.81; P = 0.041) . Further, the results indicate that application of specific hygiene measures during the rearing period, such as washing hands before tending the broiler flocks, the use of separate boots for each broiler house and the use of footbath disinfection when entering a broiler house, may significantly reduce the risk of campylobacter infections in broiler flocks.

Epidemiol Infect, 1996 Oct, 117(2), 233 - 44
The application of genotyping techniques to the epidemiological analysis of Campylobacter jejuni; Jackson CJ et al.; Campylobacter jejuni serogroup reference strains and collections of sporadic and outbreak-associated isolates were examined for restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), using C . jejuni random chromosomal and 16S rRNA gene probes . A collection of 48 Penner (HS) and 14 Lior (HL) serogroup reference strains, plus 10 clinical isolates, generated 35 RFLP and 26 ribotype patterns . In combination the two loci generated 48 distinct genotypes . Both probes were able to differentiate between certain random isolates of the same HS/HL serogroups but greater discrimination was obtained with RFLP than with ribotyping . Genotyping distinguished accurately between related and unrelated strains when applied to several outbreaks . Genotypic analysis of C . jejuni by restriction fragment length polymorphisms is a valuable technique for epidemiological typing . Chromosomal variation detected by the two unlinked probe loci provides some information about the genetic relationship between isolates.

J Neuroimmunol, 1996 Oct, 70(1), 1 - 6
Autoantibodies to peripheral nerve glycosphingolipids SPG, SLPG, and SGPG in Guillain-Barré syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy; Yuki N et al.; Unlike CNS myelin, human peripheral nerve myelin has the acidic glycosphingolipids sialosyl paragloboside (SPG), sialosyl lactosaminyl paragloboside (SLPG), and sulfated glucuronyl paragloboside (SGPG) . To elucidate the pathogenesis of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy (CIDP), we investigated the autoantibodies to peripheral nerve molecules in patients with these diseases and compared the frequency of the autoantibodies with that of autoantibody to GM1 which is present in both the CNS and PNS . The report of Sheikh et al . (Ann . Neurol . 1995; 38: 350) that Campylobacter jejuni bears the SGPG epitope led us to study whether sera from patients with GBS subsequent to C . jejuni enteritis have anti-SGPG antibody; but, high anti-SGPG antibody titers were not found in the GBS patients from whom C . jejuni was isolated . Although the frequency of the anti-SPG, anti-SLPG and anti-SGPG antibodies were lower than that of the anti-GM1 antibody in GBS, 5 patients with demyelinating GBS had high IgG anti-SPG antibody titers . IgG anti-SPG antibody may function in the development of demyelinating GBS . We found that 6 CIDP patients had elevated IgM anti-SGPG antibody titers . Immunoelectrophoresis failed to detect IgM M-protein in 3 of the patients . IgM anti-SGPG antibody could be a diagnostic marker for a subgroup of CIDP with or without paraprotein.

Am Fam Physician, 1996 Sep 15, 54(4), 1257 - 65, 1267-8
The role of the family physician in the day care setting; Olsen CG et al.; Injuries and infectious respiratory, gastrointestinal and dermatologic diseases are common in day care settings . Most day care injuries are contusions, abrasions and cuts involving the head and extremities . Impact-absorbing surfaces under playground equipment, safely-proofing of all play areas, increased staff supervision, and staff and parental education might reduce injuries by as much as 75 percent . Respiratory illnesses are the most common day care infections . Chemoprophylaxis with rifampin is required for all close contacts of children infected with Haemophilus influenzae type B and Neisseria meningitidis . Diarrheal illness may be caused by viral pathogens, bacterial agents such as Shigella, Campylobacter or Salmonella, or parasitic infections caused by Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium . Strict hand-washing procedures, especially before food preparation and after toileting, may reduce diarrheal illness by 50 percent . Head lice (Pediculosis capitis) and scabies are common dermatologic infections spread by direct contact and through clothing, bedding and hair brushes . Screening and treating affected children with permethrin preparations and thoroughly washing bedding and clothing are necessary to stop outbreaks . Use of universal precautions for the handling of stool is essential to prevent the spread of both ordinary diarrheal illnesses and serious infections such as hepatitis A and B, human immunodeficiency virus and cytomegalovirus.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1996 Sep 15, 143(1), 83 - 7
Transcription of the Campylobacter jejuni cell division gene ftsA; Griffiths PL et al.; As part of a study of genes whose transcription is maintained in stationary phase, cloned segments of DNA were selected from a Lambda ZAP II library of Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 11,168 . One such clone was found to encode a homologue of the Escherichia coli cell division gene ftsA . Examination of mRNA by transcription mapping revealed that the Campylobacter gene has one major and three minor transcription start sites . There were several significant differences in the structure and organisation of the C . jejuni ftsA promoter compared to that of E . coli.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1996 Sep 15, 143(1), 57 - 61
Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis indicates genotypic heterogeneity among Campylobacter upsaliensis strains; Bourke B et al.; To determine the genomic relatedness among a selection of animal and human Campylobacter upsaliensis isolates, macrorestriction profiles were generated for 20 C . upsaliensis strains, among 7 serogroups, using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) . XhoI, SalI and SacII restriction enzyme profiles indicated genomic heterogeneity among strains . Using XhoI and SacII restriction enzyme digestion, genomic similarities between some pairs of strains were Lior serogroup specific . The genomic sizes of these isolates varied from 1.74 to 2.09 Mb . These results demonstrate molecular heterogeneity of this species similar to that found among Helicobacter pylori isolates . Among C . upsaliensis strains, PFGE is highly discriminatory and should prove a useful molecular typing method for epidemiological purposes.

Rev Med Chil, 1996 Sep, 124(9), 1029 - 35
{Intervention of Campylobacter jejuni subsp . jejuni flagella in the adhesion to cellular cultures: bacteriological and immunological evidence}; Fernandez H et al.; The participation of the flagella of a virulent strain (O52) of Campylobacter jejuni subsp . jejuni in the adhesion to HEp-2 cells and their inhibition by means of homologous polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal anti-flagella antibodies and colostral natural antibodies (IgA) was studied . An aflagellated strain (T1) was used as negative control . Adhesion was observed in higher rates with O52 strain (72%) than with T1 strain (27.5%) . Polyclonal, monoclonal and colostral antibodies inhibited O52 strain adhesion in more than 70% (p < 0.001) . T1 strain adhesion was inhibited only by polyclonal and colostral natural antibodies . Our results suggest that the flagella of C . jejuni subsp . jejuni could participate effectively in the adhesion process . However, the inhibition of T1 strain by polyclonal and colostral antibodies suggests the existence of other binds of adhesins in the bacterial surface.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1996 Sep-Oct, (5), 29 - 32
{Current parameters of the epidemiological process in campylobacteriosis}; Kirik DL et al.; Data on some parameters of the epidemic process of campylobacteriosis in the Ukraine are presented . Campylobacteriosis patients were found to constitute 1.9 +/- 0.095% of all examined patients with acute enteric infections (AEI) . No statistically significant difference in the proportion of campylobacteriosis among child and adult AEI patients was established . The proportion of sick persons at the period of the spring-summer rise in morbidity was 71.5% . A definite relationship between the epizootic and epidemic processes in campylobacteriosis was noted . In the Ukraine the predominant infective agent was Campylobacter jejuni belonging mainly to serotype Lio and biotype 1 . Quite frequently campylobacteriosis was found to be accompanied by mixed infections.

Oral Dis, 1996 Sep, 2(3), 202 - 9
Effect of in vitro aging on Campylobacter rectus lipopolysaccharide-stimulated PGE2 release from human gingival fibroblasts; Takiguchi H et al.; OBJECTIVE: We examined the influence of in vitro aging on Campylobacter rectus (C . rectus) lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated prostaglandin (PG), E2 release frOm human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) . MATERIALS AND METHODS: LPS was prepared from C . rectus ATCC33238 . HGFs were established from healing gingival tissue removed from three patients (donors A, B and C), aged 10-12 years . Aging of the cells in culture was determined with increasing population doubling . The cells were cultured until confluence, then stimulated with LPS (1.0 micrograms ml-1), and the levels of PGE2 in the medium were measured after 24 h by radioimmunoassay . RESULTS: The LPS-stimulated PGE2 production in each old cell (passage 17-20) was significantly increased to about 1.6-2.6 times than that in the corresponding young cells (passage 5-6) . The gene expression of cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA in the old cells was higher than that in the young cells in response to LPS . In the absence of LPS, PGE2 production levels in both the young and old cells were very low, and also at the same level . However, there was a higher level of LPS-stimulated PGE2 production in the young cells from donor C compared to that in the old cells from donor B . The LPS-stimulated PGE2 production in each young cell from donors A and C was almost equal to that in each old cell from donors B and A, respectively . CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that aging in HGFs may be one of the factors that take part in the stimulation of C . rectus LPS-stimulated PGE2 production in old cells.

J Diarrhoeal Dis Res, 1996 Sep, 14(3), 207 - 10
Detection of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Shigella and Campylobacter spp . by multiplex PCR assay; Oyofo BA et al.; Three oligonucleotide primers were used in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the simultaneous amplification of regions of the invasive plasmid antigen (ipaH) of Shigella spp., flagellin gene (flaA) of Campylobacter spp., and heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) . The multiplex assay was performed using DNA extracted by a chaotropic method directly from diarrhoeal stools . The diagnostic efficacy of the assay was analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis . This assay shows a novel approach for the diagnosis of diarrhoea caused by Shigella spp., ETEC, and Campylobacter spp.

Technol Health Care, 1996 Sep, 4(3), 339 - 46
Selling biotechnology in the dental medicine marketplace: the OmniGene Diagnostics DNA probe tests for periodontal pathogens; Van Arsdell SW et al.; OmniGene Diagnostics, Inc . has applied the principles of genetic engineering to develop species-specific DNA probe tests for eight periodontal pathogens (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Actinobacillus actinomycetem-comitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Eikenella corrodens, Campylobacter rectus, Bacteroides forsythus, and Treponema denticola) . The test requires minimal effort on the part of the clinician: subgingival plaque samples are collected from the patient and sent through the mail for analysis by OmniGene Diagnostics' fully licensed clinical reference laboratory . Results are transmitted to the practitioner by phone, fax, or mail . The use of diagnostic tests for periodontal pathogens is a relatively new concept in dentistry and acceptance of the OmniGene Diagnostics tests by the dental marketplace has been slower than anticipated . OmniGene Diagnostics' challenge for the future is to persuade the dental community that monitoring periodontal pathogen levels, as well as other clinical indicators of disease, is essential to providing optimal care to the periodontitis patient.

Mol Microbiol, 1996 Sep, 21(6), 1117 - 23
Expression, secretion and antigenic variation of bacterial S-layer proteins; Boot HJ et al.; The function of the S-layer, a regularly arranged structure on the outside of numerous bacteria, appears to be different for bacteria living in different environments . Almost no similarity exists between the primary sequences of S-proteins, although their amino acid composition is comparable . S-protein production is directed by single or multiple promoters in front of the S-protein gene, yielding stable mRNAs . Most bacteria secrete S-proteins via the general secretory pathway (GSP) . Translocation of S-protein across the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria sometimes occurs by S-protein-specific branches of the GSP . O-polysaccharide side-chains of the lipopolysaccharide component of the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria appear to function as receptors for attachment of the S-layer . Silent S-protein genes have been found in Campylobacter fetus and Lactobacillus acidophilus . These silent genes are placed in the expression site in a fraction of the bacterial population via inversion of a chromosomal segment.

Br Poult Sci, 1996 Sep, 37(4), 765 - 78
Immunisation of chickens to reduce intestinal colonisation with Campylobacter jejuni; Widders PR et al.; 1 . Systemic and intestinal antibody titres were measured in chickens following subcutaneous, intraperitoneal (i.p.), oral (p.o.) and combined i.p./p.o . administration of antigen, in soluble, emulsified or microparticulate form . Antigens tested included keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH), killed Campylobacter jejuni whole cells and purified campylobacter flagellin protein . 2 . The effect of immunisation with purified flagellin protein or with killed C . jejuni whole cells in reducing intestinal colonisation was assessed . The ability of newlyhatched chicks to respond to immunisation was limited, possibly because of the immaturity of the immune system rather than maternal suppression of an immune response . Only 5 to 13 birds that were first immunised when 1-d-old with KLH showed a systemic response, even after 4 immunisations, whereas 10 of 11 birds that were first immunised at 24 d-old responded systemically . 3 . In an immunisation and challenge experiment, birds that were immunised twice intraperitoneally, at 16 and 29 d-old, with killed C . jejuni whole cells, had fewer C . jejuni, in the caecal contents than unimmunised control birds . This reduction in intestinal colonisation, to less than 2% of bacterial numbers in control birds, was associated with an increase in specific IgG in intestinal secretions . There was no significant increase in specific IgA or IgM in intestinal secretions following immunisation and challenge . 4 . These results indicate that immunisation can reduce the level of intestinal infection with C . jejuni . The protection may be enhanced by developing improved methods of immunisation that stimulate production of increased titres of specific antibody in intestinal secretions, particularly specific IgA antibody.

Ann Trop Paediatr, 1996 Sep, 16(3), 207 - 12
Campylobacter enteritis among children in north-west Ethiopia: a 1-year prospective study; Gedlu E et al.; The incidence of campylobacter enteritis among children visiting the outpatient department of a teaching hospital in north-west Ethiopia was prospectively studied over a period of 12 months from June 1994 to May 1995 . Campylobacter spp . were isolated from the stools of 60 children out of 434 investigated by culture (13.8%) . The highest isolation rate was found in children aged from 6 to 24 months . The period of peak isolation was September to November . Among children aged 1-5 years, campylobacter was more frequently isolated from those presenting with persistent diarrhoea than from among those with acute illness (OR 2.53; 95% CI: 1.02-6.18) . Culture positivity was higher among malnourished children . Our findings demonstrate the important role played by this pathogen in childhood diarrhoeal illness in the area.

Scand J Gastroenterol, 1996 Sep, 31(9), 906 - 11
Bacterial gastroenteritis among hospitalized patients in a Danish County, 1991-93; Petersen AM et al.; BACKGROUND: Denmark has in recent years experienced an increase in the number of bacterial gastrointestinal infections . METHODS: We have reviewed patients hospitalized with culture-confirmed bacterial gastroenteritis in Roskilde County during 1991-93 . RESULTS: Two hundred and seven patients were included; 68 were children (< 15 years) . The microorganism isolated was Salmonella in 61% of the cases, Campylobacter in 20% and Yersinia enterocolitica in 13% . Ninety-three per cent of the patients had diarrhea, 74% had fever (> 38 degrees C), and 66% abdominal pain . Blood in stools was most frequent in patients infected with Campylobacter . Leukocytosis was rare . Twenty-four patients had bacteremia . Reactive arthritis occurred in 4.8% . Three patients died, all infected with zoonotic Salmonella types . Three stool cultures were made for 115 patients, and in 73% all 3 cultures were positive . CONCLUSIONS: Bacterial gastroenteritis requiring hospitalization affects mainly children and young adults . Infections due to zoonotic Salmonella types were more severe than Campylobacter and Y . enterocolitica gastroenteritis . It seems necessary to make at least three stool cultures to secure a bacteriologic diagnosis.

Int J Food Microbiol, 1996 Sep, 32(1-2), 35 - 47
Campylobacter incidence on a chicken farm and the spread of Campylobacter during the slaughter process; Berndtson E et al.; To get a better understanding of the epidemiology of Campylobacter, a chicken farm was studied for 16 weeks with samplings in each flock weekly from input until the flock became colonized with Campylobacter or slaughtered . Samples were taken from fresh droppings and from drinkers during the rearing period, as well as from the environment in empty houses . The spread of Campylobacter during the slaughter process was also surveyed . No Campylobacter was found in samples from newly-hatched or one-week-old chickens or their drinkers . All flocks but one were colonized at two to five weeks of age . All Campylobacter isolates belonged to the same sero- and biotype; C . jejuni Penner 2 . The spread of Campylobacter in the flock was rapid and usually all samples were positive once colonization had been proven . C . jejuni was isolated from flies in ante-rooms as well as from air in chicken units in houses with positive chicken flocks . Samples were taken at slaughter when some of the Campylobacter positive flocks from the farm were slaughtered . Campylobacter were isolated from all sampled equipment along the processing line, from the chicken transport crates to the chillers, as well as from the air.

Clin Infect Dis, 1996 Sep, 23(3), 526 - 31
An unusual case of refractory Campylobacter jejuni infection in a patient with X-linked agammaglobulinemia: successful combined therapy with maternal plasma and ciprofloxacin; Autenrieth IB et al.; An unusual hippurate-negative strain of Campylobacter jejuni caused a chronic refractory infection in a patient with X-linked agammaglobulinemia; this infection persisted for > 2 years despite therapy with various antibiotics and immunoglobulins (Igs) . To characterize the defense status of this patient, several in vitro studies, including those with T cells and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs), were performed . T cell responses specific for C . jejuni were only weak in this patient . Chemiluminescence and bacterial killing studies with PMNLs revealed that the bactericidal activity of PMNLs against Campylobacter was enhanced more vigorously by maternal serum than by commercial Ig preparations . On the basis of these results, combined treatment with ciprofloxacin and maternal plasma was initiated, and the C . jejuni infection was rapidly cured . This case report shows that in vitro immunologic assays may be useful for characterizing immune functions of patients with chronic or refractory C . jejuni infections, thus leading to individual treatment strategies.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1996 Sep, 40(9), 2232 - 5
In vitro activities of trovafloxacin against 557 strains of anaerobic bacteria; Wexler HM et al.; The antimicrobial activity of trovafloxacin for 557 strains of anaerobic bacteria was determined by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards-approved Wadsworth agar dilution technique . The species tested included Bacteroides fragilis (n = 91), other members of the B . fragilis group (n = 130), Campylobacter gracilis (n = 15), other Bacteroides spp . (n = 16), Prevotella spp . (n = 49), Porphyromonas spp . (n = 15), Fusobacterium spp . (n = 62), Bilophila wadsworthia (n = 24), Sutterella wadsworthensis (n = 21), Clostridium spp . (n = 61), Peptostreptococcus spp . (n = 38), and gram-positive non-spore-forming rods (n = 35) . Trovafloxacin inhibited all strains of B . fragilis at < or = 0.5 microgram/ml, 99% of other B . fragilis group species at < or = 2 micrograms/ml, and 96% of all anaerobes tested at < or = 2 micrograms/ml.

J Physiol Pharmacol, 1996 Sep, 47(3), 469 - 76
Dysfunction in gastric myoelectric and motor activity in Helicobacter pylori positive gastritis patients with non-ulcer dyspesia; Thor P et al.; Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection has been shown to affect gastric acid secretion and the somatostatin-gastrin ratio but its effects on gastric motility have not been evaluated . This study was carried out in 12 patients (10 males and 2 females, mean age 33 +/- 6 yrs) who underwent endoscopy and Campylobacter-like Organism (CLO)-test . All patients were found initially to be Hp positive according to CLO-test . Gastric emptying was evaluated by measuring antral diameter with ultrasonography (Hitachi EUB 240) in fasted and fed patients . Electrogastrography (EGG) with antral manometry were done 5 h before and 4 h after a meal before the therapy and one month after the eradication with triple therapy (lanzoprazole 30 mg daily- 2 x 250 mg clarithromycin 500 mg t.i.d.-3 x 500 mg and metronidazole 500 mg b.i.d.-2 x 500 mg) . In Hp positive patients before the triple therapy the mean fasted antral diameter was 4.3 cm2, initial EGG showed significant dysrhythmia of electrical control activity (ECA) with tachygastria up to 25% of recording time in 9 of 12 Hp positive patients without normal increase of the power of signal in any of tested subjects . In 7 Hp positive fasted antral manometry failed to exhibit gastric phases III of the migrating motor complex (MMC) . Hp eradication was accomplished in 10 of 12 examined patients and this was followed by a decrease in tachygastria to 3 cpm rhythm with an increase of the ECA power after meal . Phase III of MMC was observed again in 7 Hp negative patients with a decrease of fasted antral diameter (p < 0.05) . Fasted and fed antral motility pattern increased after eradication . Two patients remained Hp positive after standard therapy . We conclude that most symptomatic non ulcer dyspeptic Hp positive patients show changes in ECA and antral hypomotility that are associated with Hp infections.

Lett Appl Microbiol, 1996 Sep, 23(3), 167 - 70
Sub-typing of animal and human Campylobacter spp . using RAPD; Madden RH et al.; Based on a 10-mer primer (5'-CCTGTTAGCC-3'), a random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method for typing Campylobacter coli isolated from pigs was developed . The method proved effective with a high discrimination and good reproducibility . In contrast with serotyping no untypable strains were found out of a total of 269 isolates (veterinary, food and clinical) examined . The method was also successfully applied to typing Campylobacter jejuni from a similar range of sources.

Lett Appl Microbiol, 1996 Sep, 23(3), 163 - 6
PCR-RFLP analysis of the large subunit (23S) ribosomal RNA genes of Campylobacter jejuni; Iriarte P et al.; Forty-seven strains of Campylobacter jejuni were examined by PCR-RFLP analysis of 23S rRNA genes . Seven different molecular profiles were detected by a combination of HpaII AluI and DdeI digest analysis . Most (83%) strains, including those with different Penner serotypes and from different hosts, had the same molecular profiles . The high level of conservation apparent within the 23S rDNA sequences confirmed their value as targets in species-specific PCR identification assays but not for subtypic discrimination within Camp . jejuni.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1996 Sep 1, 142(2-3), 223 - 9
Expanded genomic map of Campylobacter jejuni UA580 and localization of 23S ribosomal rRNA genes by I-CeuI restriction endonuclease digestion; Newnham E et al.; The genomic map of Campylobacter jejuni UA580 was expanded and more precisely constructed using I-CeuI, Sal/I and SmaI restriction endonucleases in conjunction with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) . The presence of three fragments after digestion with I-CeuI confirmed the presence of three copies of the 23S ribosomal rRNA (rrl) gene . The genome size of Campylobacter jejuni UA580 was determined to be 1725 +/- 5.9 kbp by I-CeuI with fragment sizes of 1053 +/- 4.4, 361 +/- 2.7 and 311 +/- 3.6 kbp . Analysis of a PCR product from C . jejuni UA580 23S rRNA gene showed that I-CeuI did cut within the gene . The precise locations of the three genes were determined using I-CeuI with two copies of the 23S and 5S rRNA genes located separately from the 16S rRNA gene whereas the third copy of the 23S and 5S rRNA genes had a closer linkage to a 16S rRNA gene copy . Homologous gene probes were used to map additional genes and allowed the realignment of a few previously mapped genes on the chromosome . Other strains of C . jejuni were also cut into three fragments with I-CeuI, which generated variable PFGE patterns.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1996 Sep 1, 142(2-3), 133 - 8
PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and serotyping of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from diarrheic patients in China and Japan; Nishimura M et al.; A molecular typing approach for Campylobacter jejuni was applied with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of a 702-bp PCR-amplified portion of the flagellin-A (flaA) gene . We analyzed a total of 179 strains, including 69 independent clinical isolates from diarrheic patients in Japan, 85 isolates in China, and 25 heat-stable (HS) serotype strains by Penner and Hennessy (1980) J . Clin . Microbiol . 12, 732-737) . Six AfaI, seven MboI, and five HaeIII RFLPs were found in the 702-bp flaA segment from the 179 strains . Using a combination of these three enzymes, 25 separate RFLP groups were recognized . While 59 of 154 (38.3%) strains obtained in Japan and China were nontypeable by the HS antigenic scheme, all but two of 154 (98.7%) could be typed by RFLP typing . All 11 isolates of HS-19 strains, which are frequently isolated from Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) patients, showed an identical RFLP pattern (Cj-1), and Cj-1 consisted only of HS-19 strains . This suggests that the HS-19:Cj-1 strain is distinct among C . jejuni strains . This molecular typing method provides a rapid and reliable typing scheme for epidemiological studies of C . jejuni, and may also be useful for the analysis of C . jejuni subtypes from GBS patients.

Neurology, 1996 Sep, 47(3), 668 - 73
Cytomegalovirus infection and Guillain-Barré syndrome: the clinical, electrophysiologic, and prognostic features . Dutch Guillain-Barré Study Group; Visser LH et al.; Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is usually preceded by infections, in particular cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Campylobacter jejuni infection . We studied the clinical and electrophysiologic features of 20 CMV-associated GBS patients and compared the findings with earlier established data of C . jejuni-related GBS patients (n = 43) and of GBS patients without these infections (n = 71) . The patients all participated in the Dutch GBS trial in which we compared the effect of intravenous immune globulins and plasma exchange . We demonstrate that CMV-related GBS patients have a different clinical pattern in comparison with the other two GBS groups . They are significantly younger, initially have a severe course indicated by a high frequency of respiratory insufficiency, and often develop cranial nerve involvement and severe sensory loss . This is in contrast to C . jejuni infection, which is associated with motor GBS . Both infections are associated with delayed recovery compared with the GBS patients without these infections.

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 1996 Sep, 61(3), 279 - 84
Experimental Campylobacter jejuni infection in the chicken: an animal model of axonal Guillain-Barré syndrome; Li CY et al.; OBJECTIVE: To develop and characterise an animal model of paralytic neuropathy after Campylobacter jejuni infection . Campylobacter infection precedes development of many cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome and is particularly associated with cases having prominent axonal degeneration . Understanding the pathogenesis of Guillain-Barre syndrome after C jejuni infection has been slowed by the lack of animal models . METHODS: A spontaneous paralytic neuropathy is described that developed in chickens from the farms of four patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome . The production of paralytic neuropathy in chickens experimentally fed Campylobacter jejuni isolated from one of these patients is reported . The sciatic nerves of the spontaneously paralysed chickens were examined pathologically in teased fibres, in plastic embedded sections, and by electron microscopy . Two large groups of chickens were then fed cultures of a C jejuni (Penner type O:19) isolated from one of these patients . RESULTS: The chickens with spontaneous paralysis had pathologically noninflammatory neuropathy . Pathology in the sciatic nerves ranged from no detectable changes to severe Wallerian-like degeneration . In the experimentally inoculated groups, an average of 33% of the chickens became paralysed . The median time after inoculation to paralysis was 12 days . The lesions found in the first few days of paralysis included nodal lengthening and paranodal demyelination . In those animals that survived for several days after onset of weakness, the pathology was dominated by extensive Wallerian-like degeneration . Animals that survived for weeks with no clinically apparent neuropathy had paranodal remyelination in some teased nerve fibres, reflecting earlier paranodal demyelination . CONCLUSION: Experimental inoculation with C jejuni may provide a new model for understanding some forms of Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Infect Immun, 1996 Sep, 64(9), 3537 - 43
Molecular characterization of a Campylobacter jejuni 29-kilodalton periplasmic binding protein; Garvis SG et al.; Campylobacter jejuni, a gram-negative, microaerophilic, spiral bacterium, is a common cause of human gastrointestinal disease . Although investigators commonly use C . jejuni glycine-hydrochloride extracts in assays to determine the products that promote the binding of the organism to eukaryotic cells, the proteins contained within these extracts remain ill defined . Characterization of these proteins will provide a better understanding of C . jejuni gene regulation and organization . An antiserum was raised against a C . jejuni 29-kDa gel-purified protein detected in glycine-hydrochloride extracts . This antiserum was used to screen an expression library of C . jejuni . A reactive clone that contained an open reading frame of 256 amino acids was identified . The cloned gene was transcribed and translated, and the product was exported to the periplasmic space in Escherichia coli XL1-Blue . The translated C . jejuni product, designated P29, exhibited significant similarity to the histidine and lysine-arginine-ornithine periplasmic binding proteins (HisJ and LAO, respectively) of Salmonella typhimurium . The C . jejuni gene encoding the P29 protein complemented an S . typhimurium HisJ mutant but not a LAO mutant when provided in trans . These data suggest that the C . jejuni gene encoding the P29 protein is a homolog of the S . typhimurium hisJ gene.

Infect Immun, 1996 Sep, 64(9), 3467 - 74
Interactions between Campylobacter jejuni and lipids; Szymanski CM et al.; We previously showed that motility plays several key roles in Campylobacter jejuni pathogenesis, including increasing the efficiency of C . jejuni attachment to host epithelial cells . To further characterize C . jejuni attachment, we first examined the role of carbohydrates . Experiments with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell mutants with defined defects in complex carbohydrate biosynthesis revealed that oligosaccharide sequences probably play a subordinate role in C . jejuni attachment to eukaryotic cells . Simple sugars such as mannose, fucose, glucose, N-acetylglucosamine, maltose, and galactose also did not significantly alter the binding of C . jejuni to CHO cells . Thin-layer chromatography overlay analysis with lipids extracted from CHO cells suggested that C . jejuni binds to lipids . Lipid binding was further investigated using a receptor-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay . Hydrophobic interactions were determined to play a minor role in binding, since tetramethylurea, a strong inhibitor of hydrophobic interactions, did not significantly decrease binding between C . jejuni and lipids . The interaction was dissected further by comparing the binding of C . jejuni to lipids and their derivatives . The results showed that binding was greatest to the entire lipid structure and decreased in affinity when portions of the lipid were removed . Thin-layer chromatography overlay analysis showed that lipids with unsaturated fatty acids were bound with the highest affinity . Our results suggest that C . jejuni may interact with lipids in host cell membranes . However, lipids only partially inhibited C . jejuni binding to CHO cells, suggesting that multiple interactions occur between the bacteria and host cells.

Cas Lek Cesk, 1996 Aug 21, 135(16), 516 - 20
{Nosocomial rotavirus infections in children}; Taborska J et al.; BACKGROUND: Worldwide rotaviruses cause in young children one third of diarrhoeal diseases which call for hospital admission . Rotaviruses are also considered the most frequent etiological agent of nosocomial diarrhoeal infections . The objective of the present work was an analysis of the etiology of diarrhoea and nosocomial infection, in particular of rotavirus etiology in children under three years of age . METHODS AND RESULTS: In 1990-1994 a total of 2002 children under three years were admitted to hospital, incl . 1480 (73.9%) on account of diarrhoeal diseases . A rotavirus etiology was proved in 25.4%, adenovirus etiology in 3.3% . As to bacterial infections, salmonellosis was most frequent (24.4%), less frequent campylobacteriosis (8.4%), shigellosis (1.7%), colibacillary infection (1.3%) or yersiniosis (0.2%) . In 36.4% cases of gastroenteritis the etiology was not elucidated . Nosocomial infection with rotaviruses was proved in 59 of 1480 patients with diarrhoea (4.0%) and in 4.5% of the total number of 2002 sick children resp . Nesocomial infection developed most frequently between the 4th and 6th day of hospitalization; the clinical picture is not very different, as a rule isoosmolal dehydration which in cca 50% called for parenteral rehydration . About three quarters of the patients have temporarily elevated aminotransferases . As far as the seasonal character of the disease is concerned, the highest incidence was recorded in the following months of the year: I, II, III, IV, X and XI . This two-phase rotaviral incidence of enteritis does, however, not correspond with the incidence of nosocomial infections . Symptomatic treatment is successful . The prognosis is favourable . Nosocomial rotavirus infection protracted hospitalization on average by five days . CONCLUSIONS: Nosocomial rotavirus gastroenteritis is a serious problem in particular in departments with young children . So far we are unable to influence their occurrence . They are not seasonal, they do not have a different clinical picture or course . Luckily they have a favourable prognosis . However, they prolong the period of hospitalization.

J Biol Chem, 1996 Aug 2, 271(31), 18920 - 4
RGFGIGS is an amino acid sequence required for acetyl coenzyme A binding and activity of human spermidine/spermine N1acetyltransferase; Lu L et al.; Polyamine catabolism is rate limited by spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) . Although the amino acid sequence of SSAT is known, the substrate binding and catalytic sites are not . The goal of this study was to define the region responsible for acetyl coenzyme A binding . Human SSAT contains a region of 20 amino acids homologous to several microbial antibiotic N-acetyltransferases . The highest homology is represented in the Campylobacter coli streptothricin acetyltransferase sat4 gene, where 16 identical or highly conserved amino acids exist in a 20-residue stretch . The most conserved residues within this region are RGFGIGS beginning at Arg-101 in the human SSAT . Site-directed mutations to Arg-101, Gly-104, and Gly-106 resulted in proteins with no measurable activity . The G102D mutation produced a partially active protein with a decreased affinity for acetyl coenzyme A and with a Km >10-fold that of the wild-type protein . Analysis using the PredictProtein program suggests a common structure among the microbial and eukaryotic N-acetyltransferases in the region corresponding to the RGFGIGS of human SSAT consisting of an alpha-helix usually preceded by a glycine loop . Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that Arg-101 and the proximal glycine loop are necessary for the activity of human SSAT.

Oral Microbiol Immunol, 1996 Aug, 11(4), 266 - 73
Polymerase chain reaction detection of 8 putative periodontal pathogens in subgingival plaque of gingivitis and advanced periodontitis lesions; Ashimoto A et al.; A 16S rRNA-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection method was used to determine the prevalence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides forsythus, Campylobacter rectus, Eikenella corrodens, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia . Prevotella nigrescens and Treponema denticola in subgingival specimens of 50 advanced periodontitis, 50 adult gingivitis and 50 pediatric gingivitis subjects . The optimal PCR conditions were determined for each study species . Agarose gel electrophoresis of PCR products from each study species revealed a single band of the predicted size . Restriction enzyme digestion of amplicons confirmed the specificity of the amplification . PCR detection limits were in the range of 25-100 cells . No cross-reactivity with other oral micro-organisms or nonspecific amplification was observed . The prevalence by PCR in advanced periodontitis, adult gingivitis and pediatric gingivitis subjects was 30%, 14% and 14% for A . actinomycetemcomitans, 86%, 18% and 8% for B . forsythus, 74%, 52% and 78% for C . rectus, 80%, 70% and 66% for E . corrodens, 70%, 10% and 14% for P . gingivalis, 58%, 12% and 18% for P . intermedia, 52%, 20% and 22% for P . nigrescens, and 54%, 16% and 16% for T . denticola, respectively . The prevalence was higher in the advanced periodontitis group than in both adult gingivitis and pediatric gingivitis for A . actinomycetemcomitans, B . forsythus, P . gingivalis, P . intermedia, P . nigrescens and T . denticola at P < 0.01, and for E . corrodens at P < 0.05 . The prevalence of C . rectus was significantly higher in the advanced periodontitis group than in the adult gingivitis group at P < 0.01 . Matching results between PCR and culture occurred in 28% (B . forsythus) to 71% (A . actinomycetemcomitans) of the samples; the major discrepancy occurred in the PCR-positive/culture-negative category . Matching results between PCR and DNA probe methods were found in 84% of the subjects (B . forsythus) and 70% (P . gingivalis) . Odds ratio analysis revealed statistically significant positive associations between 17 of the 28 possible combinations (P < 0.01) . This study demonstrated the utility of a 16S rRNA-based PCR detection method for identifying important subgingival microorganisms . The results indicated a strong association between the study species and periodontitis . Several previously unreported symbiotic relationships were found between the 8 species tested.

Semin Vet Med Surg (Small Anim), 1996 Aug, 11(3), 187 - 97
Diagnosing emerging bacterial infections: salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, clostridial toxicosis, and helicobacteriosis; McDonough PL et al.; This article provides information on the role and significance of laboratory testing in the evaluation of the dog or cat from which a potentially pathogenic bacteria is isolated . Salmonellosis, Campylobacteriosis, clostridial-induced disease, and Helicobacteriosis are all discussed from the clinical presentation of the patient to the interpretation of any laboratory testing . The diagnosis of bacterial infections of the gastrointestinal tract requires the clinician to evaluate the infectious agent, the host animal, and the effects of environmental stresses . History, carrier states, physical examination, and laboratory tests are discussed in the context of the differential diagnosis of gastroenteritis.

J Clin Periodontol, 1996 Aug, 23(8), 707 - 16
Evaluation of the long-term efficacy and safety of locally-applied minocycline in adult periodontitis patients; Timmerman MF et al.; The objectives of the present study were to establish in a long-term investigation the safety as well as the clinical and microbiological efficacy of scaling and rootplaning combined with local application of 2% minocycline hydrochloride-gel versus placebo-gel in patients with moderate to severe chronic adult periodontitis . This was an 18 months, randomized, double-blind, parallel, comparative study, in which 20 healthy patients with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis participated . At baseline, all patients received professional oral hygiene-instruction and supra- and subgingival scaling and root planing . The minocycline-gel was applied subgingivally baseline, 2 weeks, 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months . Microbiological evaluation was carried out using DMDx to identify the following bacteria: Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Campylobacter rectus, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Treponema denticola . In addition standard microbiological techniques were used for the detection of P . gingivalis, P . intermedia, P . micros, A . actinomycetemcomitans, C . rectus, F . nucleatum, C . albicans and Enterobacteriaceae . Results showed a statistically significant improvement for all clinical parameters irrespective of the treatment modality . No differences were observed between test and control with regard to probing depth and attachment level . The DMDx data showed a significant reduction in both the numbers and the prevalence over the 15 months period, but no significant difference between groups . Culture data showed that at baseline two-third were positive for P . gingivalis and P . intermedia . Analysis over the 18 month period showed no significant difference between the two treatment modalities . C . albicans and Enterobacteriaceae were detected only in small proportions at each time interval in a limited number of patients . No adverse reactions were observed during the trial period . The present patient group responded favourably to scaling and rootplaning, but did not benefit from an effect of local of minocycline . Subgingival debridement in combination with oral hygiene instruction by itself has been shown to be effective . It remains to be studied whether local application of minocycline can be effective as an adjunct to mechanical therapy in sites that respond poorly to conventional treatment.

FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol, 1996 Aug, 15(1), 43 - 50
Biological characterization of Campylobacter fetus lipopolysaccharides; Moran AP et al.; Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of three strains of Campylobacter fetus (subspp . fetus and venerealis, and serotypes A and B), a bacterium of veterinary importance but also a cause of various infections in humans, were assessed for their ability to induce mitogenicity, gelation of Limulus amebocyte lysate, lethal toxicity in mice, and pyrogenicity in rabbits . All C . fetus LPS exhibited activities lower than those of Salmonella typhimurium LPS . LPS of C . fetus subsp . fetus serotype A had the lowest activity in all assays . Since the majority of C . fetus subsp . fetus isolates from humans are serotype A, the lower biological activities of this LPS may aid the pathogenesis of such strains . The lower activities of C . fetus LPS compared with those of S . typhimurium LPS may reflect the presence of longer fatty acid chains in the lipid A of C . fetus LPS, whereas interstrain differences in C . fetus LPS bioactivities may be related to some property influenced by composition of the saccharide moiety.

FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol, 1996 Aug, 15(1), 17 - 22
Repetitive and arbitrary primer DNA sequences in PCR-mediated fingerprinting of outbreak and sporadic isolates of Campylobacter jejuni; Iriarte MP et al.; PCR-mediated fingerprinting with combined repetitive and arbitrary DNA primers (ERIC-2 and 1026) was used to type Campylobacter jejuni from a milk-associated outbreak, and from sporadic cases of the same and allied HS serotypes . The 14 outbreak strains had identical or similar DNA band profiles whereas the 25 strains from sporadic infections were more heterogeneous with 18 different DNA profiles . Although PCR-based DNA fingerprints lacked serotype specificity, the method was fast, simple to perform and reproducible, provided defined technical protocols were adhered to precisely . Profiles were highly discriminatory but did not consistently match types based on other molecular methods . We conclude that AP-PCR has demonstrable potential for initial rapid investigation of outbreaks, and when used in conjunction with PFGE analysis of DNA restriction profiles, provides a high resolution strategy for accurately defining subtypes of C . jejuni.

J Gastroenterol, 1996 Aug, 31(4), 533 - 7
Causes of chronic diarrhea in patients with AIDS in Thailand: a prospective clinical and microbiological study; Manatsathit S et al.; A prospective study was designed to investigate the causes of chronic diarrhea in AIDS patients in Thailand . Forty-five patients from Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Hospital were enrolled . Extensive investigations included multiple stool examinations for ova and parasites, using the stool formalin-ether concentration method, stool culture, stool acid-fast bacilli (AFB) stain, stool modified AFB stain, esophagogastroduoscopy with duodenal aspirate and biopsy, and colonoscopy with biopsy . Biopsied specimens were examined with H&E, Giemsa, Gram, Periodic acid Schiff, and AFB stains . Definitive causes were found in 29 patients (64.4%) . Of these 29, 7 patients were found to habor more than 1 pathogen (15.5%) . The most commonly found enteric pathogen was Cryptosporidium parvum (20.0%) . Less frequently found pathogens were Mycobacterium tuberculosis (17.8%), Salmonella spp . (15.5%), Cytomegalovirus (11.1%), Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (6.6%), Strongyloides stercoralis (4.4%), Giardia lamblia (4.4%), Cryptococcus neoformans (2.2%), Histoplasma capsulatum (2.2%), Campylobacter jejun (2.2%), and Cyclospora cayetanensis (2.2%) . Salmonella spp., Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Mycobacterium avium intracellulare infections were shown to be more common in Thailand than in African countries.

Risk Anal, 1996 Aug, 16(4), 487 - 500
Public perceptions of everyday food hazards: a psychometric study; Fife-Schaw C et al.; In this paper, we discuss the conduct and results of a study aimed at eliciting public perceptions of food-related hazards . This study employs the psychometric approach of Paul Slovic and colleagues and aims to extend the recent work of Sparks and Shepherd on defining the primary dimensions of food-related risk perceptions . The study surveyed a nationally representative sample of the general public (respondents = 293; adjusted response rate = 30.1%) . Respondents provided ratings on subsets of 22 potential food hazards (e.g., food irradiation and presence of listeria) on a total of 19 risk characteristics (e.g., "perceived severity of risk" and "adequacy of governmental regulations") . In spite of the use of a number of new characteristics and food hazards, Principal Components Analysis revealed a broadly similar factor structure to that obtained by Sparks and Shepherd, suggesting the generalizability of the key dimensions (concerning the severity and awareness of hazards) . Interestingly, the positioning in the factor space of potential hazards about which little was generally known (e.g., campylobacter) as being serious and in need of regulation, may suggest a possible "starting position" in the perception of new hazards that have not previously been the subject of risk communications.

Ann Neurol, 1996 Aug, 40(2), 181 - 7
Campylobacter jejuni infections and anti-GM1 antibodies in Guillain-Barré syndrome; Jacobs BC et al.; The group of patients with Guillain-Barr'e syndrome (GBS) is very heterogenous with regard to antecedent infections, immunological parameters, clinical manifestations, and response to treatment . In this study, the presumed pathogenic factors anti-GM1 antibodies and Campylobacter jejuni infections were related to the clinical characteristics . Serum from 154 patients with GBS, 63 patients with other neurological diseases (OND), and 50 normal controls (NC) were tested for the presence of antibodies against GM1 and C . jejuni . Anti-GM1 antibodies were detected in 31 (20%) GBS patients, 5 (8%) OND patients, and in none of the NC . Evidence for a recent C . jejuni infection was found in 49 (32%) GBS patients and less often in OND patients (11%) or NC (8%) . In GBS patients, the presence of anti-GM1 antibodies was significantly associated with C . jejuni infections . The subgroup of GBS patients with anti-GM1 antibodies suffered more often from a rapidly progressive and more severe neuropathy with predominantly distal distribution of weakness, without deficits of cranial nerves or sensory disturbances . The subgroup with C . jejuni infection also more often had a severe pure motor variant of GBS . Recovery of the patients with anti-GM1 antibodies and C . jejuni infections was not as good after plasma exchange compared with intravenous immunoglobulins.

Epidemiol Infect, 1996 Aug, 117(1), 213 - 5
Increased colonization potential of Campylobacter jejuni strain 81116 after passage through chickens and its implication on the rate of transmission within flocks; Cawthraw SA et al.; The mechanisms by which Campylobacter jejuni rapidly spreads through large broiler flocks are unknown . Recent evidence suggests that the minimum infective oral dose for 100% caecal colonization is about 10(4) cfu, which, with such a 'fragile' organism, may limit transmissibility . However, the colonization potential of laboratory-adapted strains may be anomalous compared with fresh isolates or those passaged in vivo . The colonization potential of two chicken and one human C . jejuni isolates, which were minimally passaged, have been investigated using a quantitative model of chicken colonization . There was no detectable difference between these strains but all were more efficient colonizers than a laboratory-adapted strain 81116 . In addition, the colonization potential of C . jejuni strain 81116 following a passage in vivo was also determined . The results indicated this increased c . 10000 fold following a single passage in vivo, such that a dose of only 40 cfu caused maximal colonization . Enhanced colonization potential may, therefore, account for the rapid rate of transmission within large flocks.

Infect Immun, 1996 Aug, 64(8), 2945 - 9
Miller-Fisher syndrome associated with Campylobacter jejuni bearing lipopolysaccharide molecules that mimic human ganglioside GD3; Salloway S et al.; A Campylobacter jejuni strain of serotype O:10 was isolated from a patient who had Miller-Fisher syndrome . In its biochemical reactions and cellular morphology, the isolate was characteristic of typical C . jejuni . Antibodies against extracted lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were detected by passive hemagglutination in the acute- and convalescent-phase patient sera . By sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting with the O:10 antiserum, it was demonstrated that the strain possessed both low- and high-molecular-weight molecules . Chemical analysis of the LPS revealed that the core oligosaccharide has a terminal trisaccharide epitope consisting of two molecules of sialic acid linked to galactose, a structure reflecting the terminal region of human ganglioside GD3 . As this trisaccharide is also present in LPS cores of serotype O:19 strains from patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome but not in cores of nonneuropathic C . jejuni, a possible role for the trisaccharide in the etiology of neuropathies is indicated, and a difference for distinguishing neuropathic strains from nonneuropathic strains may be the presence of a sialyltransferase required for the synthesis of this trisaccharide.

Eur J Biochem, 1996 Jul 15, 239(2), 434 - 8
The O-specific polysaccharide chain of Campylobacter fetus serotype B lipopolysaccharide is a D-rhamnan terminated with 3-O-methyl-D-rhamnose (D-acofriose); Senchenkova SN et al.; An O-specific polysaccharide was liberated from Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus serotype B lipopolysaccharide by mild acid hydrolysis followed by gel chromatography . This polysaccharide was found to contain D-rhamnose and 3-O-methyl-D-rhamnose (D-Rha3Me, D-acofriose) in a ratio of approximately 24:1, as well as lipopolysaccharide core constituents . The structure of the polysaccharide was studied by 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectroscopy, which included two-dimensional COSY, rotating-frame NOE spectroscopy (ROESY), and computer-assisted analysis of the 13C-NMR spectrum . Methylation analysis using {2H3}methyl iodide and Smith degradation followed by GLC/MS of the derived acetylated oligosaccharide-alditols was used to determine the location of D-acofriose . The O-specific polysaccharide is linear, consists on average of 12 disaccharide repeating units, and is terminated by a residue of D-acofriose . The following structure of the D-rhamnan chain was established: {sequence: see text}

Bacteriol Virusol Parazitol Epidemiol, 1996 Jul-Dec, 41(3-4), 123 - 9
{The antibiotic susceptibility of Campylobacter strains isolated in Moldova . The possibilities for estimation and the results}; Sicinschi L; Susceptibility to antibiotics of 39 Campylobacter jejuni/coli strains was appreciated using the modified disc method (sowing by loop) . Eighteen strains were examined in duplicate using the conventional disc susceptibility method (sowing by inundation) . Based on the diameters (mm) of growth inhibition zones and on the respective critical concentrations (mcg/ml) the MICs were also appreciated . All the strains were resistant to rifampicin, polymyxin M sulphate, ketokonazole, cephalotin, cephazolin; most of the strains were resistant to carbenicillin, one third to ampicillin and almost one fifth to polymyxin E . These findings enable us to recommend these antibiotics (excepted penicillins) as ingredients for the selective media for Campylobacter isolation . All the strains were sensible to ciprofloxacine and chloramphenicol; most of the strains were sensible to doxicicline, to tetracycline and to Nalidixic acid . Three strains were appreciated as intermediate sensible to cephotaxime, two strains to erythromycin and one strain to clindamycin . These antimicrobial agents were recommended in the treatment of the campylobacterioses according to the susceptibility testing results of each isolated strain . All strains were also sensible to gentamycin, kanamycin, streptomycin and tobramycin . Although the results of both technical variants were comparable the conventional disc method was more precise and seems to be better for MICs appreciation . The MICs (90%) of ampicillin, cephotaxime, erythromycin, colistin and metronidazole exceeded slightly the respective standard data . The MICs for the rest of the antibiotics were lower than the accepted international concentrations.

Srp Arh Celok Lek, 1996 Jul-Aug, 124(7-8), 210 - 3
{Guillain-Barre syndrome and antibodies to ganglioside GM1 . Case report}; Triskovic I et al.; A sudden onset of the syndrome Guillain-Barre in 48-year-old woman presenting as an acute motor neuropathy was associated with antibodies against ganglioside GM1 detected by ELISA . The neurological examination revealed flaccid quadriplegia without affection of the sensory system, and the additional investigation showed mild increase of the CSF protein content, demyelination of the peripheral motor nerves and significantly increased titer of the serum and CSF anti-GM1 antibodies . Several copruculture for Campylobacter jejuni gave negative results . There was a significant correlation between the severity of the clinical picture and the titer of the serum anti-GM1 antibodies . The patient completely and spontaneously recovered after five weeks . According to the clinical and laboratory parameters the patient could be classified as an axonal, and according to electromyographic findings and the course of the disease as the classical form of the syndrome Guillain-Barre.

New Microbiol, 1996 Jul, 19(3), 267 - 71
Detection of Campylobacter jejuni/C.coli infection in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome by serology and culture; Hariharan H et al.; Serum samples from 43 cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), 32 non-GBS neurology patients, and 35 healthy persons from a medical institute in Kerala, India, were tested for antibody levels against a Campylobacter jejuni strain Penner serotype 0:19 by agglutination and ELISA . Twenty-six percent of samples from GBS cases showed high antibody levels in all assays . Of 8 stool samples of new GBS cases examined by culture, 38% were positive for C . jejuni/C . col1 . The results suggest that at least a quarter of GBS cases studied were associated with Campylobacter infection.

Zentralbl Bakteriol, 1996 Jul, 284(2-3), 241 - 5
Campylobacter and Salmonella contaminating fresh chicken meat; Geilhausen B et al.; 1853 packages of fresh chicken breast meat of German, Dutch and French origin were investigated for their contamination with Campylobacter and/or Salmonella . Swabs were taken and cultured from dripwater, meat surface, meat interior and packet bowl . Campylobacter was isolated from 619 meat samples (= 33%), Salmonella from 377 meat packages (= 20%) . In 111 of these contaminated chicken samples, both Salmonella and Campylobacter were present . The contamination rate and the species spectrum observed differed depending on the origin of the packages and the time of control.

Vet Microbiol, 1996 Jul, 51(1-2), 105 - 14
Electrophoretic and immunoblot analysis of Campylobacter fetus lipopolysaccharides; Brooks BW et al.; Proteinase K-digested cell lysates from 25 Campylobacter fetus subspecies fetus and C . fetus subsp . venerealis strains were examined by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting . Three SDS-PAGE lipopolysaccharide (LPS) profiles were observed . Two profiles were consistent with those previously reported for serogroup A and serogroup B and AB isolates and were distinguished by the relative mobility of bands in the O-chain region and by a strong reaction on immunoblots with homologous antisera . The third profile was similar but had faster migrating O-chain bands . Immunoblot reactions using homologous and heterologous adsorbed antisera showed that the O-antigen of the C . fetus subsp . fetus reference strain and other profile 2-type LPS strains was distinct from the O-antigens of strains with profile 1- or profile 3-type LPS . O-antigens of strains with profile 1- and profile 3-type LPS had shared epitopes . One strain had core components but no detectable O-antigens . Common core LPS antigens appear to be present in all strains and antibodies to common core LPS epitopes may be useful reagents for rapid detection of C . fetus.

J Clin Pathol, 1996 Jul, 49(7), 584 - 6
Serological cross reaction between legionella and campylobacter in the rapid microagglutination test; Boswell TC; AIMS: To investigate the serological cross reaction between legionella and campylobacter using the rapid microagglutination test (RMAT) . METHODS: Serum samples from 49 patients with campylobacter infection were tested for legionella antibodies using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and the RMAT . Serum samples that had positive RMAT titres were retested in the presence of a campylobacter immunosorbent . The specificity of the immunosorbent was evaluated with serum from patients with genuine legionella infection (legionella culture or antigen positive, or both) . RESULTS: Fourteen (28%) patients with campylobacter infection had positive IFAT titres (> or = 16) and 16 (32%) patients had positive RMAT titres (> or = 8) in one or more serum samples . In addition, serum samples from 11 of 17 patients with campylobacter infection, previously shown to have positive legionella IFAT titres, were also RMAT positive . Sixteen patients had RMAT titres of > or = 32, including seven with titres of > or = 128 . RMAT titres from all but one patient were significantly reduced after campylobacter absorption, but serum samples from 48 patients with legionella infection were unaffected . CONCLUSIONS: Serological cross reaction between campylobacter and legionella can occur in the legionella RMAT, as well as the IFAT . This cross reaction can be eliminated in most cases by incorporating a campylobacter immunosorbent in the RMAT.

Clin Microbiol Rev, 1996 Jul, 9(3), 405 - 22
Identification methods for campylobacters, helicobacters, and related organisms; On SL; The organisms which are referred to as campylobacteria are associated with a diverse range of diseases and habitats and are important from both clinical and economic perspectives . Accurate identification of these organisms is desirable for deciding upon appropriate therapeutic measures, and also for furthering our understanding of their pathology and epidemiology . However, the identification process is made difficult because of the complex and rapidly evolving taxonomy, fastidious nature, and biochemical inertness of these bacteria . These problems have resulted in a proliferation of phenotypic and genotypic methods for identifying members of this group . The purpose of this review is to summarize the problems associated with identifying campylobacteria, critically appraise the methods that have been used for this purpose, and discuss prospects for improvements in this field.

Indian J Med Res, 1996 Jul, 104, 28 - 37
Mechanism of action of cholera toxin & other toxins; Ganguly NK et al.; Vibrio cholerae produce a variety of extracellular products that have deleterious effects on eukaryotic cells . The massive diarrhoea produced by V . cholerae is caused by cholera toxin (CT) . CT is composed of 1A and 5B units . CT causes a significant amount of fluid secretion and haemorrhage in the ligated rabbit ileal loops . Its action involves the role of various biochemical pathways . CT acts by activation of adenylate cyclase-cAMP system located at the basolateral membrane of intestinal epithelial cells . The increase in cyclic AMP levels is mainly responsible for the altered transport of Na+ and Cl- . Besides activating cAMP, CT is also known to act through release of prostaglandins and involvement of intramural nerves . Besides CT, other bacterial toxins like Escherichia coli LT, Salmonella toxin, Shigella toxin and Campylobacter toxin also possess A-B structure . The structure and function of E . coli LT resembles closely that of CT . Most of the bacterial toxins exert their effect through involvement of ADP-ribosylating proteins whereas other toxins involve guanylate cyclase system, calcium and protein kinases for their ultimate action.

Oral Microbiol Immunol, 1996 Jun, 11(3), 150 - 5
Associations between Porphyromonas gingivalis and oral treponemes in subgingival plaque; Riviere GR et al.; Colonization and/or proliferation of Treponema denticola may depend on the presence of Porphyromonas gingivalis . The aims of this study were to confirm this synergistic relationship, to determine whether other oral bacteria were similarly associated with P . gingivalis and to relate coinfection to the periodontal status of plaque donors . Subgingival plaque was collected from every tooth except third molars in 106 subjects who were grouped by their worst periodontal condition . In addition to P . gingivalis, monoclonal antibodies were used to identify Campylobacter rectus, Eikenella corrodens, T . denticola, Treponema socranskii and pathogen-related oral spirochetes . Associations of these bacteria with coinfection by P . gingivalis were assessed by estimated odds ratios . The results indicate that coinfection with P . gingivalis is linked to all tested bacteria, but each pair was associated with distinct periodontal conditions . The distribution of coinfected sites suggests biased colonization of facial surfaces over lingual surfaces.

Int J Food Microbiol, 1996 Jun, 30(1-2), 101 - 11
Assessment of the dose-response relationship of Campylobacter jejuni; Medema GJ et al.; Mathematical relations describing the risk of infection after exposure to enteropathogens are important tools for the evaluation of the potential health risk from exposure via food and water . A quantitative description of the dose-response relation for Campylobacter jejuni with the Beta-Poisson model was fitted to experimental data of infection with Campylobacter jejuni (as determined by shedding of C . jejuni) obtained in human feeding studies performed by Black et al . (1988) . The maximum likelihood estimates for the Beta-Poisson model parameters based on these data are: alpha = 0.145 and beta = 7.59 . The fit of the model on the experimental data was good: the difference between the likelihood obtained with the Beta-Poisson model and the maximum possible likelihood was not significant . The occurrence of symptoms of intestinal illness did not follow a similar dose-related trend . Overall, 22% of the infected volunteers developed symptoms (diarrhea, fever) . The highest illness-to-infection ratio was found at an intermediate dose (9 x 10(4)) . The dose-response relation and the illness-to-infection ratio appeared to differ between different C . jejuni isolates . The dose-response relation derived from feeding studies with a single isolate should therefore be considered indicative . The absence of experimental data in the low dose range resulted in a relatively large confidence interval at low doses . However, in cases where the dose-response relation has been applied so far to estimate the health risk of exposure to C . jejuni in water, the uncertainty in the dose-response relation was insignificant compared to the uncertainty in the exposure estimate.

East Afr Med J, 1996 Jun, 73(6), 395 - 6
Isolation of Campylobacter species from Zambian patients with acute diarrhoea; Luo NP et al.; Four hundred and one consecutive diarrhoea patients and 101 adult patients without diarrhoea were enrolled for this study from a health centre in Lusaka . Campylobacter was isolated from 6% of patients with acute diarrhoea . However, non of these were seen in control group . Further studies are being carried out to determine the importance of Campylobacter species with other bacterial pathogens . It will also be interesting to see its impact and association with human immuno deficiency virus in this region.

Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg, 1996 Jun, 34(3), 230 - 4
Infective endocarditis caused by Campylobacter fetus after allogeneic tooth transplantation: a case report; Abe K et al.; A patient developed infective endocarditis caused by Campylobacter fetus . He gave a history of recent dental extraction and allogeneic tooth transplantation . He was treated with various antibodies to which the organism was said to be sensitive, but it was not until the transplanted tooth was removed that he started to improve . The mode of infection was thought to be blood borne through the open tooth socket from the raw chicken that he ate regularly.

J Clin Periodontol, 1996 Jun, 23(6), 601 - 7
Source of suspected periodontal pathogens re-emerging after periodontal treatment; von Troil-Linden B et al.; To clarify the source of re-emerging periodontal pathogens after treatment, we compared the ribotypes of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia/Prevotella nigrescens group and Campylobacter rectus before and after treatment in 7 periodontitis patients and in 6 of the spouses . The patients harbored A . actinomycetemcomitans, P . gingivalis, P . intermedia/P . nigrescens group or C . rectus in their subgingival or salivary samples before treatment . The respective bacterial species were not detected 1 month after treatment, but reappeared by 6 months later . When available, 4 random colonies of each of the 4 species were isolated from both subgingival and salivary samples at each sampling occasion, the isolates were subcultured, identified and typed applying pheno- and genotypic intraspecies characterization methods . Altogether 90 strains of A . actinomycetemcomitans, P . gingivalis, P . intermedia/P . nigrescens group and C . rectus were available from 2, 3, 2 and 4 patients, respectively . The pre- and post-treatment ribotypes of A . actinomycetemcomitans-, P . gingivalis- and P . intermedia/P . nigrescens group-isolates were identical in all respective patients . The pre- and post-treatment ribotypes of C . rectus were identical in 1 of 4 patients, whereas 2 patients harbored a previously not detected post-treatment ribotype and 1 patient harbored the initial and a previously not detected post-treatment ribotype . To study the possibility that periodontitis patients may acquire strains from the spouse after treatment, isolates of A . actinomycetemcomitans, P . gingivalis, P . intermedia/P . nigrescens group and C . rectus (n = 95) from the patients' spouses were ribotyped and compared with those of the patients . The patient exhibited his own post-treatment ribotypes, different from those of the spouse, of A . actinomycetemcomitans and P . gingivalis in 1 couple and of P . intermedia/P . nigrescens group and C . rectus in 1 couple . In the 2 patients who harbored a previously not detected post-treatment ribotype of C . rectus, one patient shared the new ribotype with the spouse, whereas the other one did not . Although an exogenous source cannot be fully ruled out, the patient's own oral flora seems to be the main source of re-emerging periodontal pathogens after treatment.

Mol Microbiol, 1996 Jun, 20(6), 1127 - 34
Construction of a ferritin-deficient mutant of Campylobacter jejuni: contribution of ferritin to iron storage and protection against oxidative stress; Wai SN et al.; The ferritin-encoding gene (cft) of Campylobacter jejuni was cloned and sequenced . The nucleotide sequence of cft had a 501 bp open reading frame for a protein with 167 amino acids and a predicted molecular mass of 19 180 Da, and showed a high similarity to that of Helicobacter pylori and Escherichia coli ferritin genes . To determine the biological function of ferritin in C . jejuni, a ferritin-deficient mutant was constructed . The growth of ferritin-deficient strain SNA 1 was clearly inhibited under iron deprivation . The ferritin-deficient mutant was more sensitive to killing by H2O2 and paraquat than the isogenic parent strain . These findings demonstrate that ferritin in C . jejuni makes a significant contribution to both iron storage and protection from intracellular iron overload, and resulting iron-mediated oxidative stress.

Microbiol Rev, 1996 Jun, 60(2), 407 - 38
Polyphasic taxonomy, a consensus approach to bacterial systematics; Vandamme P et al.; Over the last 25 years, a much broader range of taxonomic studies of bacteria has gradually replaced the former reliance upon morphological, physiological, and biochemical characterization . This polyphasic taxonomy takes into account all available phenotypic and genotypic data and integrates them in a consensus type of classification, framed in a general phylogeny derived from 16S rRNA sequence analysis . In some cases, the consensus classification is a compromise containing a minimum of contradictions . It is thought that the more parameters that will become available in the future, the more polyphasic classification will gain stability . In this review, the practice of polyphasic taxonomy is discussed for four groups of bacteria chosen for their relevance, complexity, or both: the genera Xanthomonas and Campylobacter, the lactic acid bacteria, and the family Comamonadaceae . An evaluation of our present insights, the conclusions derived from it, and the perspectives of polyphasic taxonomy are discussed, emphasizing the keystone role of the species . Taxonomists did not succeed in standardizing species delimitation by using percent DNA hybridization values . Together with the absence of another "gold standard" for species definition, this has an enormous repercussion on bacterial taxonomy . This problem is faced in polyphasic taxonomy, which does not depend on a theory, a hypothesis, or a set of rules, presenting a pragmatic approach to a consensus type of taxonomy, integrating all available data maximally . In the future, polyphasic taxonomy will have to cope with (i) enormous amounts of data, (ii) large numbers of strains, and (iii) data fusion (data aggregation), which will demand efficient and centralized data storage . In the future, taxonomic studies will require collaborative efforts by specialized laboratories even more than now is the case . Whether these future developments will guarantee a more stable consensus classification remains an open question.

J Periodontol, 1996 Jun, 67(6), 562 - 71
Treatment of periodontal disease based on microbiological diagnosis . Relation between microbiological and clinical parameters during 5 years; Renvert S et al.; The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical effect of treatment aimed to suppress Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis below detection level and Prevotella intermedia below 5% of the cultivable periodontal pocket flora . Sixteen patients and a total of 111 periodontal pockets with probing depth > or = 6 mm were included in the study . Twelve patients and a total of 77 sites completed the 5-year study . The results demonstrated clinical improvement of probing depth and gain of clinical attachment level of 3.4 mm and 1.2 mm, respectively . Treatment to eliminate indicator bacteria continued for 3 years before the aim was fulfilled . In order to eliminate A . actinomycetemcomitans from a majority of the sites, a combination of surgery and generalized tetracycline treatment was performed . A recolonization or regrowth of the indicator bacteria exceeding detection levels took place in several sites . The presence of A . actinomycetemcomitans . P . gingivalis, and P . intermedia, alone or in combination, correlated with attachment level change on the individual level . No such correlation was obtained by using presence of plaque, bleeding on probing, or three other bacteria (Campylobacter rectus, Eikenella corrodens, and Fusobacterium nucleatum) not used as treatment goal markers.

Rev Esp Enferm Dig, 1996 Jun, 88(6), 419 - 22
{Infectious gastroenteritis in relapses of inflammatory bowel disease . Therapeutic implications}; Baliellas C et al.; The incidence and clinical importance of infectious gastroenteritis was studied in 67 consecutive relapses of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) . A stool culture was done in every case before starting treatment . Stool culture was positive in 6 relapses (8.9%): Four were exacerbations of ulcerative colitis and two of Crohn's disease (8.8% in ulcerative colitis vs 9% in Crohn's disease; NS) . The microorganisms isolated were Campylobacter jejuni in three cases, Salmonella enteritidis in two and Staphylococcus aureus in one case . There were not clinical differences between patients with positive and negative stool culture . Treated with antibiotics, stool cultures became negative in all of them but only in three the disease was controlled . The other three had to be treated with corticosteroids to achieve remission . We conclude that stool culture should be practised in all relapses of IBD and in case of positivity, antibiotic therapy should be started . With this approach the use of corticosteroids can be avoided in some patients.

Infect Immun, 1996 Jun, 64(6), 2070 - 8
Prevalence of cytolethal distending toxin production in Campylobacter jejuni and relatedness of Campylobacter sp . cdtB gene; Pickett CL et al.; Campylobacter jejuni produces a toxin called cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) . The genes encoding this toxin in C . jejuni 81-176 were cloned and sequenced . The nucleotide sequence of the genes revealed that there are three genes, cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC, encoding proteins with predicted sizes of 30,11-6, 28,989, and 21,157 Da, respectively . All three proteins were found to be related to the Escherichia coli CDT proteins, yet the amino acid sequences have diverged significantly . All three genes were required for toxic activity in a HeLa cell assay . HeLa cell assays of a variety of C . jejuni and C . coli strains suggested that most C . jejuni strains produce significantly higher CDT titers than do C . coli strains . Southern hybridization experiments demonstrated that the cdtB gene is present on a 6.0-kb ClaI fragment in all but one of the C . jejuni strains tested; the cdtB gene was on a 6.9-kb ClaI fragment in one strain . The C . jejuni 81-176 cdtB probe hybridized weakly to DNAs from C . coli strains . The C . jejuni 81-176 cdtB probe did not hybridize to DNAs from representative C . fetus, C . lari, C . "upsaliensis," and C . hyointestinalis strains, although the HeLa cell assay indicated that these strains make CDT . PCR experiments indicated the probable presence of cdtB sequences in all of these Campylobacter species.

Epidemiol Infect, 1996 Jun, 116(3), 303 - 8
A mixed outbreak of cryptosporidium and campylobacter infection associated with a private water supply; Duke LA et al.; In an outbreak of gastroenteritis affecting 43 people, cryptosporidium and campylobacter were isolated from stool specimens and in two cases dual infection was found . All the cases had drunk unboiled water from a private untreated water supply . Investigations revealed the carcasses of three lambs in a collection chamber connected with the water supply, and these, or run-off of slurry from surrounding fields, were the presumed source of contamination . Issues relating to the maintenance and monitoring of private water supplies are discussed . Problems with such supplies include old piping, proximity of livestock, inadequate knowledge of the layout and limited resources for monitoring and maintenance.

J Bacteriol, 1996 Jun, 178(11), 3335 - 8
Molecular cloning and site-specific mutagenesis of a gene involved in arylsulfatase production in Campylobacter jejuni; Yao R et al.; The arylsulfatase gene from Campylobacter jejuni 81-176 encodes a predicted protein of 69,293 Da which shows no sequence similarity with other known arylsulfatases . The gene hybridizes to other Ast+ strains of C . jejuni and Campylobacter sputorum subsp . bubulus, as well as to many Ast- strains of C . jejuni.

Mech Ageing Dev, 1996 May 24, 87(1), 47 - 59
In vitro senescence enhances IL-6 production in human gingival fibroblasts induced by lipopolysaccharide from Campylobacter rectus; Ogura N et al.; The production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in human gingival fibroblasts (Gin cells) is increased by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Campylobacter rectus (C . rectus), which is associated with adult periodontitis; however, the age-related changes in the susceptibility of Gin cells to C . rectus LPS remain unclear . We examined the influence of in vitro senescence on C . rectus LPS-stimulated IL-6 production in Gin cells . LPS was prepared from C . rectus ATCC 33238 using hot phenol-water . The Gin cells were established from healthy gingival tissue removed from three patients, aged 10-12 years . The cells were cultured until confluence then stimulated with LPS (0.01, 0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 micrograms/ml) . Levels of IL-6 released in the medium were measured after incubation for 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 h . In both young (5-6 population doublings) and senescent (17-20 population doublings) cells, LPS stimulated IL-6 production in a dose- and time-dependent manner . In response to 0.01-10.0 micrograms/ml of LPS, IL-6 production in the senescent cells was higher than that in the young cells . Using cells from each of the three donors, we found that this phenomenon of higher LPS-stimulated IL-6 production in senescent cells was reproducible . The greater capacity of the senescent cells to synthesize IL-6 in response to LPS was a higher production of mRNA for IL-6 . This increase of IL-6 production induced by C . rectus LPS in senescent Gin cells could help to explain the increased susceptibility to periodontal diseases shown by aged individuals.

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo, 1996 May-Jun, 38(3), 241 - 2
A simple and inexpensive method to generate a microaerophilic atmosphere for the isolation of Campylobacter sp; Hernandez F; Faeces of 138 chickens were inoculated on Blaser agar plates . One set of plates was incubated in jars with CampyPak envelopes . The others were incubated in "Zip-lock" plastic bags (7 x 8 in.) and a microaerophilic atmosphere was generated exhaling into the "Zip-lock" plastic bag, after holding the breath for 20 sec . Then, the bag was pressed to evacuate its atmosphere, inflated again, and pressed (4 times), and finally sealed . Campylobacter was isolated from 127 (96.2%) of samples incubated in jars with gas generator envelopes and from 129 (98%) of the specimens incubated into the bags . The proposed methodology offers good savings for cost-conscious laboratories.

J Neuroimmunol, 1996 May, 66(1-2), 85 - 93
Affinity of anti-GM1 antibodies in Guillain-Barré syndrome patients; Deisenhammer F et al.; In this study, we investigated the affinity of anti-GM1 IgG antibodies as well as their IgG subclass distribution in a series of 38 patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome . In 7 sera elevated titres of IgG anti-GM1 antibodies could be detected . With respect to affinity there were two distinct groups of anti-GM1 antibodies: one group was of high affinity and did not cross-react with other glycolipids; the other group was of low affinity and cross-reacted with asialo-GM1 . IgG1 was the predominant and almost exclusive subclass of high affinity anti-GM1 antibodies . Axonal degeneration occurred significantly more frequently in patients with high affinity anti-GM1 antibodies than in patients without anti-GM1 antibodies or in patients with low affinity anti-GM1 antibodies . The presence of anti-Campylobacter jejuni antibodies was not associated with a specific electrophysiological pattern . The prognosis was not dependent on the detection of any of the antibodies, whereas axonal loss and ventilation were associated with a poor prognosis.

Rev Neurol (Paris), 1996 May, 152(5), 355 - 8
The Guillain-Barré syndrome; pathogenesis and treatment; Van Der Meche FG; The Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an acute immune mediated polyneuropathy . Diagnosis of clinically defined GBS is based upon symmetrical weakness developing within 4, but usually within 2 weeks and disappearance of myotatic reflexes . There is a large variability in clinical expression, including bulbar variants . Also laboratory characteristics may vary . Therefore, at present, diagnosis is based on the clinical parameters . In the individual patient characteristics of EMG, immunological and microbiological studies and sometimes pathological and epidemiological information may further define a more specific pattern . At present it seems not worthwhile to split up GBS in subgroups, although in the future subpatterns responding to specific therapy may be defined . The pathogenetic studies point at present to molecular mimicry as a possible mechanism in triggering off the disease . In the cranial nerve variant with ophthalmoplegia and ataxia antibodies against the ganglioside GQ1b are found that recognize similar epitopes on specific Campylobacter jejuni strains; for the classical ascending form similar observations are made between anti-GM1 antibodies and C . jejuni . Treatment is in the first place supportive . Plasma exchange has been the first proven effective specific treatment . High dose immunoglobulins (IgIV) are at least as effective and in fact was somewhat, but significantly superior with respect to some outcome criteria in the first large scale clinical trial . Several studies using different treatment schedules are at present underway . In the Netherlands a pilot study with the combination of IgIV and high dose methylprednisolone gave very promising results compared to IgIV alone . This was in contrast with an international study evaluating methylprednisolone, either alone or in combination with plasma exchange . The combination of IgIV with methylprednisolone is now further investigated in a formal randomized, double blind trial aimed to include 225 patients.

Rev Neurol (Paris), 1996 May, 152(5), 333 - 8
{Guillain-Barré syndrome: development of concepts}; Serratrice G; The features initially described by Guillain et Barre have been updated through the proposal of precise criteria even if a number of questions remain . Hundred of works have contributed to the evolution of these concepts . This paper is a summary of several opinions: 1 . From nerve inflammation (lesions have been progressively analysed) to dysimmunity (with a combination of humoral and cellular dysimmunity), 2 . The most frequent initial factors seems Campylobacter Jejuni with particular clinical correlations, 3 . The acute axonal form assessed by some, contested by others, 4 . Several varieties among which the Miller Fisher syndrome associated with anti-GQ1b antibodies almost constantly, 5 . The treatment presently plasma exchanges and immunoglobulines infusion . In spite of the great number of papers devoted to Guillain-Barre syndrome a number of questions remain, and none among the varieties recently described, is unanimously acknowledged . However the plasma exchanges and mainly the intravenous immunoglobulines have a positive effect in the severe forms.

Rev Neurol (Paris), 1996 May, 152(5), 320 - 7
Effector mechanisms in demyelinating neuropathies; Hartung HP et al.; While the cause of the immune-mediated neuropathies (Guillain-Barr-e syndrome, GBS; CIDP; multi-focal motor neuropathy and paraproteinemic neuropathies) remains elusive considerable progress has been made in delineating the effector mechanisms that underlie myelin destruction . In GBS circulating antibodies to glycolipids possibly precipitated by an antecedent Campylobacter jejuni infection can be detected with high frequency . These antibodies may interfere with neuromuscular transmission and eventuate myelin damage by activating the complement system, providing for the generation of chemotactically active split products C3a and C5a, the opsonin C3b, and assembly of the membrane attack complex . Such antibodies may also, via binding to the Fc receptor, target macrophages to the myelin sheath . Corroborative evidence for a crucial pathogenic role of antibody-mediated complement activation is also available for the MAG-associated neuropathies . Macrophages as decisive effector cells of myelin damage may also act by releasing injurious molecules such as oxygen radicals, nitric oxide metabolites, proteases, eicosanoids and cytokines . Demyelinative as well as degenerative actions have been described for the cytokines TNF-alpha and lymphotoxin . Increased understanding of the effector mechanisms underlying demyelination may aid in developing more efficacious treatments for this group of neuropathies.

Mol Microbiol, 1996 May, 20(4), 885 - 94
An environmentally regulated pilus-like appendage involved in Campylobacter pathogenesis; Dolg P et al.; Examination of strains of Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, and Campylobacter fetus by electron microscopy revealed that they produced peritrichous pilus-like appendages when the bacteria were grown in the presence of bile salts . Various bile-salt supplements were used and it was found that deoxycholate and chenodeoxycholic acid caused a significant enhancement of pilus production and resulted in a highly aggregative phenotype . Morphologically, the pili were between 4 and 7 nm in width and were greater than 1 micron in length . A gene, termed pspA, which encodes a predicted protein resembling protease IV of Escherichia coli, was identified in C . jejuni strain 81-176 . A site-specific insertional mutation within this gene resulted in the loss of pilus synthesis as determined by electron microscopy . Insertions upstream and downstream of the gene had no effect on pilus production . The non-piliated mutant of strain 81-176 showed no reduction in adherence to or invasion of INT 407 cells in vitro . However, this mutant, while still possessing the ability to colonize ferrets, caused significantly reduced disease symptoms in this animal model.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1996 May, 62(5), 1623 - 9
Characterization of 16S rRNA genes from oil field microbial communities indicates the presence of a variety of sulfate-reducing, fermentative, and sulfide-oxidizing bacteria; Voordouw G et al.; Oil field bacteria were characterized by cloning and sequencing of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes . A variety of gram-negative, sulfate-reducing bacteria was detected (16 members of the family Desulfovibrionaceae and 8 members of the family Desulfobacteriaceae) . In contrast, a much more limited number of anaerobic, fermentative, or acetogenic bacteria was found (one Clostridium sp., one Eubacterium sp., and one Synergistes sp.) . Potential sulfide oxidizers and/or microaerophiles (Thiomicrospira, Arcobacter, Campylobacter, and Oceanospirillum spp.) were also detected . The first two were prominently amplified from uncultured production water DNA and represented 28 and 47% of all clones, respectively . Growth on media containing sulfide as the electron donor and nitrate as the electron acceptor and designed for the isolation of Thiomicrospira spp . gave only significant enrichment of the Campylobacter sp., which was shown to be present in different western Canadian oil fields . This newly discovered sulfide oxidizer may provide a vital link in the oil field sulfur cycle by reoxidizing sulfide formed by microbial sulfate or sulfur reduction.

Infect Immun, 1996 May, 64(5), 1850 - 3
Cloning, sequencing, and expression of a gene from Campylobacter jejuni encoding a protein (Omp18) with similarity to peptidoglycan-associated lipoproteins; Konkel ME et al.; A Campylobacter jejuni genomic plasmid library was screened with antiserum generated against whole C . jejuni, revealing two immunoreactive clones . Sequence analysis of the recombinant plasmids revealed a common open reading frame of 498 nucleotides encoding a protein of 165 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 18,018 Da . The recombinant product partitioned to the outer membrane fractions of Escherichia coli transformants and has been designated Omp18 . The deduced amino acid sequence of the cloned C . jejuni gene exhibits considerable similarity to peptidoglycan-associated lipoproteins from other gram-negative bacteria.

MMWR CDC Surveill Summ, 1996 Apr 12, 45(1), 1 - 33
Surveillance for waterborne-disease outbreaks--United States, 1993-1994; Kramer MH et al.; PROBLEM/CONDITION: Since 1971, CDC and the U.S . Environmental Protection Agency have maintained a collaborative surveillance system for collecting and periodically reporting data that relate to occurrences and causes of waterborne-disease outbreaks (WBDOs) . REPORTING PERIOD COVERED: This summary includes data for January 1993 through December 1994 and for previously unreported outbreaks in 1992 . DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM: The surveillance system includes data about outbreaks associated with water intended for drinking (i.e., drinking water) and those associated with recreational water . State, territorial, and local public health departments are primarily responsible for detecting and investigating WBDOs and voluntarily reporting them to CDC on a standard form . RESULTS: For the 2-year period 1993-1994, 17 states and one territory reported a total of 30 outbreaks associated with drinking water . These outbreaks caused an estimated 405,366 persons to become ill, including 403,000 from an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee, the largest WBDO ever documented in the United States, and 2,366 from the other 29 outbreaks . No etiologic agent was identified for five (16.7%) of the 30 outbreaks . The protozoan parasites Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum caused 10 (40.0%) of the 25 outbreaks for which the etiologic agent was identified . Two outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis occurred in large metropolitan areas (i.e., Milwaukee and Las Vegas/Clark County) and were associated with deaths among immunocompromised persons . The waterborne nature of these two outbreaks was not recognized until at least 2 weeks after the onset of the Milwaukee outbreak and until after the end of the Las Vegas outbreak . Campylobacter jejuni was implicated for three outbreaks and the following pathogens for one outbreak each: Shigella sonnei, Shigella flexneri, non-O1 Vibrio cholerae (in a U.S . territory; the vehicle was commercially bottled water), and Salmonella serotype Typhimurium (the outbreak was associated with seven deaths) . Eight outbreaks of chemical poisoning were reported: three were caused by lead (one case each), two by fluoride, two by nitrate and one by copper . Twenty (66.7%) of the 30 outbreaks were associated with a well-water source . Fourteen states reported a total of 26 outbreaks associated with recreational water, in which an estimated 1,714 persons became ill . Fourteen (53.8%) of these 26 were outbreaks of gastroenteritis . The etiologic agent in each of these 14 outbreaks was identified; 10 (71.4%) were caused by G . lamblia or C . parvum . Six of these 10 were associated with chlorinated, filtered pool water, and three with lake water . One of the latter was the first reported outbreak of cryptosporidiosis associated with the recreational use of lake water . Four outbreaks of lake water-associated bacterial gastroenteritis were reported, two caused by S . sonnei, one by S . flexneri, and one by Escherichia coli O157:H7 . Nine outbreaks of hot tub- whirlpool-, or swimming pool-associated pseudomonas dermatitis were reported . Two outbreaks of swimming pool-associated dermatitis had a suspected chemical etiology . The child who had the one reported case of primary amebic meningoencephalitis, caused by infection with Naegleria fowleri, died . INTERPRETATION: The number of WBDOs reported annually has been similar for each year during 1987-1994, except for an increase in 1992 . Protozoan parasites, especially C . parvum and G . lamblia, remain important etiologic agents of WBDOs . The outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee and Las Vegas demonstrate that WBDOs can occur in large metropolitan areas . Surveillance methods are needed that expedite the detection of WBDOs and the institution of preventive measures (e.g., boil-water advisories) . ACTIONS TAKEN: Surveillance data that identify the types of water systems, their deficiencies, and the etiologic agents associated with outbreaks are used to evaluate the adequacy of current technologies for prov

Int J Cancer, 1996 Apr 10, 66(2), 184 - 90
Induction of antibodies reactive with GM2 ganglioside after immunization with lipopolysaccharides from Camplyobacter jejuni; Ritter G et al.; Ganglioside GM2, expressed on the surface of some human cancers, is a promising target for immune therapy, since GM2 antibodies are cytotoxic, can be induced in humans by vaccination, and the presence of GM2 antibodies is associated with a better prognosis in melanoma patients . In our efforts to induce long-lived, cytotoxic GM2 antibodies, we investigated lipopolysaccharides (LPS) containing "GM2-like" oligosaccharides . LPS were prepared from Campylobacter jejuni serotypes O:1, O:23, or O:36 (all sharing the oligosaccharide structure GalNAcbeta1-4Gal(113NeuAc)-Hex with ganglioside GM2), and tested for their ability to induce GM2-reactive antibodies . Immunization of NZW rabbits (2 animals per vaccine) with LPS from C . jejuni serotype O:1 in Freund's adjuvant resulted in production of high-titer IgG antibodies reactive with purified bovine brain GM2 in ELISA, dot-blot immune strains and immune thin-layer chromatography, and with GM2 derived from various human tumors by immune thin-layer chromatography . These rabbit antibodies bound to cancer cell lines expressing GM2 on their cell surface, as determined by mixed hemadsorption assays, mediating strong antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) with tumor cells expressing cell-surface GM2 . Antibodies induced by vaccination with C . jejuni serotype O:1 were higher-titer (IgG ELISA titer > 1:60,000) than antibodies induced by immunization with purified GM2 (IgG ELISA titer > 1:200) . Immunization with LPS from C . jejuni serotype O:36 resulted in production of moderately high-titer IgM and low-titer IgG GM2 antibodies . Immunization with LPS from C . jejuni serotype O:23 did not elicit GM2-reactive antibodies . No clinical symptoms were observed in animals immunized with these LPS preparations, with purified GM2 ganglioside, or with LPS derived from C . jejuni serotype O:19 (containing a GM1-like oligosaccharide) . Our results indicate that lipopolysaccharides sharing carbohydrate epitopes with gangliosides may be useful immunogens for inducing antibodies to ganglioside antigens.

Lett Appl Microbiol, 1996 Apr, 22(4), 288 - 92
The magnetic immuno-polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of Campylobacter in milk and poultry; Docherty L et al.; A rapid and sensitive technique, based on the magnetic immuno-polymerase chain reaction assay (MIPA), was developed for the detection of Campylobacter jejuni in milk and chicken products . Target bacteria are captured from the food sample by magnetic particles coated with a specific antibody and the bound bacteria then lysed and subjected to PCR . The MIPA could detect 420 cfu g-1 of chicken after 18 h, 42 cfu g-1 after 24 h, and 4.2 cfu g-1 after 36 h enrichment . For artificially contaminated milk 63 cfu ml-1 could be detected after 18 and 24 h and 6.3 cfu ml-1 after 36 h enrichment.

Mol Gen Mikrobiol Virusol, 1996 Apr-Jun, (2), 39 - 40
{Probable nature of Rickettsia prowazekii virulence}; Emel'ianov VV et al.; A 29.5 kda outer membrane protein (OmpB) of R . prowazekii virulent Breinl strain is known to differ from its counterpart in attenuated Madrid E strain, while OmpB of this latter one and of its virulent variant EVir coincide in mobility . The infectivity of these strains for macrophages was previously shown to be different as well, and to correlate with their virulence . Previously cloned R . prowazekii Breinl strain, 1.644-bp insert from lambda gtll recombinant expressing as OmpB in inducer-independent fashion was sequenced and used as a query to search for similarity in non-redundant GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ Data Base aided by BLASTX mail server . Extensive homology of inferred 282-aa sequence to peptidyl-propyl cis/trans isomerase C (PPIase C) of E . coli belonging to parvulin family of rotamases (foldases), and related proteins such as Campylobacter jejuni cell binding factor 2 (Cbf2), B . subtilis PrsA, and Lactococcus lactis PrtM has been revealed.

Pediatr Infect Dis J, 1996 Apr, 15(4), 345 - 8
Campylobacter bacteremia in children; Reed RP et al.; OBJECTIVE: To describe clinical and laboratory data for, and to propose pathogenesis and management of, children from impoverished communities with Campylobacter bacteremia . METHODS: A retrospective review of patient data generated from laboratory records in an urban tertiary care hospital in Soweto and a rural mission hospital in Eastern Transvaal, South Africa . Participants were 19 children presenting to either hospital with Campylobacter bacteremia . Clinical and laboratory data were collated . RESULTS: Nineteen children with Campylobacter bacteremia were identified; all isolates were Campylobacter jejuni . Sixteen (84%) had malnutrition; 13 of these were severely malnourished . Thirteen (68%) were febrile at the time of bacteremia . Four children (21%) did not have diarrhea . The case fatality rate was 16% and may not have been influenced by aminoglycoside administration . CONCLUSION: Malnourished children may be more likely to have gastrointestinal C . jejuni infection . Immunodeficiency and intestinal mucosal compromise secondary to malnutrition may render such children at increased risk of C . jejuni bacteremia and its consequences . C . jejuni bacteremia is potentially life-threatening and should be managed accordingly.

J Clin Microbiol, 1996 Apr, 34(4), 892 - 6
DNA fingerprinting and serotyping of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from epidemic outbreaks; Lind L et al.; The aim of the present investigation was to compare DNA fingerprinting and serotyping (heat-stabile and heat-labile antigens) of isolates from epidemic outbreaks as well as of solitary isolates . Campylobacter jejuni isolates from two epidemic outbreaks in Sweden, one milkborne (35 isolates) and one waterborne (17 isolates), and one waterborne outbreak in Norway (11 isolates), as well as 30 solitary isolates from Swedish patients with gastroenteritis, were analyzed . A total of 93 isolates were analyzed . In the waterborne outbreak in Norway, only one serotype with one DNA pattern was found . In the milkborne outbreak in Sweden, two serotypes (HS2:HL4 and HSNT:HL4) with two different DNA patterns were found . The isolates from the waterborne outbreak in Sweden were different serotypes . For two isolates of the same serotype, different DNA patterns were seen . This was also recorded for isolates from solitary cases . It was concluded that serotyping is a useful tool in most epidemiological situations but sometimes lacks sufficient discriminatory power . DNA fingerprinting can add valuable epidemiological information to that supplied by serotyping and can in some situations provide sufficient epidemiological information when used alone.

Clin Infect Dis, 1996 Apr, 22 Suppl 1, S3 - 13; discussion S13-4
Antimicrobial activity of rifabutin; Kunin CM; Rifabutin is a spiro-piperidyl-rifamycin derived from rifamycin-S . It is structurally related to rifampin and shares many of its properties . Rifabutin has a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity . It is considerably more active than rifampin in vitro against the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Mycobacterium leprae . It also is active against most atypical mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium kansasii, but Mycobacterium chelonae is relatively resistant . Rifabutin also is active against staphylococci, group A streptococci, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Haemophilus ducreyi, Campylobacter jejuni, Helicobacter pylori, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Toxoplasma gondii . It has poor activity against Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas species . This review focuses on the antimicrobial profile of rifabutin in relation to its pharmacological properties . Special emphasis is placed on its in vitro activity against MAC and other mycobacteria, its efficacy in cell culture and animal models, and its potential as a component of multidrug therapy for mycobacterial and other infectious diseases.

J Vet Diagn Invest, 1996 Apr, 8(2), 186 - 95
Phenotypic and ribosomal RNA characterization of Arcobacter species isolated from porcine aborted fetuses; Schroeder-Tucker L et al.; Aerotolerant organisms resembling Campylobacter, now designated as Arcobacter, have been described from aborted farm animals and from cases of human enteritis worldwide . The goals of this study were 1) to attempt to recover Arcobacter spp . from cases of porcine abortion, 2) to characterize these isolates by phenotype and ribotype, and 3) to compare the usefulness of ribotype and phenotype patterns for identifying Arcobacter butzleri and the DNA hybridization groups 1A and 1B of A . cryaerophilus . Isolates of Arcobacter spp . from North Carolina and Iowa were recovered from porcine tissues . In Iowa, Arcobacter spp . were recovered from 43% (13/30) of porcine abortion cases evaluated . Isolations were made from placenta (44%), kidney (44%), and stomach contents (12%), which were the only tissues examined . The most reliable biochemical tests for A . butzleri included growth in 1% glycine and in 1.5% NaCl, weak catalase activity, and resistance to cadmium chloride . Arcobacter cryaerophilus strains were characterized by strong catalase activity and sensitivity to cadmium chloride . The DNA hybridization groups 1A and 1B of A . cryaerophilus could not be distinguished by biochemical tests . This represents the first description of A . cryaerophilus DNA group 1A in animals within the United States.

J Clin Periodontol, 1996 Apr, 23(4), 346 - 54
Utility of 5 major putative periodontal pathogens and selected clinical parameters to predict periodontal breakdown in patients on maintenance care; Rams TE et al.; The predictive utility of 5 major putative periodontopathic microbial species, "superinfecting" organisms, and several clinical periodontal parameters were assessed relative to periodontitis recurrence over a 12-month period in 78 treated adult patients participating in a 3-month maintenance care program . At baseline, pooled subgingival microbial samples were collected from each patient, and whole-mouth evaluations of probing depth, relative periodontal attachment level, furcation involvement, and indices of plaque and gingival inflammation were carried out . 67 (85.9%) subjects were culture-positive at baseline for presence of either Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Campylobacter rectus or Peptostreptococcus micros, with 48 (61.5%) subjects yielding one or more of these species at or above designated threshold proportions of > or = 0.01% for A . actinomycetemcomitans, > or = 0.1% for P . gingivalis, > or = 2.5% for P . intermedia, > or = 2.0% for C . rectus, and > or = 3.0% for P . micros . Subgingival yeasts were recovered from 12 subjects, staphylococci from 7, and enteric rods/pseudomonads from 6; however, no subjects revealed > or = 1.0% baseline proportions of these "superinfecting" organisms in subgingival specimens . Periodontitis recurrence in subjects was defined as any periodontal site exhibiting either a probing depth increase of > or = 3 mm from baseline, or a probing depth increase of > or = 2 mm from baseline together with a loss in relative periodontal attachment of > or = 2 mm from baseline . 15 (19.2%) study subjects showed periodontitis recurrence within 6 months of baseline, and 25 (32.1%) within 12 months . The mere baseline presence of the 5 major test species and "superinfecting" organisms were not significant predictors of periodontitis recurrence over 12 months . However, a 2.5 relative risk for periodontitis recurrence over 12 months was found for subjects yielding one or more of the 5 major test species at or above the designated baseline threshold proportions (p = 0.022, Mantel-Haenszel chi 2 test) . The positive predictive value for periodontitis recurrence of a microbiologic analysis encompassing the 5 major test species at or above the designated threshold proportions improved with increasing time from baseline, up to approximately 42% at 12 months . Baseline variables jointly providing in multiple regression analysis the best predictive capability for periodontitis recurrence in subjects over a 12-month period were recovery of one or more of the 5 major test species at or above designated threshold proportions, the proportion of sites per subject with > or = 5 mm probing depth, and the mean whole-mouth probing depth . These findings indicate that one or more of 5 major putative periodontal pathogens in elevated subgingival proportions together with increased probing depth predispose adults on maintenance care to recurrent periodontitis.

J Clin Periodontol, 1996 Apr, 23(4), 310 - 9
Histological and microbiological aspects of ligature-induced periodontitis in beagle dogs; Renvert S et al.; This study was designed to investigate, using 6 beagle dogs, the levels of selected putative pathogens in healthy sites, in gingivitis sites, and in sites with histologically confirmed attachment loss . Levels of attachment loss increased with increasing periods of ligation and reached a maximum of 0.15 mm at 57 days . Both histological attachment level and histological pocket depth were found to vary significantly with health/disease status (p < 0.0001) . Higher numbers of total colony-forming units were seen for ligated sites than for healthy and gingivitis sites . Levels of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Prevotella intermedia also changed significantly with health/disease status (p < 0.001) . These organisms showed their greatest increases at the time of the most intense attachment loss . Higher levels of Fusobacterium nucleatum were seen in the gingivitis sites than in healthy or ligated sites . Low levels of Campylobacter rectus and Capnocytophaga spp . were detected throughout . The morphometric microbiological analysis revealed unexpectedly high %s of motile rods, while spirochetes were found in very low %s . The total number of bacterial cells detected using phase contrast microscopy was not found to vary significantly . None of the morphotypes were demonstrated as showing significant changes with health/disease status.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1996 Apr, 37(4), 747 - 57
Ciprofloxacin resistant Campylobacter spp . in humans: an epidemiological and laboratory study; Gaunt PN et al.; From the end of April 1991 until the end of 1991, 2209 isolates of Campylobacter spp . have been collected in Plymouth PHL of which 91 (4.1%) were resistant to ciprofloxacin . None of the 91 patients involved had taken a quinolone, but 30/91 (33%) had travelled abroad (16 to the Iberian peninsula) in the three months preceding isolation of the ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter spp . In the case-control study 12/15 (80%) of the cases had recently consumed poultry as had 20/24 (83%) of controls with enteritis due to ciprofloxacin-susceptible Campylobacter spp . A small study of poultry purchased from the supermarket revealed that only 1/37 campylobacters isolated from 64 UK bred chickens was resistant to ciprofloxacin, whereas 7/26 campylobacters isolated from 50 imported chickens were ciprofloxacin-resistant . Of the 75 clinical isolates of ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter spp . subjected to detailed analysis, 68 were Campylobacter jejuni, six were Campylobacter lari, and one was Campylobacter coli . All isolates from man and poultry were resistant to ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, sparfloxacin and tosufloxacin, and there was an association between fluoroquinolone-resistance and increased MICs of tetracycline . The range of susceptibility to erythromycin and kanamycin were typical of the species . gyrA from C . jejuni P6 (a case with history of travel to Spain) and C . jejuni P16 (isolate from imported chicken) contained point mutations corresponding to an amino acid substitution of isoleucine for threonine at codon 86 . It has been suggested that veterinary use of quinolones, notably enrofloxacin, is providing a selective pressure for emergence of resistance to ciprofloxacin amongst human isolates . Now that enrofloxacin has been licensed for use in broiler flocks in the UK, it will be interesting to monitor the prevalence of resistance of campylobacters to quinolones in UK-produced poultry and in UK-acquired human infection.

Drugs, 1996 Apr, 51(4), 515 - 36
Macrolide antibiotics in paediatric infectious diseases; Guay DR; Erythromycin and other macrolides have enjoyed a renaissance in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s secondary to the discovery of "new' pathogens such as Chlamydia, Legionella, Campylobacter and Mycoplasma spp . Erythromycin is an important therapeutic agent in the paediatric age group for several reasons: (a) it exhibits proven efficacy for a wide range of infections (upper and lower respiratory tract infections, skin/skin structure infections, prophylaxis of endocarditis/acute rheumatic fever/ophthalmia neonatorum and pre-colonic surgery, campylobacteriosis, chlamydial and ureaplasmal infections, diphtheria, whooping cough, streptococcal pharyngitis) and gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility states; (b) intravenous formulations are widely available; and (c) it is available in a number of formulations as a generic product, which is likely to result in significant cost savings . Nevertheless, erythromycin and similar earlier macrolides are characterised by a number of drawbacks including a narrow spectrum of antimicrobial activity, unfavourable pharmacokinetic properties and poor GI tolerability . Newer macrolides such as clarithromycin and azithromycin are useful in serving the needs of paediatric patients who are erythromycin-intolerant or who have infections caused by organisms that are intrinsically erythromycin-resistant, or for which a high percentage of strains are resistant (e.g . Haemophilus influenzae, Helicobacter pylori, Mycobacterium avium complex) . In addition, these newer macrolides may be considered as alternatives to oral amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, second or third generation cephalosporins, or erythromycin plus sulphonamide in this patient population . Selection between specific macrolides and between macrolides and other antibiotics in the paediatric population is likely to depend, at least for the immediate future, on separate comparisons of product availability, cost, effectiveness and tolerability profiles.

Epidemiol Infect, 1996 Apr, 116(2), 169 - 75
Resistotyping of campylobacters: fulfilling a need; Ribeiro CD et al.; A 9-month trial of a simple typing scheme for inverted question markthermophilic' enteric campylobacter isolates at a large Public Health Laboratory is described . Resistotyping was performed with six agents in a method modified by Bolton and colleagues from an earlier scheme, and biotyping was performed by a modified Lior scheme involving three tests . Reproducibility was excellent in both schemes, with test variation < 2% . Five household clusters and one larger presumptive milk-borne outbreak were identified in this scheme, and confirmed in pyrolysis mass spectrometry . The 328 isolates from new patients, excluding duplication from these clusters, were divided into 35 resistotypes with the largest group comprising 22% of isolates . In combined bio- and resistotyping, 86 types were found, with the largest group comprising 9.5% of isolates . The results are contrasted with salmonella sero- and phage-typing, where, on the same basis, the 176 isolates in the same period were divided into 40 groups, with the largest comprising 45% of isolates . Resistotyping, with or without additional biotyping, proved to be a convenient, simple, rapid, highly discriminatory, reproducible and inexpensive method well suited to use in local laboratories . It is a strong candidate for first-line national and local surveillance of campylobacter infections, fulfilling a need for monitoring of this important cause of enteric disease.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1996 Mar, 49(3), 289 - 300
{Antimicrobial activities of clarithromycin against clinical isolates}; Koguchi M et al.; To examine the antimicrobial activity of clarithromycin (CAM) against strains clinically isolated from outpatients in 1994, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined for CAM and the control drugs . The results were as follows; 1 . MIC50 and MIC90 of CAM were similar to those investigated in 1980's against many bacterial species . 2 . CAM showed strong antimicrobial activities against beta-lactamase producing Moraxella subgenus Branhamella catarrhalis, Bordetella pertussis, Campylobacter jejuni subsp . jejuni and Peptostreptococcus spp . 3 . It appears that resistance to MLs including CAM is increasing among Streptococcus pneumoniae.

J Clin Microbiol, 1996 Mar, 34(3), 530 - 3
Rapid colorimetric hybridization assay for detecting amplified Helicobacter pylori DNA in gastric biopsy specimens; Lage AP et al.; A very simple, practical, sensitive, and specific colorimetric hybridization assay for detecting amplified Helicobacter pylori DNA is described . This assay, which combines a sensitive sandwich DNA hybridization reaction and a colorimetric protocol similar to those used in conventional enzyme immunoassays, was shown to be suitable for detecting H . pylori-infected gastric biopsy specimens and for monitoring the eradication of the pathogen after treatment . The specificity and sensitivity of the colorimetric hybridization assay were tested by assaying 27 H . pylori strains (4 reference and 23 clinical isolates), 9 strains of other Helicobacter spp . or Campylobacter spp., and 11 clinical isolates of other urease-positive bacteria . The likelihood of H . pylori detection in gastric biopsy specimens by the colorimetric hybridization assay was evaluated with 23 H . pylori-positive and 41 H . pylori-negative biopsy specimens on the basis of positive and negative results, respectively, of culture, rapid urease test, histological examination, and PCR . Biopsy specimens from 33 treated patients, endoscopied 4 to 8 weeks after the end of treatment, were also tested . All H . pylori strains showed positive results in the colorimetric hybridization assay, presenting optical densities at 450 nm (OD450S) of > or = 3.0 . None of the other Helicobacter spp., Campylobacter spp., or the clinical isolates of other urease-positive bacteria showed OD450S equal to or greater than the cutoff (mean OD450 cutoff, 0.208) . The colorimetric hybridization assay detected all 23 H . pylori-positive biopsy specimens (mean OD450, 2.910 +/- 0.295), while none of the H . pylori-negative biopsy specimens was shown to be positive in the assay (mean OD450, 0.108 +/- 0.025) . H . pylori was considered to be not eradicated from three of the posttreatment biopsy specimens by culture, rapid urease test, histological examination, and PCR . They were all positive by the colorimetric hybridization assay, and their OD450S were > or = 3.0 . The colorimetric hybridization assay also detected two other H . pylori-positive patients . Specimens from these two patients had negative culture, rapid urease test, and histology results, and a specimen from one of them also tested negative by PCR . These results indicate that the colorimetric hybridization assay is a suitable method both for the diagnosis of H . pylori in biopsy specimens and for the follow-up of patients after the end of treatment.

Zentralbl Bakteriol, 1996 Mar, 283(3), 314 - 21
Sequential development of resistance to fluoroquinolones and erythromycin in an isolate of Campylobacter jejuni; Burnens AP et al.; A severe episode of Campylobacter jejuni gastroenteritis in a patient with HIV infection was treated with ciprofloxacin and, because of therapeutic failure, subsequently with roxithromycin . After treatment, C . jejuni was again isolated from feces and shown to be resistant to both drugs . We present molecular evidence of the sequential development of both types of resistance in the patient isolate . To our knowledge, this is the first case with documented evidence showing sequential emergence of resistance to fluoroquinolones and erythromycin in a strain of C . jejuni during treatment.

Zentralbl Bakteriol, 1996 Mar, 283(3), 306 - 13
In vitro demonstration of the invasive ability of Campylobacters; Tay ST et al.; By means of the gentamicin HEp-2 cell invasion assay, it was demonstrated that 82% of the Campylobacters tested were cell-invasive, including 83% of isolates from bloody diarrhoea and 80% of isolates from watery diarrhoea . The large number of invasive strains from watery diarrhoea suggests the possible role of invasiveness in the production of watery diarrhoea . Whether this stage can progress further to more severe symptoms such as bloody diarrhoea remains to be elucidated . Whether this progression to bloody diarrhoea occurs as a result of toxin production is still debatable . In Vero cells, invasion was less efficient and intracellular multiplication was not observed.

Chemotherapy, 1996 Mar, 42 Suppl 1, 43 - 53
Quinolones in gastrointestinal infections; Graninger W et al.; Fluoroquinolones are efficient antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of enteric fever, shigellosis, Escherichia coli diarrhea, cholera, and traveler's diarrhea . They also play a role in the therapy of yersiniosis, campylobacteriosis, and intestinal salmonellosis . A single dose of quinolones has been effective in the treatment of traveler's diarrhea and cholera . Uncomplicated typhoid fever was cured by norfloxacin, pefloxacin, and ofloxacin 400 mg twice daily (b.i.d.) for 7-14 days or ciprofloxacin 500 mg b.i.d . for 10 days . A single daily dose of 400 mg fleroxacin for 3 days has been shown to be effective in this indication . A few reports suggest that the newer quinolones can eliminate the carrier state . The efficacy of quinolones in the prophylaxis and treatment of intra-abdominal infections following abdominal surgery requires further investigation.

Lett Appl Microbiol, 1996 Mar, 22(3), 195 - 8
Biphasic culture of Arcobacter spp; Dickson JS et al.; Arcobacter spp . have recently been genetically differentiated as a genus distinct from Campylobacter . Physiologically, Arcobacter spp . are aerotolerant bacteria, while Campylobacter spp . are microaerophilic . However, since Arcobacter spp . have been difficult to grow to high population densities in broth media, alternative culture techniques were investigated . A biphasic culture system was developed in 25 cm2 tissue culture flasks . Biphasic culture, consisting of a solid phase of 10% bovine blood agar and a liquid phase of Brain Heart Infusion broth, was found to increase bacterial population densities by more than 2 log10 cycles for strains of A . butzleri and A . skirrowii . A strain of A . cryaerophilus, which was non-culturable in broth culture, attained population densities of 10(9) cells ml-1 in biphasic culture . Neither the addition of fetal bovine serum to the liquid nor an increase in the surface area from 25 to 75 cm2 resulted in increased cell densities.

J Physiol Pharmacol, 1996 Mar, 47(1), 121 - 9
Oral cavity as permanent reservoir of Helicobacter pylori and potential source of reinfection; Pytko-Polonczyk J et al.; Recent studies in developed countries showed that neither dental plaques nor dentures are important reservoir for Helicobacter pylori (Hp), whereas studies in developing countries revealed a high prevalence of Hp in dental plaques, though elsewhere the culture of bacterium or its DNA analysis by polymerase chain reaction in the material obtained from oral cavity were not successful . This study was designed to compare the incidence of Hp in oral cavity (saliva, dental plaques and gingival pockets) using Campylobacter-like organism (CLO) test and culture and in the presence of Hp in the stomach using 14C-urea breath test (UBT), CLO-test and culture (antral biopsy specimens) . Hundred dyspeptic subjects with endoscopically normal gastro-duodenal mucosa and 55 symptomatic patients with active duodenal peptic ulcer (DU) were tested for the presence of Hp . Thirty of these DU patients were also examined for presence of Hp in oral cavity and the stomach just before the start and 4 weeks after the termination of one week triple therapy (Omeprazole 20 mg bd, Clarithromycin 500 mg bd and Tinidazole 500 mg bd) when the DU was found endoscopically healed . In the group of 100 dyspeptic subjects, the Hp was detected by CLO-test in saliva, dental plaques and gingival pockets in 84%, 100% and 100% of cases and by the culture in 55%, 88% and 100%, respectively . The presence of Hp, as determined by UBT in the stomach in these subjects was 60% . Using CLO-test and culture, all (100%) out of 55 DU patients, were found to be Hp positive in the oral cavity and in 95% in the stomach . Following one week triple therapy in 30 DU patients, the Hp was still detected in oral cavity by CLO-test in all patients (100%) and by culture in 27 patients (90%), whereas in the stomach, the Hp was found by UTB and culture only in one of these patients (97% Hp eradicated) . We conclude that the Polish population including dyspeptic and DU patients, the mouth is permanent reservoir of Hp and that the successful Hp eradication from the stomach by systemic therapy fails the Hp status in the oral cavity that might be a potential source of gastric reinfection in these patients.

J Vet Med Sci, 1996 Mar, 58(3), 205 - 10
Experimental hepatitis induced by Campylobacter jejuni infection in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica); Misawa N et al.; To establish an experimental model for vibrionic hepatitis caused by Campylobacter jejuni, Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were inoculated with C . jejuni strains isolated from chicken hepatitis (BL107) and human diarrhea (HP5113) . Necrotic liver lesions were formed by intra-pancreaticoduodenal vein injection by which the bacteria reached the liver directly via the portal vein, but not by intra-gastric infection . These liver lesions were observed from day 1 to 7 after the infection . The pathological changes were weak and no clinical signs were observed throughout the experimental period . By immunohistochemistry, the bacterial antigens were detected in the hepatocytes, and intercellular spaces between the hepatocytes, and in the macrophages during the early stage of the infection . When focal hepatocyte necrosis was formed, the antigen was detected more frequently in the intact hepatocytes at the periphery of the lesions than within necrotic foci . The bacteria were not detected from the liver, spleen or blood according to raising the serum agglutination titer . In contrast, the bacteria immediately invaded the bile in 5 min post-infection and were retained in the gallbladder for long periods . The present study showed that necrotizing hepatitis was formed by intra-pancreaticoduodenal vein infection of the quail with C . jejuni.

Mol Microbiol, 1996 Mar, 19(6), 1241 - 53
Generation of Campylobacter fetus S-layer protein diversity utilizes a single promoter on an invertible DNA segment; Dworkin J et al.; Wild-type strains of Campylobacter fetus contain a monomolecular array of surface layer proteins (SLPs) and vary the antigenicity of the predominant SLP expressed . Reciprocal recombination events among the eight genomic SLP gene cassettes, which encode 97- to 149 kDa SLPs, permit this variation . To explore whether SLP expression utilizes a single promoter, we created mutant bacterial strains using insertional mutagenesis by rescue of a marker from plasmids . Experimental analysis of the mutants created clearly indicates that SLP expression solely utilizes the single sapA promoter, and that for variation C . fetus uses a mechanism of DNA rearrangement involving inversion of a 6.2 kb segment of DNA containing this promoter . This DNA inversion positions the sapA promoter immediately upstream of one of two oppositely oriented SLP gene cassettes, leading to its expression . Additionally, a second mechanism of DNA rearrangement occurs to replace at least one of the two SLP gene cassettes bracketing the invertible element . As previously reported promoter inversions in prokaryotes, yeasts and viruses involve alternate expression of at most two structural genes, the ability of C . fetus to use this phenomenon to express one of multiple cassettes is novel.

Res Vet Sci, 1996 Mar, 60(2), 168 - 72
Restriction fragment length polymorphism of polymerase chain reaction products applied to the differentiation of poultry campylobacters for epidemiological investigations; Ayling RD et al.; A technique for subtyping Campylobacter jejuni isolates has been developed by using the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of the flaA and flaB genes . The technique was validated by using strains representing 28 serotypes of C jejuni and it may also be applied to C coli . From these strains 12 distinct RFLP profiles were observed but there was no direct relationship between the RFLP profile and the serotype . One hundred and thirty-five campylobacter isolates from 15 geographically distinct broiler flocks were investigated . All the isolates could be subtyped by using the RFLP method . Isolates from most of the flocks had a single RFLP profile despite data indicating that several serotypes were involved . Although it is possible that further restriction analysis may have demonstrated profile variations in these strains, it is more likely that antigenic variation can occur within genotypically related campylobacters . As a result, serotyping may give conflicting information for veterinary epidemiological purposes . This RFLP typing scheme appears to provide a suitable tool for the investigation of the sources and routes of transmission of campylobacters in chickens.

JAMA, 1996 Feb 21, 275(7), 533 - 8
Epidemiology of diarrhea among expatriate residents living in a highly endemic environment; Hoge CW et al.; OBJECTIVE--To determine the etiology of diarrhea among expatriate residents living in a developing country and identify risk factors for travelers' diarrhea that are difficult to evaluate in tourist populations . DESIGN--Clinic based case-control study . SETTING--Primary care travel medicine clinic in Kathmandu, Nepal . PARTICIPANTS--A total of 69 expatriate residents with diarrhea, compared with 120 tourists with diarrhea, and 112 asymptomatic resident and tourist controls, selected systematically during a 1-year period . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Risk factors for diarrhea assessed by questionnaire and pathogen prevalence assessed by microbiologic analysis of stool specimens . RESULTS--The dominant risk factors for diarrhea among expatriate residents included younger age (P = .003), shorter duration of stay in Nepal (P < .001), and eating out in restaurants (P = .01) . Eating raw vegetables, salads, fresh fruit, or ice served in restaurants was not significantly associated with diarrhea . Longer duration of residence was linearly correlated with protection . Enteric pathogens were identified in 44 (64%) of 69 residents with diarrhea compared with 100 (83%) of 120 tourists with diarrhea, with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, and Shigella predominant for both groups . Pathogens were also found in stools from 32 (37%) of 87 asymptomatic resident controls and 13 (52%) of 25 tourist controls . The attack rate of diarrhea among expatriates was estimated to be 49% (95% confidence interval, 37% to 61%) per month during the first 2 years of residence . The highest-risk months were April through July . CONCLUSIONS--Diarrhea among expatriates in a highly endemic environment is a persistent risk . The extremely high prevalence of enteric pathogens among asymptomatic persons reflects widespread exposure . The most important risk factors for travellers' diarrhea are difficult to modify, including younger age, duration of stay, eating in restaurants, and seasonality . Preventive dietary recommendations may not be fully protective, suggesting that pretravel advice should emphasize empiric treatment in addition to strategies to avoid exposure.

J Clin Microbiol, 1996 Feb, 34(2), 277 - 81
Analysis of HL and O serotypes of Campylobacter strains by the flagellin gene typing system; Nachamkin I et al.; We recently developed a molecular typing system for Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli based on restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the flagellin gene,flaA (I.Nachamkin, K . Bohachick, and C.M . Patton, J . Clin . Microbiol . 31:1531-1536, 1993) . We extended the typing system to 83 flagellin types (designated flaA-1,flaA-2, etc.) on the basis of analysis of 404 isolates of C . jejuni and C . coli including common serotypes isolated in the United States, a selection of less common serotypes, and serotype reference strains . Of the 295 strains previously shown to belong to common HL and O serotypes (C . M . Patton, M.A . Nicholson, S.M . Ostroff, A.A . Ries, I.K . Wachsmuth, and R.V . Tauxe, J . Clin . Microbiol . 31:1525-1530, 1993), six flaA types accounted for 53.6% of strains as follows: flaA-1, 21.7%; flaA-7, 14.9%; flaA-27, 5.1%; flaA-49, 4.4%; flaA-13, 3.7%; and flaA-21, 3.7% . Seventy-five percent of the strains were within 15 flaA types, 90% were within 30 flaA types, and all 295 strains were contained within 52 flaA types . Within each HL or O serotype, there usually were multiple flaA types . For 12 common HL serotypes and 7 common O serotypes, more than 50% of these isolates were a single flaA type . A database was developed by using commercially available restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis software (ProRFLP; DNA ProScan, Inc., Nashville, Tenn.) that should allow other investigators to perform typing with this system.

J Clin Microbiol, 1996 Feb, 34(2), 265 - 9
Comprehensive ribotyping scheme for heat-stable serotypes of Campylobacter jejuni; Fitzgerald C et al.; Strains from diverse sources belonging to all 47 heat-stable Penner serotypes of Campylobacter jejuni were examined for polymorphism around the 16S rRNA genes . Penner serotype reference strains and a group of nonserotypeable isolates were included in the study . Complete typeability was obtained; 30 distinct PstI and 42 HaeIII polymorphisms were found . Three bands were detected in almost all strains with these enzymes, confirming that three copies of the 16S rRNA gene are typical for C.jejuni . By combination of the two enzyme polymorphisms, 77 16S ribotypes were defined among the 261 strains analyzed . With two exceptions, no specific association was observed between these ribotypes and heat-stable serotypes . Nine serotypes were homogeneous with respect to the 16S ribotype . Most nonserotypeable strains belonged to ribotypes defined elsewhere in the study . The 16S ribotypes of C.jejuni described here were not found in strains of Campylobacter coli, and vice versa.

Int J Food Microbiol, 1996 Feb, 29(1), 75 - 80
Isolation of thermotolerant species of Campylobacter from commercial chicken livers; Fernandez H et al.; The qualitative and quantitative contamination levels of Campylobacter spp . in frozen commercial chicken livers were assessed . From the 126 samples studied, 117 (92.9%) were positive for Campylobacter spp . C . coli was isolated more frequently (78.6%) than C . jejuni (21.4%) . The MPN method showed that Campylobacter contamination levels ranged from 10 to > 230 bacteria/100 ml of liquid exuded by livers.

J Periodontal Res, 1996 Feb, 31(2), 90 - 8
Production of inflammatory mediators and cytokines by human gingival fibroblasts following bacterial challenge; Dongari-Bagtzoglou AI et al.; Bacteria can indirectly affect the course of periodontal diseases by activating host cells to produce and release inflammatory mediators and cytokines . These mediators and cytokines manifest potent proinflammatory and catabolic activity and may play key roles in local amplification of the immune response as well as in periodontal tissue breakdown . This study tested the effect of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) and Campylobacter rectus (Cr) challenge on PGE2, IL-1 beta, IL-6 and IL-8 production by human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) . Contact-inhibited HGF were prepared and formalin-killed bacterial cells (Aa JP2, ATCC 29523 & 33384 and Cr ATCC 33238) at 10(6)-10(9) were added to the HGF . Culture supernatants were collected at varying time intervals and analyzed for cytokine and mediator content . All concentrations of Aa JP2 and Cr ATCC 33238 suppressed IL-1 beta production up to approximately 50% during the initial 3-12-h period . No bacterial concentration tested was able to increase IL-1 beta production above the maximum basal levels . Both bacterial species stimulated production of IL-6 and IL-8 . Aa JP2 did not affect PGE2 levels significantly, whereas Cr ATCC 33238 was stimulatory only at the highest concentration tested (10(9)) . There were no significant differences among the three Aa strains with respect to IL-1 beta production . However, Aa ATCC 29523 and ATCC 33384 were less capable of stimulating IL-6 secretion and more efficient in stimulating IL-8 production than Aa JP2 . In general, Cr was the most potent enhancer of cytokine and mediator production by HGF . In conclusion, Aa and Cr are capable of amplifying the local immune response and promoting periodontal tissue inflammation by stimulating HGF to secrete mainly IL-6 and IL-8.

J Periodontal Res, 1996 Feb, 31(2), 120 - 30
Comparison of the pro-inflammatory cytokine-stimulating activity of the surface-associated proteins of periodontopathic bacteria; Reddi K et al.; Saline extraction of the periodontopathic bacterium, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, releases surface-associated material (SAM), a complex mixture of proteins and carbohydrates with potent biological actions on isolated bone and on various mammalian cell populations . In this study, the relative ability of the SAM from 5 organisms, implicated in the pathology of periodontal disease, to stimulate human mesenchymal and myelomonocytic cells to synthesize the proinflammatory cytokines - interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)alpha has been investigated . The bacteria investigated were Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Eikenella corrodens, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia and Campylobacter rectus . Human cells were exposed to a four log order range of concentrations of the SAM, or of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, to provide full agonist dose responses in order to allow comparison of the potency and efficacy of each SAM . All SAMs demonstrated the capacity to stimulate human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs), human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or the myelomonocytic cell line - Mono-Mac-6 to release one or all of the cytokines assayed . Activity was heat- and trypsin-sensitive suggesting that the active components were proteinaceous . However, there were substantial differences in the potency and efficacy of each SAM when compared on a concentration basis (w/v) . The most active SAM was from A . actinomycetemcomitans with those from E . corrodens and P . gingivalis being slightly less active . The least active cytokine-stimulating SAMs were from C . rectus and Pr . intermedia . One major difference between the SAMs and E . coli LPS was the inability of the former to stimulate HGFs to release IL-1 beta or TNF alpha although they could stimulate PBMCs to release these cytokines . This may have relevance to the pathology of the periodontal diseases.

Baillieres Clin Rheumatol, 1996 Feb, 10(1), 105 - 21
Aetiological agents and immune mechanisms in enterogenic reactive arthritis; Sieper J et al.; Reactive arthritis is triggered by an infection, either of the genitourinary or gastrointestinal tracts; the common triggering bacteria in enteric ReA include salmonella, shigella, yersinia, and campylobacter . It is still not clear how such different bacteria can lead to a similar clinical picture and have a similar association with the MHC class I antigen HLA-B27 . Common both to enterogenic and urogenic bacteria is the type of peripheral joint involvement . However, this is not so different from other bacteria-associated arthritides and is probably the consequence of bacteria persistent inside the joint . What is unique to these bacteria is the HLA-B27-association and the nearly exclusively B27-linked clinical manifestations as sacroiliitis and iritis . Shigella-induced ReA has the highest B27-association while in salmonella- and chlamydia-induced ReA a lower association can be found . Mucosal entry of enterogenic bacteria give easy access to macrophages which might be important for the transport into the joint . Although bacteria-specific antibodies are of diagnostic value, the humoral immune response does not explain the immunopathogenesis and MHC-association of this disease . Bacteria-specific T-cells have been constantly found in the synovial fluid from ReA patients and have been further analysed . The identification of immunodominant antigens of these bacteria is of great importance to understand the pathogenesis . Although an antigen shared by all bacteria has not been identified until now progress is being made in this field . We have also to consider the possibility that these bacteria are not only driving the immune response themselves but rather work as a trigger for autoimmunity.

J Vet Med Sci, 1996 Feb, 58(2), 91 - 6
Detection of serum-dependent cytotoxic activity of Campylobacter jejuni and its characteristics; Misawa N et al.; We previously set forth appropriate three assay systems using Chinese hamster ovary cells to detect the Campylobacter jejuni cytotoxin . Although we could not reach a conclusion because the cytotoxins shown in this study were not purified, at least three different cytotoxins were detected in these assay systems . The first cytotoxin in the presence of fetal calf serum (FCS) was heat-labile and the molecular weight (Mw) was estimated at 50-100 k by ultrafiltration . The second cytotoxin detected in the presence of newborn calf serum (NCS) was heat-stable and Mw was estimated at 0.5-3.0 k . The third cytotoxin detected in serum-free culture (SFC) assay was heat-labile and non dialyzable . However, Mw was not estimated since the low Mw and heat-stable cytotoxin was also detected in this assay . The cytotoxic activity detected in FCS and NCS assays, but not that detected in SFC assay, was completely abolished by treatment with a reducing agent . In contrast, the cytotoxicity detected in both FCS and NCS assays was not inactivated by such an enzyme as trypsin, lipase, neuraminidase, and beta-galactosidase . When the filtrate was heated at 100 degrees C to inactivate the heat-labile cytotoxin, the cytotoxic activity was detected in the NCS assay but not in FCS assay . However, when NCS was added to this heated filtrate, the cytotoxicity was restored in FCS assay . Furthermore, when normal rabbit serum (NRS) was added, no cytotoxicity was restored . The cytotoxic activity in SFC assay was completely inactivated with FCS or NRS . These findings suggest that the cytotoxic activity is dependent on serum added to tissue culture medium and that the substance amplifying and/or inhibiting the cytotoxic activity may be present in serum.

J Periodontol, 1996 Feb, 67(2), 109 - 15
Periodontal status and detection frequency of bacteria at sites of periodontal health and gingivitis; Riviere GR et al.; It is generally recognized that bacteria in dental plaque at sites of periodontal diseases are not commonly found at sites of periodontal health . One hypothesis to explain the etiology of periodontitis is that pathogenic bacteria from diseased sites infect healthy sites . It has been suggested that gingival inflammation may predispose sites to colonization by bacteria associated with periodontal diseases . The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine whether the detection frequency of selected bacteria at sites of periodontal health or gingivitis differed between subjects who were in good periodontal health, subjects who had gingivitis, or subjects with periodontitis . The clinical status of every tooth (except third molars) from 106 subjects was characterized by means of clinical attachment level, probing depth and by signs of inflammation . Subgingival plaque was collected from mesio-facial and disto-lingual surfaces . Specific monoclonal antibodies were used in an immunocytochemical assay to identify Campylobacter rectus, Eikenella corrodens, Porphyromonas gingivalis, pathogen-related oral spirochetes (PROS, using Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum monoclonal antibodies), T . denticola (serotypes A-D), T . socranskii subspecies buccale and T . socranskii subspecies socranskii . Differences in detection of bacteria between groups of subjects were measured using odds ratios (OR) . Results of this study indicate that PROS was the only identified bacterium at sites of both health and gingivitis that demonstrated a significant positive relationship with the presence of periodontitis . These findings do not prove that bacteria spread from periodontitis sites, nor do they imply that disease necessarily results from infection . However, these data do suggest that some bacteria associated with periodontitis are more likely than others to tolerate conditions at healthy sites and that the presence of periodontitis increases risk of infection at healthy sites.

Am J Vet Res, 1996 Feb, 57(2), 163 - 7
Antigenic and restriction enzyme analysis of Campylobacter spp associated with abortion in sheep; Delong WJ et al.; OBJECTIVE--To determine the scope of strain variations among Campylobacter spp associated with abortion in sheep . DESIGN--To examine Campylobacter spp isolated from cases of abortion for biochemical, antigenic, and genetic differences . SAMPLE POPULATION--15 isolates of Campylobacter spp isolated from cases of abortion during a single lambing season . PROCEDURE--Isolates were examined, using biochemical tests, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of outer membrane proteins (OMP), and DNA restriction enzyme analysis (REA) . RESULTS--Eight strain variants were detected among the 15 isolates . 14 of the isolates were C jejuni, 13 of which were biotype I and 1 biotype II, and the remaining isolate was identified as C fetus subsp fetus . Five sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis OMP patterns had distinctive profiles for C fetus subsp fetus and C jejuni biogroup-II isolates and 3 variants within the C jejuni biogroup-I isolates . Examination of REA patterns of DNA from the 15 isolates digested with Cfo I indicated clear differences correlating with species and biogroups and 4 REA variants among biotype-I isolates . CONCLUSIONS--Marked antigenic and genetic heterogeneity of Campylobacter isolates were associated with ovine abortion within a defined geographic area . CLINICAL RELEVANCE--Representatives of differing OMP and REA profile groups should be considered for incorporation in vaccines to optimize protection in this region and possibly other geographic areas.

Neurology, 1996 Feb, 46(2), 562 - 3
Multifocal motor neuropathy with conduction block and Campylobacter jejuni; White JR et al.; We describe a patient with acute multifocal motor neuropathy with conduction block (MMNCB) and high titers of immunoglobulin G anti-GM1 antibodies after Campylobacter jejuni enteritis . Treatment with intravenous immune globulin led to rapid improvement with return of normal function by 6 weeks . This is the first report of C . jejuni enteritis preceding MMNCB.

Rev Prat, 1996 Jan 15, 46(2), 158 - 65
{Food poisoning-infections in metropolitan France}; Tremolieres F; Food-borne diseases result from ingestion of contaminated foods, especially with pathogenic bacteria . It is considered as an outbreak as soon as 2 cases are diagnosed following a common food exposure; in France, declaration to health authorities is mandatory . Salmonella is the most frequently identified aetiologic agent . The incidence of Campylobacter induced food-borne infection is understated . Infections due to Staphylococcus or Clostridium perfringens represent almost 30% of all outbreaks . Listeriosis has to be included in food-borne disease because of its severity, and since it determines outbreaks for which mandatory epidemiological survey is especially important.

J Biol Chem, 1996 Jan 5, 271(1), 446 - 57
Cloning and membrane topology of a P type ATPase from Helicobacter pylori; Melchers K et al.; Southern blot screening of a genomic Helicobacter pylori library was employed to find a P type ATPase using a mixture of 16 DNA oligonucleotides coding for the DKTGT(I/L)T consensus sequence specific for the phosphorylation site of this family of ATPases . A positive clone, pRH439, was isolated and sequenced . The inserted 3.4-kb H . pylori DNA contained an intact open reading frame encoding a protein of 686 amino acids carrying the consensus sites for phosphorylation and ATP binding . The amino acid sequence exhibits a 25-30% identity with bacterial Cd2+ and Cu2+ ATPases . Genomic Southern blot analysis showed that this ATPase was present in all H . pylori strains examined, whereas it was not detectable in Campylobacter jejuni and other bacteria . The membrane topology of this ATPase was investigated using in vitro transcription/translation of fusion vectors to find signal anchor and/or stop transfer sequences . Eight regions of the H . pylori ATPase acted as signal anchor and/or stop transfer sequences and were ordered pairwise along the polypeptide chain placing the N and C-terminal amino acids in the cytoplasm . These transmembrane segments are contained between positions 73 and 92 (H1), 98 and 125 (H2), 128 and 148 (H3), 149 and 176 (H4), 309 and 327 (H5), 337 and 371 (H6), 637 and 658 (H7), and 659 and 685 (H8) . The membrane domain of the ATPase, therefore, consists of at least four pairs of transmembrane segments with the phosphorylation site and ATP binding domain located in the large cytoplasmic loop between H6 and H7 . The cytoplasmic domain contains several histidines and cysteines, perhaps indicative of divalent cation binding sites . There are several charged amino acids (3 Lys, 2 Glu, 2 Asp), predicted to be in the membrane domain mainly in H2, H3, and H4 and a Cys-Pro-Cys putative metal ion site in H6 . The extracytoplasmic domain also has several charged amino acids (5 Glu, 1 Asp, 1 Lys, 1 Arg) . It is likely that this novel protein is a heavy metal cation transporting ATPase and belongs to a family of P type ATPases containing eight transmembrane segments.

Zhonghua Nei Ke Za Zhi, 1996 Jan, 35(1), 9 - 11
{Serodiagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infections by detection of immunoglobulin G antibodies with an immunoblot technique}; Pan Z et al.; Serological testing has recently been proposed as an aid in diagnosis of H . pylori infections . In this study, an immunoblot method has been evaluated to diagnose H . pylori infection serologically by comparing 104 serum specimens from patients with a positive Gram stain and/or culture result and a positive urease test on biopsy material, as well as 30 serum specimens from patients with negative urease test, and negative microscopy and culture results . Thirteen bands could be identified by immunoblotting and were found significantly more frequent in patients with H . pylori infections than in patients without such infections . A semiquantitative grading system was introduced with score 1 for each reactive band and score 1/2 for a weakly reactive band . If score 2 was the cut-off value for IgG antibody, then the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the immunoblot test were 100.0%, 90.0%, 97.2% and 100.0% respectively . There was no marked cross reaction with both Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli.

Medicina (B Aires), 1996, 56(5 Pt 1), 487 - 92
{Participation of Campylobacter jejuni flagellar epitopes in cellular adhesion}; Andrews E et al.; Using a flagellated (052) and an aflagellated (T-1) strains we studied the participation of flagellar epitopes of C . jejuni in the adhesion to HEp-2 cells in vitro . Strain 052 was significantly more adherent than strain T-1 . When adhesion assays were carried out with antiflagella monoclonal antibodies, strain 052 showed inhibition of their adhesive capacity that varied between 64.3 and 92.9% . With an ELISA test it was demonstrated that those monoclonal antibodies were specific and directed exclusively against flagellar epitopes of strain 052 being unreactive with strain T-1 . Our results show that flagellar epitopes could participate in the adhesion process suggesting that flagella could be involved in the installation of the infectious process.

Acta Microbiol Pol, 1996, 45(3-4), 305 - 8
Detection of the coccoid form of Campylobacter jejuni with the use of polymerase chain reaction; Korsak D et al.; The incubation of Campylobacter jejuni in aerobic conditions results in transformation of spiral cells into coccoid form . It is shown in presented paper that the assay of coccoid of C . jejuni with PCR is limited . Its detectability decreases with the increase of time and temperature of cell storage.

Acta Microbiol Pol, 1996, 45(3-4), 299 - 304
Complete nucleotide sequence of the Campylobacter jejuni 72Dz asd gene; Pawelec D et al.; Campylobacter jejuni asd gene was sequenced . The GC content of the gene coding region is 32.7% . The codon usage is typical for a gene in a genome with low GC content . The structure of the gene regulatory sequences resembles that one used for Escherichia coli gene transcription and translation . The amino acid sequence of the Asd protein exhibits significant homology to asd gene products from other microorganisms.

Acta Microbiol Pol, 1996, 45(3-4), 249 - 59
Antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter jejuni with reference to plasmid profiles of clinical and chicken isolates; Lekowska-Kochaniak A et al.; A total of 47 clinical isolates and 52 poultry isolates of Campylobacter jejuni were characterized by their resistance to 16 antimicrobial agents and by plasmid profiles on agarose gel electrophoresis . Almost all isolates were susceptible to erythromycin, chloramphenicol, gentamycin and nitrofuratoin . Plasmids were detected in 19% of C . jejuni strains isolated from feces of children patients and in 36% of strains isolated from chicken . The presence of plasmid DNA was not found to be correlated with any definite resistance, despite of the number of resistant strains was also higher among poultry isolates . Plasmids, as well, does not seem to be essential for colonization of alimentary tract of pathogenic activity.

Microbiol Immunol, 1996, 40(10), 749 - 54
Electron microscopy of the major outer membrane protein of Campylobacter jejuni; Amako K et al.; The surfaces of the disrupted-cell surfaces of the Campylobacter jejuni strains FUM158432 and M1 were examined using the negative-staining technique and electron microscopy . The surfaces of the whole cells and the outer membranes were covered with small dark dots which, in some areas, were arranged in hexagonal patterns . The hexagonal arrangement was more clearly seen in extracted outer membrane . The size of each structure was measured based on a center-to-center distance with the adjacent structure, and was determined to be 9.9 +/- 0.9 nm . A profile of the proteins in the outer membrane by SDS-PAGE, performed in 0.1% SDS and at 100 C, showed 42 kDa proteins to comprise the major outer membrane protein of this bacterium . Digestion of the outer membrane materials with proteinase reduced this protein band in the SDS-PAGE, and the amount of dark dots on the electron micrograph indicated the structure to be the major outer membrane protein (porin) of this bacterium . The power spectrogram of a computer-assisted Fourier transformation of the hexagonally arranged porin proteins suggests that the porin has a trimeric structure rather than a monomeric one.

Rev Clin Esp, 1996 Jan, 196(1), 16 - 20
{Campylobacter jejuni infections in a prison population coinfected with the human immunodeficiency virus}; Fernandez-Martin JI et al.; BACKGROUND: Campylobacter jejuni is a common etiological agent of diarrhea in the general population . In recent years it has also been involved as etiological agent of intestinal and extraintestinal infections in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) . The clinical and microbiological features in a series of HIV+ patients infected with C . jejuni in a correctional facility are here reported . METHODS: Retrospective analysis of clinical records of patients who had C . jejuni recovered from clinical samples diagnosed at the Hospital General Penitenciario (HGP), Madrid, for 2 years (10-1-1991 to 9-30-1993) . C . jejuni strains were identified at the Clinical Microbiology Department at the HGP following standard methods . Antibiotic sensitivity testing was performed by the agar dilution and microdilution methods . RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients were diagnosed as being infected with C . jejuni . The mean age was 32.4 years (95% CI: 30.1-34.7) . Twenty-seven patients (96%) were males . Twenty-five patients (90%) were intravenous drug users (IVDU) . Sixty-one percent of cases clustered in the september and october months . The main clinical symptoms were diarrhea with no pathological products and fever . Mean lymphocyte CD4+ count was 103/mm3 (95% CI: 45-162) . Blood cultures were obtained from 13 patients, and bacteremia was detected in three of them (23%), with no associated mortality . Forty-eight percent of C . jejuni strains were resistant to fluorquinolones, and all of them were susceptible to erythromycin . The latter antibiotic was used as therapy in 82% of patients and clinical and microbiological cure was achieved in all 17 patients who were evaluated at follow-up . CONCLUSIONS: Campylobacter jejuni is an important enteropathogen in correctional facility population infected with HIV, which in this study involved severely immunosuppressed patients . The main clinical presentation was acute enterocolitis and bacteremia (detected in 23%), a higher percentage than that reported in the literature . An increased quinolone-resistance rate was detected (48%) . Erythromycin, and possibly the new macrolides, are currently the antibiotics of choice.

Crit Rev Microbiol, 1996, 22(3), 139 - 80
The lipooligosaccharides of pathogenic gram-negative bacteria; Preston A et al.; Lipooligosaccharides (LOSs) are the major glycolipids expressed on mucosal Gram-negative bacteria, including members of the genera Neisseria, Haemophilus, Bordetella, and Branhamella . They can also be expressed on some enteric bacteria such as Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains . LOS is analogous to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) found in other Gram-negative families . LOSs share similar lipid A structures with an identical array of functional activities as LPSs . LOSs lack O-antigen units with the LOS oligosaccharide structures limited to 10 saccharide units . The LOS species of pathogenic Neisseria can play a major role in pathogenesis through enhancing the resistance of the organism to killing by normal human serum . Other distinguishing characteristics of LOS are the structural and antigenic similarity of some LOS species to human glycolipids and the potential for certain LOSs to be modified in vivo by host substances or secretions . These modifications of LOS in different environments of the host result in synthesis of new LOS structures that probably benefit the survival of the pathogen . The LOS of N . gonorrhoeae can act as a ligand of human receptors, promoting invasion of host cells . It is becoming clearer that LOSs are crucial factors in the pathogenesis of bacteria that express them.

Scand J Infect Dis, 1996, 28(3), 269 - 70
Epidemiologic application of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to an outbreak of Campylobacter fetus meningitis in a neonatal intensive care unit; Morooka T et al.; An outbreak of nosocomial Campylobacter fetus meningitis occurred in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) . Eight C . fetus strains were isolated from 4 infants with meningitis, the mother of the index patient and 2 infants who were asymptomatic intestinal carriers . The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern with the restriction endonucleases Smal and Sall were found to be identical for the nosocomial C . fetus isolates, but the patterns were different from those of sporadic strains . These nosocomial strains were strongly suspected to be a single strain . The finding revealed that the index patient was infected by the mother, and that the outbreak developed from this patient by cross-infection . This is the first confirmed nosocomial C . fetus meningitis outbreak spread by cross-infection in a NICU.

J Neurocytol, 1996 Jan, 25(1), 33 - 51
Early nodal changes in the acute motor axonal neuropathy pattern of the Guillain-Barré syndrome; Griffin JW et al.; The axonal patterns of Guillain-Barre syndrome, associated in many cases with antecedent Campylobacter jejuni infection, are now recognized as frequent causes of acute flaccid paralysis in some regions of the world . This study examined ultrastructurally the PNS of seven cases of the acute motor axonal neuropathy form of Guillain-Barre syndrome . In this disorder previous studies of advanced cases have found Wallerian-like degeneration of motor fibres in the spinal roots and peripheral nerves, with little lymphocytic inflammation or demyelination . The present study was focused on identifying early changes and establishing the sequence of changes . By electron microscopy the earliest and mildest changes consisted of lengthening of the node of Ranvier with distortion of the paranodal myelin, and in some instances with breakdown of the outermost myelin terminal loops . At this stage many nodes had overlying macrophages which extended their processes through the Schwann cell basal lamina covering the node and apposed the axolemma . Macrophage processes then extended beneath the myelin terminal loops, and the whole macrophage entered the periaxonal space at the paranode . Macrophage processes dissected the axon from the adaxonal Schwann cell plasmalemma and the macrophages advanced into the internodal periaxonal space, where they typically surrounded a condensed-appearing axon . At this stage the adaxonal Schwann cell cytoplasm regularly degenerated and disappeared, so that the periaxonal space was bounded by the innermost myelin lamella, and the axolemma of many fibres could not be seen . The internodal myelin sheath and the abaxonal Schwann cell cytoplasm remained normal . This arrangement appeared to be stable for some time, but in many fibres the axon subsequently underwent Wallerian-like degeneration . By interfering with impulse conduction, these nodal and periaxonal changes may explain paralysis in some pathologically mild cases . In addition, at early stages, these changes may be reversible, thus explaining the rapid recovery of some patients who become paralysed with acute motor axonal neuropathy . These observations, taken together with previous studies, suggest that acute motor axonal neuropathy is an antibody- and complement-mediated disorder in which the relevant epitopes are present on the nodal and internodal axolemma.

J Infect, 1996 Jan, 32(1), 23 - 6
False-positive legionella titres in routine clinical serology testing detected by absorption with campylobacter: implications for the serological diagnosis of legionnaires' disease; Boswell TC et al.; A simple absorption step using blocking fluid prepared from a selected campylobacter strain was introduced in parallel with routine legionella serology tests . Over 12 months, 2716 patients were tested for legionella antibodies by the Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test of whom 58 (2.1%) had a positive titre (> or = 16) in one or more sera . Campylobacter blocking fluid significantly reduced the legionella titres in 17 of these patients (29%) including four patients with diagnostic serology results (two of whom had pneumonia) and 13 patients with non-diagnostic titres . Absorption with campylobacter however had no effect on the legionella titres in 10 patients with positive serology, in whom legionnaires' disease had been confirmed by culture of Legionella pneumophila from sputum or detection of legionella urinary antigen by ELISA . These results indicate that the serological cross-reaction between legionella and campylobacter is encountered in routine legionella serology tests . The important implications for the diagnosis of legionnaires' disease are discussed.

Indian J Gastroenterol, 1996 Jan, 15(1), 12 - 3
A study of nosocomial diarrhea in Calcutta; Das AS et al.; BACKGROUND: Nosocomial infection is a major problem in hospitalized patients, particularly those who are debilitated . These infections may manifest as diarrhea . The spectrum of infections agents causing nosocomial diarrhea in our country is not known . METHODS: Thirty-two patients, admitted to the hospital with various complaints, who developed diarrhea during their hospital stay, were studied to identify the causative agents of diarrhea . Hospital food samples were also processed for pathogens . RESULTS: The bacteria isolated from patients included established enteropathogens like Salmonella, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter species and organisms with low pathogenicity like Serratia marsescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Morganella morganii . The bacterial pathogens isolated were resistant to most antibiotics, suggesting their nosocomial character . Hospital food samples contained Salmonella typhimurium, Campylobacter jejuni (biotype 1) and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, suggesting that food might have been the vehicle for these infections . CONCLUSION: Nosocomial infection was found to be an important cause of diarrhea (34%), EPEC and Salmonell being the predominant pathogens . Water, egg and milk were the source of infection in these cases . Special measures to obtain uneffected items will prevent occurrence of nosocomial diarrhea in our hospitals.

Clin Rheumatol, 1996 Jan, 15 Suppl 1, 48 - 51
IgA antibodies against Klebsiella and other Gram-negative bacteria in ankylosing spondylitis and acute anterior uveitis; Sprenkels SH et al.; Mucosal infections, especially of the gastrointestinal tract, are thought to trigger the onset and/or reactivation of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) . Previous investigations into the role of Klebsiella and other Gram-negative bacteria in AS patients show contrasting results . In the present study prevalence of IgA antibodies against Klebsiella, Yersinia, Salmonella, Shigella, and Campylobacter was examined in serum samples from 30 patients having HLA-B27 associated ankylosing spondylitis, 32 patients with HLA-B27 associated acute anterior uveitis (AAU), and 27 HLA-B27 positive patients having both AS and AAU . Numbers of antibodies were compared with those in sera from 29 HLA-B27 negative patients with AAU, 26 healthy HLA-B27 positive and 31 HLA-B27 negative controls . IgA antibodies were detected using an indirect immunofluorescence assay on whole bacteria . In case of Yersinia, Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter, reference strains were used . Examination for anti-Klebsiella antibodies was performed using three different strains, isolated from patients with ankylosing spondylitis . The sera were tested on antibodies against Klebsiella K43 (BTS1) as well . The number of IgA positive sera against Yersinia, Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter and Klebsiella K43 (BTS1) did not differ between HLA-B27 positive patients and controls, nor among the various groups . Differences were neither observed when the Klebsiella strains from AS patients had been used as antigen . These results do not confirm a relationship between HLA-B27 associated AS or AAU and infection with Klebsiella or other Gram-negative bacteria.

Mol Microbiol, 1996 Jan, 19(2), 379 - 87
Characterization of a post-translational modification of Campylobacter flagellin: identification of a sero-specific glycosyl moiety; Doig P et al.; The flagellins of Campylobacter spp . differ antigenically . In variants of C . coli strain VC167, two antigenic flagellin types determined by sero-specific antibodies have been described (termed T1 and T2) . Post-translational modification has been suggested to be responsible for T1 and T2 epitopes, and, using mild periodate treatment and biotin hydrazide labelling, flagellin from both VC167-T1 and T2 were shown to be glycosylated . Glycosylation was also shown to be present on other Campylobacter flagellins . The ability to label all Campylobacter flagellins examined with the lectin LFA demonstrated the presence of a terminal sialic acid moiety . Furthermore, mild periodate treatment of the flagellins of VC167 eliminated reactivity with T1 and T2 specific antibodies LAH1 and LAH2, respectively, and LFA could also compete with LAH1 and LAH2 antibodies for binding to their respective flagellins . These data implicate terminal sialic acid as part of the LAH strain-specific epitopes . However, using mutants in genes affecting LAH serorecognition of flagellin it was demonstrated that sialic acid alone is not the LAH epitope . Rather, the epitope(s) is complex, probably involving multiple glycosyl and/or amino acid residues.

Mol Microbiol, 1996 Jan, 19(2), 369 - 78
Identification and characterization of genes required for post-translational modification of Campylobacter coli VC167 flagellin; Guerry P et al.; Two genes have been identified in Campylobacter coli VC167 which are required for the biosynthesis of post-translational modifications on flagellin proteins . The ptmA gene encodes a protein of predicted M(r) 28,486 which shows significant homology to a family of alcohol dehydrogenases from a variety of bacteria . The ptmB gene encodes a protein of predicted M(r) 26,598 with significant homology to CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase enzymes involved in sialic acid capsular biosynthesis in Neisseria meninigitidis and Escherichia coli K1 . Site-specific mutation of either ptmA or ptmB caused loss of reactivity with antisera specific to the post-translational modifications and a change in the isoelectric focusing fingerprints relative to the parent strains . Mutation of ptmB, but not of ptmA, caused a change in apparent M(r) of the flagellin subunit in SDS-PAGE gels . The ptmA and ptmB genes are present in other strains of Campylobacter . In a rabbit model the ptmA mutant showed a reduced ability to elicit protection against subsequent challenge with heterologous strains of the same Lior serotype compared to the parental wild-type strain . This suggests that the surface-exposed post-translational modifications may play a significant role in the protective immune response.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1996 Jan-Feb, (1), 20 - 2
{The cytopathogenic activity of Campylobacter isolated from different sources}; Kirik DL et al.; The data on the cytopathogenic activity of campylobacteria isolated from different sources are presented . 84.7 % of the isolated campylobacteria have been shown to possess cytopathogenicity with respect to Hep-2 cell cultures . The greatest number of highly cytopathogenic strains (52.6 %) has been registered among clinical isolates of campylobacteria . At the same time 44.1 % of highly cytopathogenic strains have been isolated from chickens, which is indicative of the potential danger of poultry as the source of Campylobacter infection . In the course of the epidemiological surveillance of campylobacteriosis the determination of cytopathogenically active Campylobacter strains is necessary.

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo, 1996 Jan-Feb, 38(1), 5 - 7
Species and serovars of enteropathogenic agents associated with acute diarrheal disease in Rosario, Argentina; Notario R et al.; We report the most frequent species and serovars of enteropathogenic organisms in Rosario from 1985 to 1993 . Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli was the most prevalent agent affecting 144/570 (25.2%) children; 0111 represented 41.8%, 055: 13.6%, 0119: 12.7% . Among enterotoxigenic E . coli (ETEC) the most frequent were ETEC-ST 0128:H21 and 0153:H45 . Shigella spp were isolated in 8.8%; S . flexneri: 7%, principally type 2 (59.5%); S . sonnei: 1.6%, and S . dysenteriae type 2: 0.2% . Campylobacter spp were found in 6.1% of patients; C . jejuni: 4.6%; C . coli: 1.4% and C . lari: 0.2%; except groups 0 13.50 and 0 4 (2 cases each), no predominant serogroups were found . Salmonella was isolated in 2.8% of cases, being the predominant serovar S . typhimurium until 1986, but a dramatically increase of cases due to S . enteritidis was observed since 1987 . There was 1.9% of Aeromonas spp and 2 cases due to Vibrio cholerae non 0-1 . No Yersinia was found . In patients with gastroenteritis due to Shigella, Campylobacter, Salmonella, or EPEC as the unique pathogen, leukocytes were observed in the faeces in 70%, 50%, 20%, and 10% of cases respectively.

J Clin Microbiol, 1996 Jan, 34(1), 62 - 7
Rapid identification of Campylobacter species by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of a PCR-amplified fragment of the gene coding for 16S rRNA; Cardarelli-Leite P et al.; Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of a PCR-amplified DNA fragment of the gene coding for 16S rRNA was performed on 148 previously characterized strains of Campylobacter, Helicobacter, Arcobacter, and Wolinella succinogenes and 13 Campylobacter-like isolates . These strains included clinical, animal, and environmental isolates . PCR amplification generated a 283-bp fragment from all species . The amplicon from each strain was digested with six restriction endonucleases (AccI, AvaI, DdeI, HaeIII, HpaII, XhoI) . DdeI was useful for the initial grouping of the strains . Additional discrimination within the different DdeI groups was obtained with AccI, HaeIII, HpaII, and XhoI digestions . The PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis allowed for the discrimination of members of the genus Campylobacter from members of closely related genera and discrimination between Campylobacter species . The proposed method is simple and rapid and can be useful for the routine identification of Campylobacter-like organisms in clinical or epidemiologic studies.

J Clin Lab Anal, 1996, 10(3), 129 - 33
Detection of ciprofloxacin resistance mutations in Campylobacter jejuni gyrA by nonradioisotopic single-strand conformation polymorphism and direct DNA sequencing; Charvalos E et al.; A total of 27 strains of Campylobacter jejuni (24 clinical strains and three laboratory strains) were examined for the presence of point mutations in the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR) of gyrA gene by nonradioisotopic single-strand conformation polymorphism (non-RI SSCP) analysis with silver stain . Direct DNA sequencing of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified DNA fragments confirmed the results obtained by non-RI SSCP analysis and revealed that in clinical strains high-level quinolone resistance {minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) to ciprofloxacin > or = 16 micrograms/ml} was closely associated with one type of single-point mutation at codon 86 (Thr-Ile) . Two strains with MICs of 8 and 1 microgram/ml showed point mutations at codons 86 and 70, respectively . Furthermore, transitions at codon 119 of the gyrA QRDR were identified in 17 strains . Six types of bands were separated in a single electrophoretic step with silver stain within 2 hours after PCR amplification of the gyrA QRDR as follows: type I associated to mutation at codon 70 (Ala-Thr), type II to mutation at codon 90 (Asp-Asn), type III to variant with transition at 119, type IV to wild-type, type V to mutation at codon 86 (Thr-Ile), and type VI to mutation at codon 86 (Thr-Ile) and transition at codon 119 . Using four DNA extracts from Cambylobacter coli organisms as templates for amplification of the gyrA QRDR, no PCR products were obtained . Non-RI SSCP was proved to be a simple, rapid, and useful screening method for detecting gyrA mutations associated with ciprofloxacin resistance in C . jejuni.

Int J Syst Bacteriol, 1996 Jan, 46(1), 160 - 6
Culture and characteristics of Helicobacter bizzozeronii, a new canine gastric Helicobacter sp; Hanninen ML et al.; Organisms whose cells were large, tight spirals were isolated from gastric biopsies of dogs . Touch cytology samples from all of the dogs contained large spiral organisms . Characteristics of 10 strains are described . These organisms were 5 to 10 microns long by 0.3 microns wide, and each cell had 10 to 20 sheathed flagella at both ends of the cell . The cells did not have periplasmic fibrils . These organisms were microaerophilic and grew at 37 and 42 degrees C but not at 25 degrees C on brain heart infusion agar containing blood . They did not grow on brucella blood agar . They were catalase and oxidase positive, hydrolyzed urea but not hippurate, reduced nitrate, and were resistant to nalidixic acid but susceptible to cephalothin and metronidazole . In contrast to Helicobacter felis, they hydrolyzed indoxyl acetate . The sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis protein profiles of all of the strains were similar, and the protein patterns of these organisms differed from those of other Helicobacter spp . Dot blot DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed that the new strains were closely related to each other but clearly different from H . felis, Helicobacter pylori, Helicobacter mustelae, and Campylobacter jejuni . The name Helicobacter bizzozeronii sp . nov . is proposed for these organisms . Our results suggest that other "uncultured" gastric helicobacters may be cultured if optimal culture conditions are found.

Ann Neurol, 1996 Jan, 39(1), 17 - 28
Pathology of the motor-sensory axonal Guillain-Barré syndrome; Griffin JW et al.; The concept of a severe motor-sensory neuropathy of acute onset caused by an immune attack on the axon ("axonal" Guillain-Barre syndrome) has been advanced primarily based on electrodiagnostic and limited pathological data, but remains controversial . At autopsy some cases demonstrate unusually severe inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy . There are conflicting data about whether antecedent Campylobacter jejuni infection is associated with "axonal" Guillain-Barre syndrome . We report 4 individuals from Hebei Province, China, who died 7, 7, 18, and 60 days after onset of a syndrome diagnosed clinically as Guillain-Barre syndrome . High titers of antibodies recognizing C . jejuni, consistent with recent infection, were found in the 2 patients tested . At autopsy the 3 with early disease had ongoing wallerian-like degeneration of fibers in the ventral and dorsal roots and in the peripheral nerves, with only minimal demyelination or lymphocytic infiltration . All 3 had numerous macrophages in the periaxonal space of myelinated internodes, and rare intraaxonal macrophages as well . Examination of the patient having the syndrome for 60 days confirmed the extensive loss of large fibers in the spinal roots and nerves, and the paucity of demyelination and remyelination . These observations confirm predictions that some patients with severe motor-sensory Guillain-Barre syndrome, as defined clinically, have predominantly axonal lesions of both motor and sensory fibers, even in the early stages of the disease, and that axonal Guillain-Barre syndrome can follow C . jejuni infection . The pathology supports the possibility that such cases of motor-sensory axonal Guillain-Barre syndrome represent the most severe end of a spectrum of immune attack directed toward epitopes on the axon.

Gut, 1996 Jan, 38(1), 19 - 22
Helicobacter pylori increases proliferation of gastric epithelial cells; Fan XG et al.; The direct and indirect effects of helicobacter pylori on cell kinetics of gastric epithelial cell line AGS were investigated by flow cytometric analysis of Ki-67 positive cells and by MTT assay . Flow cytometric analysis of Ki-67 positivity permits detection of cells that are in S-phase, whereas the MTT assay is a colometric measure of the number of viable cells . In the absence of added stimulants, 23.06 (4.88)% mean (SD) of AGS cells were Ki-67 positive . When cells were preincubated in the presence of H pylori, there was a significant increase in Ki-67 positivity (66.20 (7.89)%, p < 0.001) . This increase was not seen in cells cultured in the presence of Campylobacter jejuni (24.63 (8.11)% or Escherichia coli (21.66 (9.78)%) . Pre-incubation of AGS cells with supernatants from both H pylori and mitogen activated peripheral blood lymphocytes also increased the per cent of cells that were Ki-67 positive (72.93 (8.68) and 69.96 (12.35)%; p, 0.001) respectively . Similar results were also found in MTT assay . These data show that both H pylori directly and the immune/inflammatory response to H pylori indirectly can influence the rate of epithelial cell proliferation, suggesting this bacterium may be an initiating step in gastric carcinogenesis and an important co-carcinogenic factor in H pylori positive subjects.

Carbohydr Res, 1995 Dec 27, 279, 245 - 64
Lipo-oligosaccharide of the Campylobacter lari type strain ATCC 35221 . Structure of the liberated oligosaccharide and an associated extracellular polysaccharide; Aspinall GO et al.; Lipo-oligosaccharide (LOS) from phenol-water extraction of cells of the Campylobacter lari type strain (ATCC 35221) was separated as a water-insoluble gel of low relative molecular mass (M(r)) from a water-soluble extracellular polysaccharide of high M(r) . Structural investigations were performed on the liberated oligosaccharide and the extracellular polysaccharide, variously using 1H, 13C, and 31P NMR spectroscopy, linkage analysis, and fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry of permethylated derivatives of the glycans and their products of chemical and enzymic degradation . The following structures are proposed for the highly branched region of the LOS: {formula: see text} and for the tetraglycosyl phosphate repeating unit of the extracellular polysaccharide: {-(PO3-)-->3)-beta-D-GlcpNAc-(1-->2)-6-d-alpha-L-gul-Hepp -(1-->2)-3-d-beta-D-threo-Penp-(1-->3)-6-d-alpha-L-gul-He pp-}n

Carbohydr Res, 1995 Dec 27, 279, 227 - 44
Lipo-oligosaccharide of Campylobacter lari strain PC 637 . Structure of the liberated oligosaccharide and an associated extracellular polysaccharide; Aspinall GO et al.; Lipo-oligosaccharide from phenol-water extraction of cells of Campylobacter lari strain PC 637 was separated as a water-insoluble gel of low relative molecular mass (M(r)) from a water-soluble extracellular polysaccharide of high M(r) . Structural investigations were performed on the lipo-oligosaccharide and the extracellular polysaccharide, variously using 1H, 13C, and 31P NMR spectroscopy, linkage analysis, and fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry of permethylated derivatives of the glycans and their products of chemical and enzymic degradation . The following structures are proposed for the highly branched oligosaccharide region: {formula: see text} and for the tetraglycosyl phosphate repeating unit of the extracellular polysaccharide: {formula; see text}

J Rheumatol, 1995 Dec, 22(12), 2304 - 6
Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in reactive arthritis; Locht H et al.; OBJECTIVE: To study the occurrence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in reactive arthritis (ReA) . METHODS: Sera from 22 patients with ReA were analyzed by ELISA for the presence of autoantibodies (IgG and IgA) against a proteinase-3 containing azurophilic granule extract ("alpha-antigen") from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes, myeloperoxidase (MPO), and lactoferrin (Lf), respectively . Rheumatoid factor (RF), antinuclear antibodies (ANA), and HLA-B27 were also tested . Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum levels of C-reactive protein were used to assess disease activity . The patients were divided into acute or chronic (> 1 year) disease . RESULTS: 12/22 patients (55%) had IgG ANCA (7 had MPO ANCA, 8 had Lf ANCA, and 4 had alpha-ANCA) . Eight patients (36%) had IgA ANCA . One serum was positive only for IgA ANCA . 18/21 patients (86%) were HLA-B27 positive, and none had RF or ANA . The triggering infection was Chlamydia trachomatis in 6 cases . Campylobacter jejuni in 6, Yersinia enterocolitica in 4 . In 6 patients the causative microorganism could not be determined . ANCA was more prevalent in chronic disease (6/7, 82%) compared to acute (7/15, 47%) . No obvious correlation was seen between ANCA and disease activity . CONCLUSION: ANCA, predominantly those reacting with Lf and/or MPO preparations, are common in ReA.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1995 Dec, 36(6), 891 - 8
Quinolone resistance and Campylobacter spp; Piddock LJ; Campylobacter are a frequent cause of diarrhoea in man . The in-vitro susceptibility of all species to the fluoroquinolones and the good response observed in early clinical trials has led to the proposal that these agents may be useful in the treatment of campylobacter enteritis and other more complicated campylobacter infections . However, fluoroquinolone-resistant campylobacters have been reported in up to 50% of isolates from man . The numbers of resistant isolates varies both between and within countries, factors associated with this include foreign travel, local usage of fluoroquinolones, especially in animal husbandry, and whether the microbiology laboratory tests for susceptibility to fluorinated agents, or just nalidixic acid . Fluoroquinolone-resistant campylobacter have emerged during therapy with fluoroquinolones and been responsible for treatment failure . The mechanism of resistance in most isolates is due to mutation in the gyrA (at threonine 86) gene which encodes the A subunit of DNA gyrase . The suggestion of cross resistance to non-quinolone antibiotics, such as tetracycline and/or erythromycin, is probably explained by coincidental occurrence in isolates already resistant to such drugs . The proposal that the veterinary use of fluoroquinolones has led to the selection of fluoroquinolone-resistant campylobacters in poultry which then enter the food-chain to infect man has been viewed as controversial . In the UK fluoroquinolone were only licensed for this use in 1993; it will be interesting to see whether resistant isolates increase the number, thereby lending support for this hypothesis.

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin, 1995 Dec, 13(10), 587 - 91
{The E test and quinolone-resistant Campylobacter jejuni}; Cogollos R et al.; BACKGROUND: The E-Test is a quantitative technique for the determination of antimicrobial sensitivity . The system is based on the diffusion of a predefined exponential gradient in a determined antibiotic, using an inert plastic support which is applied to a solid culture medium and it is an alternative method for antibiotic sensitivity testing . Of the series published, some specifically include microorganisms considered fastidious or difficult to grow, such as Campylobacter jejuni . In recent years a progressive increase in the resistance of these microorganisms to antibiotics, such as the fluoroquinolone group, has been observed . The aim of the present study was to compare in 10 antimicrobial agents the results of E-Test with those of the dilution-agar technique in 57 strains of ciprofloxacine-resistant Campylobacter jejuni . METHODS: In this serie we studied 57 ciprofloxacine-resistant strains of Campylobacter jejuni using the E-Test and comparing the results with those obtained in a parallel study employing the agar dilution technique . RESULTS: The two methods coincided in the classification of the isolates as sensitive or resistant, except in the case of clindamycine (1 strain) and tetracycline (8 strains) . The MIC's values obtained were similar (+/- 1 log2 dilution) in near of 90% of isolates for ciprofloxacine and erythromycine . However, for ampicilline, amoxycilline/clavulanic acid and gentamicin these results were obtained in less than 30% . CONCLUSIONS: In general, the E-Test may be considered a valid alternative in the follow-up and control of resistant strains of Campylobacter jejuni, isolated with increasing frequency in clinical microbiology laboratories, although the correlation with agar-dilution techniques was only discrete and its relatively high cost could limit their general use.

Curr Opin Pediatr, 1995 Dec, 7(6), 663 - 8
Guillain-Barré syndrome in children; Jones HR Jr; The Guillain-Barre syndrome is a pediatric neurologic emergency and the most common cause in children of rapidly evolving, usually flaccid, weakness with associated areflexia . Two treatable illnesses, namely tick paralysis and acute cord compression, demand immediate differential diagnosis . Rarely, poliomyelitis still mimics infantile Guillain-Barre syndrome . Specific precursor infections, such as Campylobacter jejuni, are now recognized to affect the clinical presentation of Guillain-Barre syndrome . Cerebrospinal fluid evaluation and electromyography are usually diagnostic; new modalities, such as anti-GM1 antibodies, magnetic resonance imaging, and magnetic stimulation, are being evaluated in childhood Guillain-Barre syndrome . Although most cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome have benign courses, all require initial respiratory and autonomic monitoring to prevent fatal outcomes . No well-controlled pediatric studies comparing plasmapheresis with intravenous immunoglobulin have occurred . Results of treatment with either modality are encouraging . A synopsis of these reports is included in this review.

Rinsho Shinkeigaku, 1995 Dec, 35(12), 1373 - 5
{Pathogenesis of Guillain-Barré syndrome and Fisher's syndrome: molecular mimicry between antecedent infectious agents and components of nerve tissues}; Yuki N; Sera from patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) following Campylobacter jejuni infection have autoantibody to GM1 ganglioside . We have investigated whether GM1-oligosaccharide structure is present in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of C . jejuni (PEN 19) that was isolated from a GBS patient . The LPS showing the binding activity of cholera toxin, which specifically recognizes the GM1-oligosaccharide, was purified by a column chromatography . Proton NMR methods have revealed that the LPS has the oligosaccharide structure {Gal beta 1-3GalNAc beta 1-4 (NeuAc alpha 2-3) Gal beta 1-}, which is identical to the terminal tetrasaccharide of GM1 ganglioside . Fisher's syndrome (FS) is very frequently associated with anti-GQ1b ganglioside antibody . We isolated C . jejuni from 2 patients with FS subsequent to enteritis . Crude LPS fractions were extracted from the bacteria and separated by thin-layer chromatography . Monoclonal antibodies to GQ1b ganglioside (GMR 13 and 7F5) reacted with both LPS fractions, indicating that the LPSs bear GQ1b epitope . These findings strongly support that "molecular mimicry" between infectious agents and components of nervous system function in the development of post-infection disorders.

Int J Food Microbiol, 1995 Dec, 28(2), 187 - 96
Salmonella, Campylobacter and Escherichia coli O157:H7 decontamination techniques for the future; Corry JE et al.; Raw meat, particularly poultry meat, remains an important, and probably the major source of human infection with campylobacters and salmonellas . In spite of decades of effort it has so far proved extremely difficult to raise food animals free of these pathogens . For the foreseeable future, therefore, the most effective approach must be to decontaminate the final raw product . In this way numbers of these pathogens entering kitchens and commercial food processing premises will be reduced substantially, and hence opportunities for cross-contamination onto ready-to-eat foods or for survival during cooking or other processes will be much lower . The ideal method of decontamination will have the following attributes: it will not change appearance, smell, taste or nutritional properties; it will leave no residues; it will pose no threat to the environment; it will encounter no objections from consumers or legislators; it will be cheap and convenient to apply; it will improve the shelf life by inactivating spoilage organisms as well as pathogens . Various techniques will be listed and their potential assessed (see Table 1).

Vet Microbiol, 1995 Dec, 47(3-4), 295 - 303
Antimicrobial activity of chicken and turkey heterophil peptides CHP1, CHP2, THP1, and THP3; Evans EW et al.; Four avian heterophil antimicrobial cationic peptides (Chicken Heterophil Peptides 1 and 2, and Turkey Heterophil Peptides 1 and 3) were evaluated for in vitro microbicidal activity against selected avian pathogens and human pathogens which are harbored by birds . At concentrations of 16-2 micrograms/ml, all four avian peptides effected a greater than 90% reduction in the survival of Candida albicans, Salmonella enteriditis, and Campylobacter jejuni . None of the peptides, including the known antimicrobial peptide protamine (used as a positive control), were able to reduce the survival of Pasteurella multocida by 90% at the maximum peptide concentration (16 micrograms/ml) tested . At 16 micrograms/ml, the turkey peptide THP3 did not effect a 90% reduction in survival of Bordetella avium, Escherichia coli, or Salmonella typhimurium, while all of the other peptides tested were effective at this concentration or less . This peptide, THP3, does not share the same homologous amino acid sequence shared by the other three peptides . Under our experimental conditions, none of the peptides neutralized Infectious Bronchitis Virus, an enveloped coronavirus of chickens.

Rev Saude Publica, 1995 Dec, 29(6), 472 - 7
{Occurrence of Campylobacter spp among food handlers in hospital kitchens in urban areas of the southern region of Brazil}; Tosin I et al.; The lack of information regarding the occurrence of Campylobacter spp in food handlers and the potential public health risk involved, led to the undertaking of this work . The main purpose was to verify the presence of asymptomatic Campylobacter spp carries in food handlers of hospital and commercial foodservice kitchens . The average prevalence of carriers in kitchens was of 6.2%; that in commercial foodservice kitchens (10.5%) being higher than that found in hospital kitchens (2.2%) in a universe of 177 individuals studied . A close relationship was found between Campylobacter spp, carriers of masculine sex and age group, which was of about 20 to 35 years of age . There was also strong evidence suggesting a higher prevalence of Campylobacter spp among handlers of masculine sex than among those of feminine sex.

Oral Microbiol Immunol, 1995 Dec, 10(6), 321 - 33
Cell envelope and cell wall immunization of Macaca fascicularis: effect on the progression of ligature-induced periodontitis; Holt SC et al.; The nonhuman primate, Macaca fascicularis, was used to study the role of immunization with selected members of the periodontopathic microbiota in the longitudinal progression of ligature-induced periodontitis . Animals were immunized with cell envelope antigens prepared from Porphyromonas gingivalis and Prevotella intermedia, and a mixture prepared from Fusobacterium nucleatum, Campylobacter rectus, and Actinomyces viscosus . Serum immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM and IgA isotype antibodies increased significantly in all immunization groups and were specific for each of the immunogens . P . gingivalis and P . intermedia immunization resulted in a stabilization of the proportions of these species throughout most of the experiment . The high P . gingivalis antibody titer resulted in low P . gingivalis numbers being recovered . P . gingivalis immunization, while lowering recoverable viable P . gingivalis, resulted in significantly increased levels of Prevotella loescheii, Prevotella buccae, Bacteroides macacae and Prevotella melaninogenica compared with preligation and preimmunization levels . Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Capnocytophaga spp . and Eikenella spp . remained at preligation levels postimmunization . Campylobacter spp . increased significantly during the course of the experiment in all groups, whereas the levels of Fusobacterium spp . decreased . Plaque indices and bleeding on probing showed significant increases in all groups following ligation, with the placebo group showing the greatest increase . Pocket depth measurements revealed that , whereas the placebo animals showed an approximate 5% increase, the P . gingivalis- and P . intermedia-immunized groups showed nearly a 20% increase in pocket depth . Attachment level measurements showed significantly greater attachment loss in the P . gingivalis- and P . intermedia-immunized groups, and the F . nucleatum + C . rectus + A . viscosus immunization appeared to prevent significant changes in pocket depth/attachment level loss . Radiographic measurement of bone loss by computer-assisted densitometric image analysis revealed that the placebo group lost bone throughout the experiment . P . gingivalis- and P . intermedia-immunized groups showed an exacerbated loss of bone density and the group immunized with F . nucleatum + C . rectus + A . viscosus exhibited significantly lower amounts of bone loss when analyzed by computer-assisted densitometric image analysis, compared with the other immunized groups . Although immunization with P . gingivalis and P . intermedia cell envelope antigens had an effect on their emergence in the complex microbiota of the developing periodontal pocket, this immunization also resulted in greater bone loss than immunization with F . nucleatum + C . rectus + A . viscosus, suggesting that, whereas selective members of the putative periodontopathic microbiota may play a direct role in periodontal tissue destruction, the complexity of the subgingival microbiota dictates that considerable scrutiny is required to select useful immunogens that can elicit functional protection from periodontal tissue destruction induced by oral microorganisms that already colonize or infect the host.

Arch Microbiol, 1995 Dec, 164(6), 444 - 7
Southern blotting analyses of strains of Campylobacter fetus using the conserved region of sapA; Fujita M et al.; Chromosomal DNA of 27 strains of Campylobacter fetus was analyzed by Southern blotting with a probe of the conserved region of sapA . The probe hybridized with 23 strains that produced type A lipopolysaccharide . These strains had more than six sapA homologs . In Southern blots of SalI-digested chromosomal DNA separated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, one fragment from 19 strains and two fragments from 4 strains hybridized . These data indicate that multiple sapA homologs are localized to a limited region on the chromosomal DNA of C . fetus and thus suggest the possibility of developing a typing system using this method.

Microbiology, 1995 Dec, 141 ( Pt 12), 3181 - 91
Enterochelin acquisition in Campylobacter coli: characterization of components of a binding-protein-dependent transport system; Richardson PT et al.; Siderophore-mediated iron uptake systems play a central role in the pathogenesis of infection for many bacterial pathogens . Campylobacter species are not thought to produce siderophores, yet they are able to utilize both ferrichrome and enterochelin as sources of iron . Part of an operon named ceuBCDE, encoding components of a periplasmic binding-protein-dependent transport (PBT) system for the uptake of a ferric siderophore from Campylobacter coli, was cloned directly into Escherichia coli using a plasmid rescue technique . Phenotypic and genetic analyses of this system showed it to comprise two hydrophobic integral membrane proteins, CeuB (35.5 kDa) and CeuC (34.8 kDa), which may form the cytoplasmic membrane permease, an ATP-binding protein, CeuD (28.8 kDa), and a periplasmic substrate-binding protein, CeuE (34.5 kDa) . In vivo labelling studies using {3H}palmitate demonstrated that CeuE, the periplasmic binding protein, is expressed as a lipoprotein in C . coli, which is unusual for a Gram-negative PBT system . Mutants of C . coli, defective in components of the transport mechanism, were severely impaired in the ability to utilize enterochelin as an iron source suggesting that this siderophore is a substrate for the transport system . This is the first molecular characterization of a PBT system in Campylobacter species.

Epidemiol Infect, 1995 Dec, 115(3), 485 - 94
The speciation and subtyping of campylobacter isolates from sewage plants and waste water from a connected poultry abattoir using molecular techniques; Koenraad PM et al.; In this study the distribution of phenotypes of campylobacter strains in sewage and surface waters was investigated by subtyping and by speciation of isolates from various aquatic environments . These environments included two municipal sewage plants (SPA and SPB) and waste water from a poultry abattoir (WWA) . Both the sewage plants SPA and SPB collected domestic and industrial waste, and SPA received drain water from WWA . SPB received no waste water from any meat-processing plant . The isolates were speciated by PCR and subtyped by PCR/RFLP based on the flagellin PCR products . From all three reservoirs, no Campylobacter lari was isolated, and approximately 80% of the isolates could be identified as C . jejuni and the rest belonged to the C . coli species . The PCR/RFLP typing technique has a high discrimination level and was reproducible between two separate laboratories . The 182 isolates tested yielded 22 distinct Dde I profiles . The results indicate that strains with profiles found in poultry are also detectable in waste water presumed to be solely from domestic and human sources . In addition some strains were unique to the known poultry-related sources, suggesting that avian-specific strains, non-pathogenic to man, may exist in the environment . In contrast some strains were unique to human waste indicating the potential importance of non-poultry sources of infection . No seasonality was observed in the profile distribution . So, at least in the Netherlands, it is unlikely that infections caused by contaminated surface waters contribute to the seasonality of human campylobacteriosis.

Epidemiol Infect, 1995 Dec, 115(3), 475 - 83
Antibiotic susceptibility of campylobacter isolates from sewage and poultry abattoir drain water; Koenraad PM et al.; In this study, the in vitro susceptibility of 209 campylobacter strains to the quinolones nalidixic acid, flumequine, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, and to ampicillin, tetracycline and erythromycin was tested by the disk diffusion method . The strains were isolated from poultry abattoir effluent (DWA) and two sewage purification plants (SPA and SPB) . Sewage purification plant SPA received mixed sewage, including that from a poultry abattoir, whereas SPB did not receive sewage from any meat-processing industry . The quinolone resistance of the DWA isolates ranged from 28% for enrofloxacin to 50% for nalidixic acid . The strains isolated from the sewage purification plants were more susceptible to the quinolones with a range of 11-18% quinolone resistance for SPB isolates to 17-33% quinolone resistance for SPA isolates . The susceptibility criteria as recommended by National Committee Clinical Laboratory Standards (USA) cannot readily be employed for campylobacter isolates . This investigation shows that the resistance of campylobacter bacteria is highest in the plant receiving sewage from a poultry slaughterhouse . Monitoring of antibiotic resistance of aquatic Campylobacter spp . is important, as surface waters are recognized as possible sources of infection.

Lett Appl Microbiol, 1995 Dec, 21(6), 345 - 7
Evaluation of Oxyrase enrichment method for isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from inoculated foods; Tran TT; Recovery limits were evaluated for Campylobacter jejuni in an existing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enrichment broth (EB) formula supplemented with Oxyrase enzyme . Cultures of Camp . jejuni were inoculated into EB or EB containing 10% raw milk, raw oysters, crabmeat or mushrooms . After 24 and 48 h of enrichment, Camp . jejuni was isolated on four selective agars . No significant differences in recovery rates for Camp . jejuni were observed in the Oxyrase enrichment under normal atmosphere or in the existing FDA method under modified atmosphere . Increase of enrichment time from 24 to 48 h did not improve the recovery rates . However, the Oxyrase enrichment was cost effective, less time consuming, and simpler to perform than the established method.

N Engl J Med, 1995 Nov 23, 333(21), 1374 - 9
Campylobacter jejuni infection and Guillain-Barré syndrome; Rees JH et al.; BACKGROUND . Although infection with Campylobacter jejuni is recognized as a common antecedent of the Guillain-Barre syndrome, the clinical and epidemiologic features of this association are not well understood . METHODS . We performed a prospective case-control study in a cohort of patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (96 patients) or Miller Fisher syndrome (7 patients) who were admitted to hospitals throughout England and Wales between November 1992 and April 1994 . Bacteriologic and serologic techniques were used to diagnose preceding C . jejuni infection . RESULTS . There was evidence of recent C . jejuni infection in 26 percent of the patients with Guillain-Barre or Miller Fisher syndrome, as compared with 2 percent of household controls and 1 percent of age-matched hospital controls (P < 0.001) . Of the 27 patients with C . jejuni infection, 19 (70 percent) reported having had a diarrheal illness within 12 weeks before the onset of the neurologic illness . No specific serotypes were associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome . C . jejuni infection was slightly more common in men (P = 0.14) and was more likely to be associated with a pure motor syndrome and a slower recovery (P = 0.03) . The patients with preceding C . jejuni infection were more likely to have acute axonal neuropathy or axonal degeneration in association with acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, and they had greater disability after one year (P = 0.02) . C . jejuni infection was significantly associated with a poor outcome even after correction for other factors associated with a poor prognosis . CONCLUSIONS . Infection with C . jejuni often precedes the Guillain-Barre syndrome and is associated with axonal degeneration, slow recovery, and severe residual disability.

N Z Med J, 1995 Nov 10, 108(1011), 459 - 61
Is New Zealand's recent increase in campylobacteriosis due to changes in laboratory procedures? A survey of 69 medical laboratories; McNicholas AM et al.; AIMS . To evaluate the contribution of changing procedures in microbiology laboratories over the previous 5 years to the increase in campylobacteriosis notifications . To assess whether regional differences in notification rates are due to variations in laboratory procedures . METHODS . A questionnaire was sent to 69 New Zealand medical laboratories, requesting data on their identification procedures for enteric pathogens, including campylobacter . RESULTS . Changes over the last 5 years in laboratory techniques were insufficient to account for a marked increase in campylobacter isolations . On the basis of data provided by 12 laboratories, the number of specimens that grew campylobacter increased by 49% between 1992 and 1993 . Differences in laboratory methods do not explain regional differences in campylobacter notification rates . CONCLUSION . Changes in laboratory methodologies over the last 5 years do not appear to account for the recent national increase in campylobacteriosis notifications.

Gene, 1995 Nov 7, 165(1), 1 - 8
Identification of Campylobacter jejuni and C . coli using the rpoB gene and a cryptic DNA fragment from C . jejuni; Bustamante VH et al.; Campylobacter jejuni (Cj) and C . coli (Cc) clinical isolates, obtained from three different sources, were characterized using two Cj DNA probes, CJ01 and CJ02 . These probes were selected at random by virtue of their stability in Escherichia coli (Ec) . CJ01 hybridized specifically with DNA from Cj reference strains, but not with DNA from Cc, C . lari (Cl) nor C . fetus (Cf) reference strains . Using clinical isolates characterized by genome-genome hybridization and biotype, CJ01 hybridized with DNA derived from all Cj strains . However, DNA from four out of ten Cc strains, from three different sources, also hybridized with CJ01, suggestive of this region being heterogeneous between clinical isolates of both species . The nucleotide sequence analysis of CJ01 reveals two incomplete open reading frames (ORFs) that did not show significant homology with any other known sequences . CJ02 hybridized specifically with DNA from Cj and Cc reference strains, but not with DNA from Cl and Cf reference strains . The specificity and sensitivity were maintained upon hybridization with DNA from 31 clinical isolates . CJ02 has an uninterrupted ORF whose deduced amino-acid sequence showed extensive homology with the central region of the Ec and Salmonella typhimurium (St) RNA polymerase beta subunits (52 and 66% similarity, respectively) . The most conserved segments correspond to putative functional domains.

Int J Food Microbiol, 1995 Nov, 28(1), 1 - 78
Probes and polymerase chain reaction for detection of food-borne bacterial pathogens; Olsen JE et al.; DNA-hybridization and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are techniques commonly used to detect pathogenic bacteria . In this paper, the use of these techniques for detection of Salmonella, E . coli, V . cholerae, non-O1 Vibrio, Yersinia enterocolitica, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, and C . botulinum is reviewed with emphasis on application in food microbiology . In food control, DNA-techniques have most often been used in a 'culture confirmation' fashion, i.e . bacteria are enriched and sometimes even purified by traditional culture procedures and thereafter identified by the use of DNA-based methods . The most desirable approach is, however, to detect organisms directly in the food, but major problems remain to be solved before this can be routinely performed.

Clin Infect Dis, 1995 Nov, 21(5), 1282 - 4
Chronic diarrhea among adults in Kigali, Rwanda: association with bacterial enteropathogens, rectocolonic inflammation, and human immunodeficiency virus infection; Clerinx J et al.; One hundred patients with chronic diarrhea were seen in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Centre Hospitalier de Kigali, Rwanda; stool and/or rectal swab culture was performed for these patients, and they underwent rectoscopy and serological testing for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) . Enteropathogenic bacteria were isolated from 39 (39%) of the patients: Shigella species (22 of 100 patients tested), non-typhi Salmonella (11/100), Aeromonas species (5/60), and Campylobacter species (4/60) . Rectocolitis was seen in 70 (70%) of the patients . HIV-1 antibodies were detected in 82 (94%) of 87 patients tested . Cytomegalovirus was not found in rectal biopsy specimens from 29 patients . Entamoeba histolytica was detected in two of 31 rectal smears . Idiopathic ulcerative colitis was diagnosed for two HIV-1-seropositive patients . One or more AIDS-defining diseases were found in 32 (32%) of the patients, and 72 (72%) fulfilled the World Health Organization's clinical case definition criteria for AIDS . Chronic diarrhea, as seen in a hospital setting in a region highly endemic for HIV-1 infection, is strongly associated with HIV-1 infection, with rectocolonic inflammation, and with infection due to enteropathogenic bacteria.

J Infect, 1995 Nov, 31(3), 229 - 32
Campylobacter fetus subspecies fetus septicaemia: SDS-PAGE as an aid to speciation; Howe RA et al.; We describe a case of bacteraemia due to an atypical strain of Campylobacter fetus ssp . fetus . Conventional biochemical and phenotypic characterisation was unhelpful but whole cell protein profiles obtained by means of sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) allowed us to identify this strain.

J Clin Microbiol, 1995 Nov, 33(11), 3058 - 60
Prevalence of Cyclospora species and other enteric pathogens among children less than 5 years of age in Nepal; Hoge CW et al.; Stools from 124 Nepalese children aged 6 to 60 months with diarrhea were examined for organisms of the coccidian genus Cyclospora and for other enteric pathogens . Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Giardia Lamblia, Campylobacter species, Cyclospora species, and Cryptosporidium species were the most common pathogens identified . Cyclospora species were detected in none of 74 children < 18 months of age compared with 6 (12%) of 50 children > or = 18 months of age (P = 0.004).

J Dent Res, 1995 Nov, 74(11), 1789 - 95
Salivary levels of suspected periodontal pathogens in relation to periodontal status and treatment; von Troil-Linden B et al.; The primary ecological niche for suspected periodontal pathogens seems to be the subgingival area, even though periodontal pathogens are also frequently recovered from saliva . The interrelationship of different periodontal conditions and the salivary levels of suspected periodontal pathogens is not known . In the present study, salivary levels of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Campylobacter rectus, and Peptostreptococcus micros were determined by bacterial culture and related to clinical periodontal status in 40 subjects with either advanced, moderate, or initial/no periodontitis . Culture-positive subjects harbored the 5 bacterial species in mean numbers ranging from 2 x 10(5) to 6 x 10(7) colony-forming units (CFU)/mL saliva . A . actinomycetemcomitans was found in none and P . gingivalis in one of the subjects with initial periodontitis, whereas both species were found in 33% and 44%, respectively, of the subjects with moderate periodontitis and in 60% and 40%, respectively, of the subjects with advanced periodontitis . The mean numbers of CFU/mL of P . intermedia, C . rectus and P . micros were significantly higher in subjects with advanced periodontitis than in subjects with initial/no periodontitis . Ten patients with advanced periodontitis were treated mechanically and with adjunctive systemic metronidazole, and were re-examined 1 and 6 months after treatment . Periodontal treatment eradicated or significantly reduced the levels of salivary periodontal pathogens for half a year, whereas in untreated subjects, the levels and the detection frequencies generally remained fairly stable . In conclusion, the results showed that the salivary levels of periodontal pathogens reflect the periodontal status of the patient.

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin, 1995 Nov, 13(9), 511 - 5
{Presence of virulence factors and pathovars in strains of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from patients with diarrhea and healthy children}; Reina J et al.; BACKGROUND: To study the prevalence of virulence factors (adhesion, invasion, cytotoxicity and hemolytic activity) and to establish the presence of pathovars (virulence phenotype) in C . jejuni strains isolated in pediatric patients with inflammatory and secretory diarrhea and asymptomatic carriers . METHODS: We analyzed 95 strains of 48 patients with inflammatory diarrhea (blood and mucus in feces), 30 patients with secretory diarrhea (watery) and 17 strains isolated in asymptomatic children (control group) . The study of adherence capacity, invasion and cytotoxicity was made in the Hep-2 cell line, and the analysis of hemolytic activity in blood agar plates with a 5% sheep's blood . The pathovars were defined by the cellular adhesion (phenotypes A and a) and the cytotoxicity (phenotypes E and e) . RESULTS: 29.1% of inflammatory strains presented adherence capacity, 66.6% were invasive, 64.5% cytotoxic and 52.1% hemolytic . In the secretory strains the values were 70, 20, 10 and 6.6% respectively; in the control group the 11.7% presented adherence capacity and 5.8% were invasive . We obtained difference statistically significative for the secretory strains in the adherence capacity, and in inflammatory strains in the adherence capacity, cytotoxicity and hemolysis . The phenotype Ae predominate in the secretory strains, and the phenotype ae in the strains belonging to the control group . No pathovar predominates in the inflammatory strains . CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of virulence markers permit us to establish the pathogenic behaviour of the C . jejuni strains isolated in patients with diarrhea . The study of the adherence capacity and cytotoxicity (pathovars) would be used as a virulence markers and to predict the inflammatory or secretory nature of the diarrhea caused by C . jejuni strains.

J Infect Dis, 1995 Nov, 172(5), 1298 - 305
Investigation of an outbreak of Campylobacter upsaliensis in day care centers in Brussels: analysis of relationships among isolates by phenotypic and genotypic typing methods; Goossens H et al.; An outbreak of Campylobacter upsaliensis in four Brussels day care centers (A, B-1, B-2, and C) affected 44 children . Diarrhea was the major symptom . From January 1991 to June 1992, the outbreak strain was isolated from 3, 1, and 21 (of 68) children in centers A, B-1, and B-2, respectively, and from 19 of 22 children in center C, IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies were detected by Western blotting of serum specimens of 9 of 10 and 13 of 16 children in centers B-2 and C, respectively . Strains were typed by biotyping, DNA restriction-based and antibiotic susceptibility typing, whole cell protein and plasmid analysis, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) . On the basis of RFLP and PCR typing, the strains could be divided into two strongly related clonal variants: One was isolated only from the children of center A and the second only from children in the other day care centers.

Isr J Med Sci, 1995 Nov, 31(11), 696 - 7
Acute cholecystitis caused by Campylobacter jejuni; Landau Z et al.; An 83-year-old man with acute cholecystitis caused by Campylobacter jejuni is described . The patient was cured after undergoing cholecystectomy and intravenous ofloxacin therapy.

Infect Immun, 1995 Nov, 63(11), 4295 - 300
Campylobacter jejuni motility and invasion of Caco-2 cells; Szymanski CM et al.; We investigated the influence of motility on Campylobacter jejuni binding and invasion of Caco-2 cells . C . jejuni was motile in soft agar at basic (pH 8.5) and neutral pH values representative of the intestinal environment . However, C . jejuni was immobilized at pH 5.0 . The inability of C . jejuni to swarm on soft agar at pH 5.0 was not related to flagellar depolymerization or loss of viability . In tissue culture medium, C . jejuni displayed typical periods of straight swimming punctuated by tumbling behavior . This behavior was altered when the viscosity of the medium was adjusted to mimic the viscosity of intestinal mucus . C . jejuni showed longer periods of straight swimming with significantly increased velocity followed by pauses instead of tumbles . The binding and invasion of C . jejuni in Caco-2 cells also increased significantly in high-viscosity growth medium . We speculate that the swimming behavior of C . jejuni in a viscous environment may be an important factor in the interaction of these organisms with host epithelial cells . The pH, which affects C . jejuni motility, may also influence the tropism of these organisms.

J Med Microbiol, 1995 Nov, 43(5), 354 - 9
Cytotoxin detection in Campylobacter jejuni strains of human and animal origin with three tissue culture assay systems; Misawa N et al.; Cytotoxin (CTX) production in 34 human and 22 animal strains of Campylobacter jejuni isolated in Japan and other countries was studied by three assay systems described previously . Furthermore, cholera-like enterotoxin production by these strains was tested by reversed passive latex agglutination (RPLA) . CTX titres in the fetal calf serum (FCS) and newborn calf serum (NCS) assays were relatively lower, with a maximum of 4 and 8, respectively, than the maximum of 128 for the serum-free culture (SFC) assay . CTX detection rates were 62, 85 and 100% in human isolates and 64, 77 and 100% in animal isolates for the FCS, NCS and SFC assay systems, respectively . There was no significant difference in the detection rate of CTX between human and animal isolates, or between human isolates from Japan and other countries . With the three assay systems, the strains were divided into four groups from the pattern of CTX detection; 54% of strains gave positive results in all three assay systems, and 9% of them were positive in the SFC assay only . Morphological changes on CHO cells showed distended instead of rounded cells with eight of 21 strains negative in the FCS assay . Cholera-like enterotoxin was not detected in the culture filtrate of any of the strains when tested by RPLA . These results indicate that cytotoxin production by C . jejuni is complex as compared with that of other enteric pathogens.

Ann Neurol, 1995 Nov, 38(5), 809 - 16
Anti-ganglioside GM1 antibodies in Guillain-Barré syndrome and their relationship to Campylobacter jejuni infection; Rees JH et al.; To clarify the association between Campylobacter jejuni (Cj) infection and antibodies to ganglioside GM1 (anti-GM1) in Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), we have carried out a prospective case-control study of 96 patients with GBS . Cj infection occurred in 25 (26%) patients . IgG and/or IgM anti-GM1 were identified in 24 (25%) patients and in 1 of 71 (1.4%) household controls (p < 0.001) . Thirteen of the 25 (52%) Cj-positive patients had anti-GM1 compared with 11 of the 71 (15%) Cj-negative patients (p < 0.001) . Neither the peak overall disability nor the 1-year disability differed between the anti-GM1-positive and anti-GM1-negative patients . However, patients with the combination of Cj infection and anti-GM1 positivity recovered more slowly than Cj/anti-GM1-negative patients (p = 0.05), were more likely to have axonal degeneration, and were significantly more disabled at the end of 1 year (p = 0.02) . The presence of Cj infection is more important than anti-GM1 positivity in determining the extent of axonal involvement and, hence, prognosis . Since the presence of anti-GM1 is not a significant poor-prognostic factor, a search should be made for other properties of Cj infection that would account for its relationship to axonal degeneration.

Gene, 1995 Oct 16, 164(1), 25 - 31
Cloning and transcription regulation of the ferric uptake regulatory gene of Campylobacter jejuni TGH9011; Chan VL et al.; A Campylobacter jejuni (Cj) TGH9011 (ATCC 43431) gene homologous to the Escherichia coli ferric uptake regulatory gene (fur) has been cloned and characterized . Cj fur encodes a polypeptide consisting of 157 amino acids (aa) (18.1 kDa) . The 5'-flanking region of the Cj fur gene contains two putative catabolite activator protein (CAP)-binding sequences and four Fur boxes or Fur-binding sequences (FBS), implicating cAMP and autogenous regulation respectively . A major and a minor transcription start point (tsp) were active in Fe(+) and Fe(-) media and three tsp were suppressed in Fe(+) condition . The major transcript has an unusually short leader sequence . The homology of the Cj Fur to other Proteobacteria Fur proteins is moderately low with identity ranging from 36.3% for Yersinia pestis to 31.8% for Legionella pneumophila . Multiple alignments of the Fur sequences identified three conserved motifs, I {aGLKvTlpR1KiL}, II {eiGlATvYR} and III {HHDHlvCldcGeviEf} (uppercase aa are identical in 12 or all 13 Fur sequences and lowercase aa are identical in six or more sequences) . A truncated TGFH9011 Fur missing 18 aa of the N terminus but retaining all three conserved motifs was shown to bind all four FBS sequences . The binding and transcription studies support autoregulation of fur expression in Cj.

Gene, 1995 Oct 16, 164(1), 101 - 6
Complete sequences and organization of the rrnA operon from campylobacter jejuni TGH9011 (ATCC43431); Kim NW et al.; The rrnA ribosomal RNA (rRNA) operon of Campylobacter jejuni (Cj) TGH9011 (ATCC43431) was cloned and sequenced to completion . rRNAs were then characterized by primer extension and S1 nuclease mapping analysis . The secondary structure models of Cj 16S and 23S rRNAs were constructed, and the models were compared to the corresponding models from other eubacterial rRNA . The analysis presented a typical 5'-promoter-16S-tRNAs-23S-5S-terminator-3' prokaryotic rRNA operon structure . However, an unusual organization of the intercistronic tRNAs was observed where the two tRNAs, tRNA(Ala) and tRNA(Ile), were present in the order 5'-16S-tRNA(Ala)-tRNA(Ile)-23S-3', which is opposite of the typical 5'-16S-tRNA(Ile)-tRNA(Ala)-23S-3' structure observed in other bacteria.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1995 Oct 15, 132(3), 239 - 45
Genome map of Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus ATCC 27374; Salama SM et al.; A physical map of the chromosome of Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus was constructed by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of restriction fragments generated by SalI, SmaI and NotI . Digestion of the type strain ATCC 27374 with these restriction endonucleases resulted in generating 4-14 fragments . The order of the fragments was deduced from hybridization of these restriction fragments to Southern blots of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis gels generated by the other two enzymes . The estimated genome size was 1160 kb . The position of several homologous and heterologous genes was determined on the circular map . These included the 2.8-kb sapA gene, encoding the 97-kDa surface array protein . Three copies of ribosomal RNA genes for which the 16S, 23S and 5S rRNA appeared to be located in close proximity in each of the three regions . The RNA polymerase genes rpoA, rpoB, and rpoD were mapped and appeared to be situated close together in one region . The flagellin genes (flaAB) of C . jejuni and the gyrase genes gyrA and gyrB of C . perfringens and Bacillus subtilis, respectively, were used to identify the locations of flaAB, the gyrA and the gyrB genes on the ATCC 27374 chromosome.

Rev Saude Publica, 1995 Oct, 29(5), 389 - 92
{Isolation of thermotolerant species of Campylobacter from 2 populations of chickens bred in confinement and at liberty}; Tresierra-Ayala A et al.; The isolation rates of thermotolerant Campylobacter species in free-ranging domestic chickens and confined chickens from Iquitos city, Peru, were determined . Campylobacter spp . were isolated in 54.0% of the former group of chickens, being less frequent (35.0%) in the latter (p < 0.05) . Of the classical thermotolerant species, C . jejuni and C . coli were the most frequent . However, the presence C . lari suggests that the chickens might be an important reservoir of this bacterium.

Avian Dis, 1995 Oct-Dec, 39(4), 812 - 20
A genetic hybrid of the Campylobacter jejuni flaA gene with LT-B of Escherichia coli and assessment of the efficacy of the hybrid protein as an oral chicken vaccine; Khoury CA et al.; The objectives of this study were to produce Campylobacter jejuni flagellin fused to the B-subunit of the labile toxin (LT-B) of Escherichia coli and to assess the efficacy of the hybrid protein as a chicken vaccine . Part of the flaA gene (780 base pairs) was cloned in plasmid pBEB downstream and in frame with the LT-B to allow expression of a hybrid protein . Transformed E . coli chi 6097 expressed the hybrid protein (43 kdaltons) in inclusion bodies at mid log phase . The inclusion bodies were isolated, and the identity of the protein was verified by western blot . This hybrid protein was administered as a vaccine to chickens either orally (0, 250, 500, or 1000 micrograms total protein) or intramuscularly (250 or 1000 micrograms) . Alimentary secretions were collected, and specific antibodies were assayed by western blot analyses . Seventy-two percent of the birds vaccinated orally with 1000 micrograms protein showed detectable antibodies against C . jejuni flagellin in the excreta . None of the control birds produced detectable antibody to this antigen . For trials to demonstrate clearance of Campylobacter, groups of chickens were vaccinated with the hybrid protein at 2 and 4 wk of age and challenged at 3 wk with an excess of C.jejuni . The number of birds that remained colonized at 5 wk of age was significantly lower among the vaccinated birds than among controls.

Avian Dis, 1995 Oct-Dec, 39(4), 718 - 22
In vitro studies of Campylobacter jejuni/coli strains from hens and humans regarding adherence, invasiveness, and toxigenicity; Lindblom GB et al.; Campylobacter jejuni/coli strains from hens and humans were compared for their ability to adhere to and invade HEp-2-cells and for toxigenicity to CHO-cells . In both hen and human strains, invasiveness was higher among non-toxigenic strains than among toxigenic ones . The frequency of adherence, invasiveness, and toxigenicity was the same in hen and human strains.

J Pak Med Assoc, 1995 Oct, 45(10), 266 - 9
Clinical features of infantile diarrhea associated with single or multiple enteric pathogens; Masoumi JP et al.; Clinical features of infantile diarrhea were studied among 603 infants from birth to 12 months of age to determine the predominant clinical feature(s) seen in infantile diarrhea associated with a specific enteric pathogen . Among the major clinical features, fever was most often seen in diarrhea due to Yersinia spp . (61.5%) followed by that in rotavirus (26.1%) . Vomiting was mostly associated with Vibrio cholerae infection (90.9%) and shigellosis (64.6%) . Dehydration was predominant in Vibrio cholerae (90.9%) and Salmonella (84.9%) infections . Bloody diarrhea was mostly due to Shigella infection (74.3%) . As regards diarrhea with multiple pathogens, vomiting and dehydration were most frequent with Campylobacter+Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) (88.9% and 77.8%, respectively), while fever was more common with rotavirus+Shigella+Escherichia coli and rotavirus+Giardia . Infection with invasive organisms lead to vomiting, 4-10 stools per day and dehydration significantly more often as compared to infections with non-invasive organisms . Similarly more stools of patients infected with invasive organisms showed presence of blood and more than 5 leukocytes/HPF as compared to those infected with non-invasive organisms.

Res Microbiol, 1995 Oct, 146(8), 685 - 96
Random amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting of Campylobacter jejuni and C . coli isolated from human faeces, seawater and poultry products; Hernandez J et al.; The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to obtain randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles from 64 type and serotype reference strains and 114 isolates of Campylobacter jejuni and C . coli from food, seawater and human faeces . Genetic diversity was detected among the strains as a total of 118 different RAPD profiles were obtained, each one containing from 4 to 11 bands between 0.30 and 1.50 kb . The discriminatory power of a random 10-mer primer (sequence 5'-CAATCGCCGT-3') was assessed . In general, no profiles were common to strains of the same Penner serogroup, but occasional strains from different Penner serotypes shared identical band profiles . RAPD analysis also differentiated between the species, and after numerical analysis, five main clusters were defined at the 40% similarity level, corresponding to C . jejuni, C . coli and C . lari with some exceptions . RAPD profiling of Campylobacter is highly discriminatory and is a valuable new alternative to traditional typing in epidemiological studies.

Mol Cell Probes, 1995 Oct, 9(5), 307 - 10
Evaluation of a PCR based assay for specific detection of Campylobacter jejuni in chicken washes; Winters DK et al.; An assay for Campylobacter jejuni based on the polymerase chain reaction was developed in our laboratory and shown to be a sensitive and specific method to identify this bacterium in pure culture . This assay was evaluated as a method to rapidly detect C . jejuni attached to chicken carcasses . Chicken carcasses were sampled for PCR using three methods including pre-enrichment of the washes, direct plating of the washes and differential centrifugation of the washes prior to testing . It was found that plating the wash solutions on Campy Cefex plates prior to performing PCR was the most specific and reliable of the three treatment methods evaluated.

Intern Med, 1995 Oct, 34(10), 1009 - 14
Longitudinal study of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) class-specific antibodies against Campylobacter jejuni and GM1 ganglioside in Guillain-Barré syndrome; Kimura F et al.; We report two Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) patients with culture-proven Campylobacter jejuni (Penner19/Lior 7) . Elevated anti-C.jejuni IgA antibody declined to the normal range within one month, elevation of anti-C.jejuni IgM antibody lasted for 3 months and the titers of anti-C.jejuni IgG antibody were still elevated at one year after the neurologic onset . Serological criteria for antecedent C.jejuni infection in GBS patients should require 1) high titer of serum IgA and/or IgM antibody against C.jejuni followed by seroconversion of the IgA and/or IgM and 2) a 4-fold decline of IgG serum dilution against C.jejuni . Anti-C.jejuni antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) reached the maximum value at one month after their neurologic onset which may not be responsible for the main pathological mechanism in the development of GBS . Anti-GM1 antibodies in serum and CSF were parallel with those of anti-C.jejuni antibodies during the course of the disease.

Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd, 1995 Oct, 55(10), 599 - 601
{Septic abortion in Campylobacter jejuni infection}; Abderhalden R et al.; Case report of a 24 year old woman II G/I P with enterocolitis and septicaemia caused by Campylobacter jejuni (C.) in the following time abortion at 16 weeks of gestation . Diagnostics, therapy, review of literature.

Epidemiol Infect, 1995 Oct, 115(2), 215 - 25
Comparison of PFGE, ribotyping and phage-typing in the epidemiological analysis of Campylobacter jejuni serotype HS2 infections; Gibson JR et al.; In this study we have evaluated the ability of three typing methods, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), phage-typing and ribotyping, to discriminate not only between strains of differing serotypes but also between strains within a single serotype, heat stable serotype 2 (HS2) . Forty-five isolates derived from cases of campylobacter enteritis occurring in the Cardiff area were examined . These included 18, mostly HS2, strains associated with an outbreak . The typing results for these and a further 39 epidemiologically unrelated strains of serotype HS2 were compared . This is the first report documenting the use of PFGE in an epidemiological investigation of Campylobacter jejuni in the UK . The results presented suggest that this technique is the most discriminatory of the three subtyping methods examined.

Microbiology, 1995 Oct, 141 ( Pt 10), 2561 - 7
An isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase gene from Campylobacter jejuni; Hong Y et al.; A complete isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase gene (ileS) of Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from a C . jejuni TGH9011 genomic DNA library constructed in pBluescript . The complete coding sequence, flanking regions and transcription start point were determined . The deduced isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleRS) had 917 amino acids with a molecular mass of 105,399 Da, which was consistent with the observed size of 105 kDa in Escherichia coli maxicells . The ileS gene was mapped onto the physical map of the C . jejuni genome . Alignment of the C . jejuni IleRS sequence with six other bacterial IleRS sequences and two lower eukaryotic IleRS sequences identified seven conserved motifs, including the two signature sequences, HIGH and KMSKS, of class I aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases.

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