Campylobacter

Infect Immun, 1994 Sep, 62(9), 3901 - 6
Differential flagellin expression in a flaA flaB+ mutant of Campylobacter jejuni; Wassenaar TM et al.; Campylobacter jejuni 81116 has two genes coding for flagellin, flaA and flaB . Fully motile wild-type C . jejuni bacteria express the flaA gene, with no flaB message being detected . A nonmotile flaA flaB+ mutant, R1, produced detectable levels of flagellin B which was incorporated into truncated flagella . After R1 had invaded INT-407 cells, a variant with increased motility, R1-V2, was isolated . R1-V2 produced full-length flagella and an increased amount of flagellin B . Transcriptional analysis showed that R1-V2 contained more flaB mRNA than its parental strain, R1 . The flaB gene promoter sequence and primer extension experiments confirmed that transcription of the flaB gene is initiated from a sigma 54 promoter . Neither the promoter sequence nor the coding sequence of flaB had changed in R1-V2 . In contrast to R1, R1-V2 no longer produced (truncated) flaA mRNA . The sigma 28 flaA promoter sequence was not changed in R1-V2 . We propose that expression of the two flagellin genes in C . jejuni 81116 is regulated at the transcriptional level, in such a way that predominantly one gene at a time is transcribed . We compared the levels of invasiveness of the wild-type strain, R1, and R1-V2 for INT-407 cells . The shift in expression from flaA to flaB occurred not only during invasion assays but also under different conditions in the absence of eukaryotic cells.

Infect Immun, 1994 Sep, 62(9), 3773 - 9
Cell association and invasion of Caco-2 cells by Campylobacter jejuni; Russell RG et al.; Adherence and invasion studies were conducted in monolayers of Caco-2 cells . Three-day-old monolayers were inoculated with Campylobacter jejuni 81-176 at a bacterium/cell ratio of 1,000:1 . Saturation studies demonstrated time- and dose-dependent saturation curves for C . jejuni cell association and invasion into Caco-2 cells . Electron microscopy revealed intracellular C . jejuni located within membrane-bound vacuoles . Cell association and invasion were inhibited by 0.3 and 0.5 M concentrations of various sugars, including D-glucose, D-mannose, and D-fucose . However, there was no inhibition with the corresponding L-sugars, indicating physiological specificity . The inhibition of cell association with phloridzin was less pronounced . There was no inhibition of bacterial entry with monodansylcadaverine or g-strophanthin, indicating that it was unlikely that coated-pit formation is important in the invasion of C . jejuni into Caco-2 cells . Furthermore, there was no inhibition with cytochalasin D, vincristine, or vinblastine . Inhibition of cell association was demonstrated at 4 degrees C . Significantly decreased cell association and invasion were seen in potassium-depleted cells . Treatment of cells with bromelain also caused reduction in the number of C . jejuni binding to cells . A nonmotile aflagellate variant of C . jejuni also showed reduced invasion . The results of this study are consistent with energy-dependent invasion mechanisms . The results do not support an endocytic method of invasion for C . jejuni into Caco-2 cells.

J Appl Bacteriol, 1994 Sep, 77(3), 303 - 7
Production and viability of coccoid forms of Campylobacter jejuni; Boucher SN et al.; Studies were conducted into the formation and physiological state of coccoid cells of a strain of the human and animal pathogen Campylobacter jejuni . It was found that growth phase and the presence of chloramphenicol did not affect the rate of shape transformation from spiral to coccoid, while nutrient limitation, aeration of the medium and the presence of free-radical scavengers had profound effects . Coccoid cells were found to reduce the tetrazolium salts INT (2-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(p-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl tetrazolium chloride) and CTC (5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride) to their respective formazans and this was linked to cellular respiration . However, respiring coccoid cells could not sustain their existence in prolonged adverse conditions, and it was concluded that they represent a degenerative stage rather than a dormant state of the organism.

Yonsei Med J, 1994 Sep, 35(3), 314 - 9
Antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus isolated from blood and synovial fluid; Kwon SY et al.; Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus is a rare human pathogen, but can cause serious extraintestinal infections . Effective antimicrobial agent is required for the therapy, but we have very limited knowledge on the susceptibility of the organism . In this study, the susceptibility of 25 isolates of the organism to 14 antimicrobial agents was tested by an agar dilution method . Antimicrobial agents with low MIC ranges, in micrograms/ml, were: meropenem < or = 0.25, dirithromycin < or = 0.5, gentamicin < or = 1, amikacin, ofloxacin, tetracycline and erythromycin < or = 2 . The MIC range of cefepime was 0.5-8 micrograms/ml, but those of other beta-lactams were relatively high . All of the isolates were interpreted to be susceptible to cefepime, meropenem, amikacin, gentamicin, ofloxacin, tetracycline and dirithromycin . A significant proportion of the isolates were either intermediate or resistant to ampicillin, cephalothin, cefotaxime, aztreonam, loracarbef and erythromycin . In conclusion, the organism remains susceptible to aminoglycosides and tetracycline . Greater in vitro activity of meropenem, ofloxacin and dirithromycin require clinical evaluation.

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 1994 Sep, 20(1), 45 - 7
DU-6859a, a new fluoroquinolone agent . Comparative in vitro activity against enteric pathogens and multiresistant outpatient Escherichia coli; Tomayko JF et al.; The activity of DU-6859a, a new fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agent, was compared with that of ciprofloxacin by agar dilution susceptibility testing against enteric pathogens and multiresistant Escherichia coli . The results indicate that DU-6859a inhibits most of these organisms at concentrations similar to those of ciprofloxacin . DU-6859a showed increased activity compared to ciprofloxacin against Campylobacter species isolates.

Mikrobiol Z, 1994 Sep-Oct, 56(5), 51 - 61
{The epidemiological characteristics of the immunological response in campylobacteriosis}; Kirik DL; An analytical survey of literature on the problem of immunological aspects of campylobacteriosis is presented . Antigenic nature of various components of a bacterial cell of these agents is described . Schemes of serotyping of campylobacteria on the basis of thermolabile and thermostable antigens are analyzed . It is shown expedient to use serotyping for determination of an infection source in the epidemiological practice . Proceeding from the published data presented, a conclusion is made that it is necessary to develop the home schemes of serotyping . At the same time a problem on development of new proximate methods promoting immunological indication of campylobacteriosis antigens in various ecological niches is not less urgent and is to be taken into account when planning antiepidemiological measures against the campylobacteriosis infection.

J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Sep, 32(9), 2182 - 4
Rapid detection of vancomycin-resistant enterococci; Edberg SC et al.; Campylobacter blood agar with clindamycin incubated in 6% CO2 served as a medium to both screen for vancomycin resistance and select for presumptive enterococci . Colonies that grew on the medium were specifically identified as enterococci within 30 min by the pyroglutamyl-beta-naphthylamide and rapid bile esculin tests . The combination of a selective medium plus rapid enzyme substrate tests offered an inexpensive means to enumerate vancomycin-resistant enterococci from specimens by using readily available reagents.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1994 Sep, 38(9), 1879 - 82
Evolution of susceptibilities of Campylobacter spp . to quinolones and macrolides; Sanchez R et al.; Erythromycin, new macrolides, and quinolones are alternatives for the treatment of Campylobacter infections . Concerns related to the emergence of resistance to both groups of drugs have been raised . We studied the evolution of antimicrobial susceptibilities of 275 clinical isolates of microorganisms of the genus Campylobacter isolated in our institution during a 5-year period (1988 to 1992) . The microorganisms studied were C . jejuni (n = 230), C . coli (n = 42), and C . fetus (n = 3) . The overall resistance rates (determined by the agar dilution method and the recommendations of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards) were as follows: erythromycin, 2.3%; clarithromycin, 2.3%; azithromycin, 1.9%; ciprofloxacin, 28.5%; norfloxacin, 31%; ofloxacin, 26.3%; and nalidixic acid, 36.8% . The evolution of resistance (percent resistance in 1988 versus percent resistance in 1992) was as follows: erythromycin, 2.6 versus 3.1; clarithromycin, 2.6 versus 3.1; azithromycin, 2.6 versus 3.1; ciprofloxacin, 0 versus 49.5; norfloxacin, 2.6 versus 55.5; ofloxacin, 0 versus 45.6; nalidixic acid, 2.6 versus 56.8 . Our data show stable macrolide activity against Campylobacter spp . and the rapid development of quinolone resistance over the last 5 years.

J Infect, 1994 Sep, 29(2), 183 - 7
Discrimination by means of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis between strains of Campylobacter jejuni Lior type 4 derived from sporadic cases and from outbreaks of infection; Suzuki Y et al.; The cleavage patterns of the genomic DNA in 42 strains of Campylobacter jejuni Lior type 4, obtained from sporadic cases and from outbreaks of infection were analysed by means of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) . The cleavage of DNA with SmaI and SalI restriction enzymes showed 16 distinct fragment patterns in 20 sporadic isolates, indicating that they were heterogeneous . On the other hand, the patterns of 22 isolates derived from two outbreaks showed the same unique restriction patterns, respectively . PFGE may therefore prove useful for subclassifying strains of C . jejuni Lior type 4 and for discriminating between strains derived from sporadic cases and those derived from outbreaks of infection.

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 1994 Sep, 25(3), 443 - 8
Exotoxin profiles of Campylobacters isolated in Malaysia; Tee TS et al.; Approximately 57% of clinical and 33% of poultry isolates examined produced a cytotoxin . Cytotoxic activity was detected in 25 (50%) isolates of Campylobacter of which 12 were isolated from bloody diarrhea and 9 from watery stools . The cytotoxin titers were low, ranging from 2 to 16 . The crude filtrates from 50 Campylobacter isolates showed no cytotoxic effect in Vero cells, no fluid accumulation in suckling mice and no hemolytic activity.

Antibiot Khimioter, 1994 Sep-Oct, 39(9-10), 36 - 9
{Beta-lactamases of Campylobacter spp . and their use as epidemiologic markers}; Porin AA et al.; The tests of 64 clinical strains of Campylobacter jejuni and 69 strains isolated from hens revealed beta-lactamases in 96.99 per cent of the cultures . The detected enzymes more frequently splitted oxacillin and ampicillin among 5 betalactams used as the substrates (ampicillin, azlocillin, oxacillin, cefoperazon and cefotaxime) . On the whole 24 spectra of the beta-lactamase activity with the evident domination of the AmAzOxCfpCtx spectrum (29.69 per cent) were detected in both the clinical strains and the strains isolated from the hens . A marked correlation of the beta-lactamase spectra of the strains circulating in the humans and hens was observed . Two strains of C . jejuni isolated from the persons of the same family were studied and correlation of their beta-lactamase spectra was noted . The expediency of the determination of the beta-lactamase spectra for the interspecies typing of Campylobacter spp . was suggested.

J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Sep, 32(9), 2305 - 6
Confirmation of human Campylobacter concisus isolates misidentified as Campylobacter mucosalis and suggestions for improved differentiation between the two species; On SL; A strain from human diarrhea originally identified as Campylobacter mucosalis (NCTC 12408) was examined by using 64 phenotypic characters . The similarity of this strain to 297 isolates of Campylobacter, Helicobacter, Arcobacter, and related taxa was then determined with a computer-supported data analysis program, MVSP . NCTC 12408 showed closest similarity to 20 type, reference, and field isolates of Campylobacter concisus . These strains were clearly separated from those of C . mucosalis in the numerical analysis of phenotypic tests; a table was constructed from the data used to aid in differentiating these two species in the clinical laboratory . The identity of NCTC 12408 was confirmed as C . concisus by visual comparison of its sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel whole-cell protein electrophoregram with those of type strains of C . concisus and C . mucosalis . These data suggest that genuine human infection with C . mucosalis has not yet been reported.

Gene, 1994 Aug 19, 146(1), 83 - 6
Cloning and expression of the hup encoding a histone-like protein of Campylobacter jejuni; Konkel ME et al.; A Campylobacter jejuni gene, designated hup, that appears to encode a homolog of the histone-like DNA-binding protein, HU, has been cloned, sequenced and expressed in Escherichia coli . Immunoblotting and in vitro transcription/translation analyses revealed a 11-kDa protein that was produced by recombinant plasmids containing hup . The gene contains an open reading frame (ORF) sufficient to encode a protein of 98 amino acids (aa) with a calculated molecular mass of 10,267 Da and a predicted isoelectric point of 10.1 . The deduced aa sequence of the protein, designated HCj, exhibits considerable sequence identity with members of the HU family of proteins from other eubacterial species . The transcription start point was identified by primer extension analysis and appropriately spaced promoter sequences were found which exhibit considerable similarity to E . coli and Bacillus promoters . Southern hybridization analyses indicate that C . jejuni has a single copy of hup.

Gene, 1994 Aug 19, 146(1), 31 - 8
Genetic organization of the region upstream from the Campylobacter jejuni flagellar gene flhA; Miller S et al.; Campylobacter jejuni (Cj) is a Gram-bacterium that causes a diarrheal disease in humans . A Cj homolog of the LcrD/FlhA family of proteins was recently described {Miller et al., Infect . Immun . 61 (1993) 2930-2936} . This family includes proteins that are involved in flagellar biogenesis, such as the Cj FlhA protein, but also includes proteins found in invasive pathogens, such as the Yersinia pestis LcrD protein, that play a role in the regulation and/or secretion of virulence-related proteins . Hybridization studies indicated that both the flhA gene and upstream DNA are present in several bacterial species closely related to Cj, including C . fetus, C . lari, C . upsaliensis and C . hyointestinalis . The presence of a second flhA/lcrD homolog was not detected in Cj, indicating that a a separate homolog involved in secretion of virulence proteins may not be present . The 4-kb region immediately upstream from Cj flhA was analyzed . Three open reading frames (ORFs) were found: a 408-nucleotide (nt) gene encoding a homolog of proteins present in Escherichia coli and Desulfovibrio vulgaris, but of unknown function, a 266-nt rpsO gene and a 2823-nt gene encoding a homolog of the Bacillus subtilis SpoIIIE protein . The Cj SpoIIIE homolog had 53% similar or identical amino acids when compared to the B . subtilis protein, and like the B . subtilis protein contained a nt-binding domain and potential transmembrane (TM) regions . All three ORFs were expressed in E . coli minicells, apparently from their own promoters.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Prof Care Mother Child, 1994 Aug-Sep, 4(6), 188 - 9
Health promotion in the home: 1 . Food poisoning: the link with home hygiene; Perry B; The incidence of food poisoning in the UK is increasing substantially, with about 50% arising in the home . Many different organisms cause food-borne infections, including Salmonella, Campylobacter and Shigella . Storing food correctly is important . Many households shop only once a week and food is often kept for several days before being eaten . Standards of domestic kitchen hygiene must be improved if the incidence of food poisoning is to be reduced Hand washing, kitchen cleanliness and disinfection are essential.

Bull Tokyo Dent Coll, 1994 Aug, 35(3), 107 - 19
Bacteriological diagnosis of periodontal disease; Okuda K; Dental plaque bacteria cause virtually all the forms of inflammatory periodontal disease . Periodontitis is caused by the specific periodontopathic bacteria, which induce destruction of connective tissue attachment and adjacent alveolar bone . Examinations to identify the infections by Porphyromonas gingivalis, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Prevotella intermedia, Campylobacter rectus, Bacteroides forsythus, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Eikenella corrodens and Treponema denticola have recently become essential in diagnosis of periodontal disease . Bacterial examination permits (1) identification of the causative bacteria, (2) assessment of disease activity and (3) monitoring of the effective of periodontal treatments . The author describes details of accurate and rapid methods for detecting periodontopathogens . Transmission of periodontopathic bacteria as clarified by bacterial examination is also discussed in this review . The pathogenic potential of specific bacteria varies among patients and periodontally healthy individuals and can be controlled by host defense mechanisms such as immune responses . The roles of immune responses against periodontopathic bacteria in balance shifts of periodontal disease processes are therefore also discussed in this review.

J Dent Res, 1994 Aug, 73(8), 1421 - 8
Interdental supragingival plaque--a natural habitat of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides forsythus, Campylobacter rectus, and Prevotella nigrescens; Gmur R et al.; The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that suspected periodontal pathogens form a minor component of the supragingival plaque of individuals without periodontal diseases . Twenty-one dental hygienist trainees with a mean age of 23.5 years were twice sampled for interdental plaque between 1st and 2nd molars in all quadrants . The samples were assessed for Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides forsythus, Campylobacter rectus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and the Prevotella intermedia/Prevotella nigrescens group of organisms . Bacteria of this group were predominantly P . nigrescens and showed both the highest prevalence (100%) and the highest colonization density of the investigated species . Seven of 21 samples harbored A . actinomycetemcomitans . Serotypes a, b, and c were found in three samples each, while serotype e was present in one sample . Three subjects had two different A . actinomycetemcomitans serotypes . Bacteroides forsythus and C . rectus were detected in 10 (48%) and nine (43%) subjects, respectively . The detected cell numbers accounted for approximately 0.01% to 1% of the sampled flora . In contrast, P . gingivalis was found only in a single sample, which in addition harbored B . forsythus, C . rectus, A . actinomycetemcomitans (serotypes b and e), and P . intermedia . These results suggest that the investigated periodontal bacteria are not "exogenous pathogens", but amphibiotic, opportunistic microorganisms which may have a natural habitat in the supragingival plaque of the interproximal area of molars.

J Bacteriol, 1994 Aug, 176(16), 5151 - 5
Nucleotide sequence of the Wolinella succinogenes flagellin, which contains in the antigenic domain two conserved regions also present in Campylobacter spp . and Helicobacter pylori; Schuster SC et al.; Wolinella succinogenes possesses one polar flagellum, which shows a characteristic surface pattern of parallel lines along the axis of the filament in electron microscopic images . We determined the gene sequence of the Wolinella flagellin, which is, as in most other bacteria, the only structural component of the filament . Sequence comparison with other members of the Proteobacteria revealed two highly conserved regions in the central part of the flagellin molecule among Campylobacter spp . and Helicobacter pylori, an area that had previously been described as highly variable . Similar surface patterns are found in related polarly flagellated bacteria, but not in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, which also lack these conserved regions.

J Bacteriol, 1994 Aug, 176(15), 4597 - 609
Phylogenetic and molecular characterization of a 23S rRNA gene positions the genus Campylobacter in the epsilon subdivision of the Proteobacteria and shows that the presence of transcribed spacers is common in Campylobacter spp; Trust TJ et al.; The nucleotide sequence of a 23S rRNA gene of Campylobacter coli VC167 was determined . The primary sequence of the C . coli 23S rRNA was deduced, and a secondary-structure model was constructed . Comparison with Escherichia coli 23S rRNA showed a major difference in the C . coli rRNA at approximately position 1170 (E . coli numbering) in the form of an extra sequence block approximately 147 bp long . PCR analysis of 31 other strains of C . coli and C . jejuni showed that 69% carried a transcribed spacer of either ca . 147 or ca . 37 bp . Comparison of all sequenced Campylobacter transcribed spacers showed that the Campylobacter inserts were related in sequence and percent G+C content . All Campylobacter strains carrying transcribed spacers in their 23S rRNA genes produced fragmented 23S rRNAs . Other strains which produced unfragmented 23S rRNAs did not appear to carry transcribed spacers at this position in their 23S rRNA genes . At the 1850 region (E . coli numbering), Campylobacter 23S rRNA displayed a base pairing signature most like that of the beta and gamma subdivisions of the class Proteobacteria, but in the 270 region, Campylobacter 23S rRNA displayed a helix signature which distinguished it from the alpha, beta, and gamma subdivisions . Phylogenetic analysis comparing C . coli VC167 23S rRNA and a C . jejuni TGH9011 (ATCC 43431) 23S rRNA with 53 other completely sequenced (eu)bacterial 23S rRNAs showed that the two campylobacters form a sister group to the alpha, beta, and gamma proteobacterial 23S rRNAs, a positioning consistent with the idea that the genus Campylobacter belongs to the epsilon subdivision of the class Proteobacteria.

J Infect Dis, 1994 Aug, 170(2), 479 - 83
Selection of a gyrA mutant of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to fluoroquinolones during treatment with ofloxacin; Cambau E et al.; A strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to ofloxacin was selected in a patient with a long history of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis eventually treated by ofloxacin combined with other second-line drugs . A mutation in the gyrA gene was hypothesized to be the mechanism of acquired resistance to ofloxacin in this strain . Chromosomal DNA of strains MTB1, isolated before treatment and susceptible to ofloxacin (MIC, 1 microgram/mL), and MTB2, isolated during treatment and resistant to ofloxacin (MIC, 32 micrograms/mL), was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using two oligonucleotide primers highly homologous to DNA sequences flanking the quinolone resistance-determining region in gyrA of mycobacteria . Comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the 150-bp fragments obtained by PCR revealed a point mutation in MTB2 leading to the substitution of histidine for aspartic acid at a position corresponding to residues involved in quinolone resistance in Escherichia coli (Asp87), Staphylococcus aureus (Glu88), and Campylobacter jejuni (Asp90).

J Vet Med Sci, 1994 Aug, 56(4), 697 - 700
A survey of Campylobacter jejuni in broilers from assignment to slaughter using DNA-DNA hybridization; Chuma T et al.; A survey of Campylobacter jejuni in the cecal contents of broilers raised on a farm was carried out by the DNA-DNA hybridization method from the day of assignment to slaughter at about 1-week intervals . C . jejuni was detected in chickens as early as 1 week of age, and was widely detected at each week of age throughout the growing period . In addition, of 20 chickens tested just after assignment, 7 (35%) were C . jejuni positive . It is suggested that newly introduced chickens may have already been contaminated with C . jejuni . The hybridization method was able to detect C . jejuni in the chickens from the day of assignment to 3 weeks of age, but C . jejuni was never detected in the same chickens by the enriched culture method . Therefore, it is suggested that the hybridization method is more sensitive than the enriched culture method.

J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Aug, 32(8), 1980 - 5
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for measuring ileal symbiont intracellularis-specific immunoglobulin G response in sera of pigs; Holyoake PK et al.; Proliferative enteritis (PE) is a common intestinal disease on pig farms . The disease is caused by ileal symbiont (IS) intracellularis (Campylobacter-like organisms) bacteria . An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to measure IS intracellularis-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) response in the sera of pigs . The antigen used in the ELISA was filtered, percoll gradient-purified IS intracellularis extracted from the intestines of pigs affected with proliferative hemorrhagic enteropathy . The antibody responses of pigs challenged with intestinal homogenates from pigs affected with proliferative hemorrhagic enteropathy containing IS intracellularis or percoll-gradient purified IS intracellularis were low and variable . The low IgG titers measured in challenged pigs support previous findings that IgG plays a minor role in the immune response of pigs to IS intracellularis . On a farm in which infection was endemic, pigs seroconverted at between 7 and 24 weeks of age . High IgG titers, indicative of maternally acquired antibody, were present in 3-week-old pigs . The IgG titers in piglets were lowest at 6 weeks of age, which approximates the age of onset of clinical disease . These results suggest that IgG plays a role in determining the susceptibilities of pigs to natural infection . Measurements of seroconversion by the ELISA might aid in epidemiological investigations of PE in naturally infected herds . However, the variable antibody responses in experimentally challenged pigs would seem to limit its usefulness as an antemortem diagnostic test for PE.

Poult Sci, 1994 Aug, 73(8), 1260 - 6
Cecal carriage of Campylobacter and Salmonella in Dutch broiler flocks at slaughter: a one-year study; Jacobs-Reitsma WF et al.; From March 1992 to March 1993, 187 Dutch broiler flocks were screened to assess their Campylobacter and Salmonella carriage . Every 4 wk at least 10 flocks, at three different slaughterhouses, were screened for presence of these bacteria . Twenty-five cecal samples were taken from each flock . Campylobacter spp . were isolated from 153 out of 187 broiler flocks (82%) . Campylobacter carriage of flocks showed seasonal variation, with the highest contamination rate (100%) during the period June to September and the lowest (50%) in March . Salmonella carriage of the flocks did not show a distinct seasonal variation . Salmonella spp . were isolated from 49 out of 181 broiler flocks (27%) . A positive correlation was found between Campylobacter and Salmonella colonization within flocks . Data on farming conditions and husbandry practices were studied to identify possible risk factors for Campylobacter and Salmonella colonization of Dutch broiler flocks.

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin, 1994 Aug-Sep, 12(7), 332 - 6
{Campylobacter gastroenteritis in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection}; Leyes M et al.; BACKGROUND: Campylobacter bacteria are frequent, and usually slight causes of diarrhea in a normal host while in an immunosuppressed host the diarrhea may lead to severe pictures . The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical features of gastroenteritis by Campylobacter spp . in hospitalized seronegative patients and in those with HIV infection . METHODS: A retrospective study of the cases of gastroenteritis by Campylobacter spp . in adult patients admitted in the authors' hospital from January 1988 to July 1993 was carried out . RESULTS: Of the 20 patients studied with gastroenteritis by Campylobacter spp., 13 (65%) had HIV infection . The mean age of the patients was 38 years (range: 18-68 years) with 70% of the cases being males . Seventy seven percent of the HIV positive patients showed diagnostic criteria for AIDS while 71% of the seronegative patients showed a base disease and/or received steroid therapy . The length of the diarrhea was greater in the patients with HIV infection on comparison with the seronegative patients (25 vs . 6 days) . The diarrhea persisted for more than 2 weeks in more than half of the cases of seropositive patients . Fever continued a mean of 24 days in the HIV positive patients as compared with only 5 days in the HIV negative cases . Most of the former patients were treated with erythromycin with good response . Gastroenteritis recurred in one patient and another patient with HIV infection presented a pseudoappendicular picture . No case of bacteremia was detected in either the seropositive or seronegative patients . Campylobacter jejuni was isolated in most of the cases with a high percentage of resistence to quinolone drugs . The mean CD4 lymphocyte count in HIV positive patients was 131/mm3 (range: 1-774) . Mean survival following diagnosis of gastroenteritis by Campylobacter spp . was 8.9 months (range: 1-17) in the patients with AIDS . CONCLUSIONS: Gastroenteritis by Campylobacter spp . in hospitalized patients was related with immunosuppressive states . A clinical profile of prolonged febrile diarrhea was common in HIV positive patients and was associated with a low number of CD4 lymphocytes, advanced HIV infection and short survival.

West J Med, 1994 Aug, 161(2), 148 - 52
Clinical aspects of Campylobacter jejuni infections in adults; Peterson MC; Campylobacter jejuni is an almost ubiquitous, microaerophilic, gram-negative rod . Outbreaks have been associated with drinking raw milk or contaminated water and eating poultry . Campylobacter jejuni accounts for 3.2% to 6.1% of cases of diarrheal illness in the general population of the United States, and infected patients frequently present with abdominal pain and fever . Less frequently, C jejuni is responsible for bacteremia, septic arthritis, septic abortion, and other extraintestinal infections . Reactive arthritis, Reiter's syndrome, the Guillain-Barre syndrome, and pancreatitis may accompany or follow C jejuni enterocolitis . Campylobacter jejuni is an important cause of diarrheal illness and is a more commonly identified stool organism than Salmonella or Shigella species . Recurrent and chronic infection is generally reported in immunocompromised hosts.

Immun Infekt, 1994 Aug, 22(4), 146 - 8
{Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus in a patient with liver cirrhosis}; Werner H et al.; Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus infections are very rare in adults but can occur in immunocompromised elderly people and in patients with chronic disease . We describe the clinical case of a 52-year-old woman with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, where we isolated C.fetus subsp . fetus from blood culture.

Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr, 1994 Aug, 101(8), 303 - 6
{The distribution and persistence of Campylobacter spp . in chickens}; Glunder G; At the end of the production period, 29 layers each from 70 different flocks were examined for the occurrence of campylobacters in their caecal contents . All flocks were found campylobacter positive . Up to 20 individuals of 13 flocks and 21 to 29 birds of 57 flocks were carriers of Campylobacter spp . Material of the liver was additionally cultured from birds of 36 flocks . The isolation of the organism from livers was possible only from 1 to 6 birds of 16 flocks . In two experiments, chickens were infected at an age of 4 weeks with campylobacter strains inducing different excretion rate . The birds were infected again with a further campylobacter strain at 10 weeks of age . Birds at the same age which were not infected before, served as control . After this superinfection, the excretion of the organisms occurred at the same rate in all groups and did not depend on the strain chosen for the first infection . After an additional second superinfection in the second experiment, the period of excretion of the organism at a high rate was diminished.

Intern Med, 1994 Aug, 33(8), 496 - 500
Good's syndrome with a block in the early stage of B cell differentiation and complicated by Campylobacter fetus sepsis; Yamazaki K et al.; A 63-year-old man was admitted for Campylobacter fetus sepsis and immunodeficiency syndrome with thymoma (Good's syndrome) . Serological examination demonstrated hypoimmunoglobulinemia . Analysis of lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood and bone marrow showed marked decreases in the proportion of cells bearing B cell markers . However, there were no abnormalities of cellular immunity . This is a rare case of Good's syndrome in Japan in which the pathogenic mechanism involved a block in the early stage of B cell differentiation . Moreover, this is the first case ever reported of Campylobacter fetus sepsis associated with Good's syndrome.

Rev Biol Trop, 1994 Aug, 42 Suppl 2, 85 - 92
Ultrastructure of the bacteria Campylobacter and Helicobacter: implications for the phylogeny of mammal gastric bacteria; Hernandez F et al.; Negative staining, thin sections, and surface replica methods were used to produce ultrastructural descriptions of curved-shaped, flagelated bacteria Campylobacter jejuni, Helicobacter pylori, and H . muridarum, the last one from the ileon of mice . The former has nude monotrichous flagella, the others have the sheated lobotrichous type . H . muridarum presents 10-12 periplasmic fibers . A cladogram of some gastric bacteria, based on the evolutionary history of the mammal hosts, hypothesizes that (1) the genus Helicobacter evolved about 65 million years ago and that (2) primate parasites such as H . pylori and H . nemestrinae are close relatives, as are parasites of carnivores which include H . mustelae, H . felis and H . acynonyx.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1994 Jul 1, 120(1-2), 13 - 7
Characterization of the sat4 gene encoding a streptothricin acetyltransferase in Campylobacter coli BE/G4; Jacob J et al.; The sat4 streptothricin resistance gene from Campylobacter coli BE/G4 was cloned into pUC18, and its nucleotide sequence was determined . Streptothricin acetyltransferase activity was detected in Escherichia coli cells containing recombinant plasmid pAT132 which carries the sat4 gene as an insert . The deduced amino acid sequence displayed 21-27% amino acid identity with streptothricin acetyltransferases from E . coli and streptothricin producers Streptomyces lavendulae and Streptomyces noursei . The sat4 gene was detected by hybridization in clinical and environmental isolates of Campylobacter spp.

Tijdschr Diergeneeskd, 1994 Jul 1, 119(13), 390 - 3
{Specific pathogen-free health programs}; Kuiper CJ et al.; SPF programs have been established in various countries, particularly in Denmark and Switzerland these programs are already well advanced . The system proves to be advantageous for export dealings but also with regard to public health . Dalland is an internationally operating Dutch pig breeding organisation . In 1989 a SPF nucleus breeding farm was established in North-East France . A special program was set up for the supply of animals from this SPF nucleus . In this paper it is concluded that SPF can be economically beneficial . Under certain well-described circumstances SPF breeding seems feasible . Its is suggested that in future pigs could be produced that will be free of enteropathogens of interest to public health, e.g . Salmonella, Campylobacter and Yersinia enterocolitica.

Infect Immun, 1994 Jul, 62(7), 2687 - 94
Genetic, enzymatic, and pathogenic studies of the iron superoxide dismutase of Campylobacter jejuni; Pesci EC et al.; Campylobacter jejuni is a microaerobic bacterium that produces an acute, self-limiting, watery or bloody diarrhea in humans . Little is known about how C . jejuni causes disease or even what specific capabilities it requires for survival in vivo . The enzyme, superoxide dismutase (SOD), which catalyzes the breakdown of superoxide radicals to hydrogen peroxide and dioxygen is one of the bacterial cell's major defense mechanisms against oxidative damage . A PCR-based search for sod genes in C . jejuni 81-176 revealed that this bacterium contained at least one sod gene . We cloned and sequenced a sod gene from 81-176 and determined that its predicted protein product was most similar to that of FeSODs (sodB genes) . Transcriptional analysis indicated that this gene is monocistronic and may be transcribed from a sigma 70-like promoter . Nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels stained to reveal SOD activities, accompanied by inhibition studies, demonstrated that C . jejuni produces five electrophoretically distinct bands of SOD activity, all of which appeared to be FeSODs . Analysis of an 81-176 sodB strain revealed that all of these FeSOD activities may be products of the one sodB gene that we cloned . The expression and enzymatic activity of the respective sodB and FeSOD produced by both C . jejuni and Helicobacter pylori were examined in Escherichia coli . Both genes were expressed in E . coli, and the proteins produced were enzymatically active . Finally, the ability of the 81-176 sodB strain to survive INT407 cell invasion was found to be significantly decreased (12-fold) compared with that of the parent, suggesting a potential role for SodB in C . jejuni intracellular survival.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1994 Jul-Aug, (4), 7 - 10
{The enterotoxigenic activity of Campylobacter isolates taken in acute intestinal infections in children and its clinical assessment}; Gorelov AV et al.; The screening of Campylobacter clinical isolates in ELISA with the use of nitrocellulose filters as solid phase has revealed the possibility of the detection of enterotoxins . The capacity for producing thermolabile enterotoxin has been found in 75.9%, Shiga-like enterotoxin in 56.4% and both enterotoxins in 31.3% of the tested C . jejuni and C . coli strains . The influence of the enterotoxigenic capacity of the strains under study on the severity of Campylobacter infection and on its numerous clinical manifestations in children has been established.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1994 Jul-Aug, (4), 32 - 5
{The epidemiological characteristics of single cases of campylobacteriosis in urban inhabitants}; Minaev VI et al.; The results of the analysis of the epidemic situation in Campylobacter infection and the epidemiological markers of the strains of the infective agent have demonstrated that Campylobacter infection, registered as single cases among the residents of Vologda, has an epidemic character . An intensive and uncontrolled process among fowl (chickens) and the absence of effective measures of specific prophylaxis make it necessary that a system of hygienic measures be given priority in the complex of measures aimed at the prophylaxis of Campylobacter infection.

Rinsho Shinkeigaku, 1994 Jul, 34(7), 733 - 5
{A patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome in association with Campylobacter jejuni enteritis (PEN19:LIO7) in a patient with HLA-B52 antigen}; Kaida K et al.; We report a 15-year-old boy with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in association with Campylobacter jejuni enteritis . A neurologic examination revealed distal-dominant weakness and areflexia . Compound muscle action potentials were markedly reduced in amplitude, but the decrease in motor conduction velocities was slight . C . jejuni was isolated from his stool culture and the serotype belonged to PEN19:LIO7 . Thin-layer chromatography-immunostaining showed that his serum IgG reacted strongly with GM1 and weakly with GD1b . The patient had HLA-B52 antigen, whose epitope is very similar to that of B35 antigen.

Vet Pathol, 1994 Jul, 31(4), 462 - 7
Specific in situ hybridization of the intracellular organism of porcine proliferative enteropathy; Gebhart CJ et al.; The identity of the intracellular bacteria found in the enterocytes of pigs with proliferative enteropathy was investigated using specific DNA probes to various Campylobacter species and to a novel organism, ileal symbiont intracellularis . The ilea from pigs (Nos . 1-7) that were diagnosed by routine histopathology as having proliferative enteropathy were used . Diagnosis was made on the basis of proliferation of the enterocytes on hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections and the presence of large numbers of intracellular curved organisms on Warthin-Starry silver-stained sections . Four of these pigs (Nos . 1-4) had the chronic form of the disease, porcine intestinal adenomatosis, and three (Nos . 5-7) had the acute form, proliferative hemorrhagic enteropathy . An additional three normal pigs (Nos . 8-10) were obtained from three separate farms with no history of proliferative enteropathy . Frozen ileal sections were examined by in situ hybridization with DNA probes specific for ileal symbiont intracellularis and the three porcine intestinal Campylobacter species, C . coli, C . hyointestinalis, and C . mucosalis . In all seven pigs with either the intestinal adenomatosis or hemorrhagic enteropathy form of the disease, a DNA probe specific for ileal symbiont intracellularis hybridized to localized foci in the apical cytoplasm of ileal enterocytes . These hybridization sites corresponded to the location of intracellular bacteria in silver-stained sections of adjacent tissue . Sections from the three normal pigs tested with this probe and from all pigs tested with the Campylobacter species-specific DNA probes showed no specific hybridization reactions . The identity of the intracellular organism in these diseased pigs is ileal symbiont intracellularis.

J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Jul, 32(7), 1718 - 20
Persistence of Campylobacter fetus bacteremia associated with absence of opsonizing antibodies; Neuzil KM et al.; Campylobacter fetus causes systemic infections in immunocompromised hosts . We describe a case in which C . fetus bacteremia apparently relapsed after 7 years in a patient with hypogammaglobulinemia and characterize the serum resistance of the patient's C . fetus strain and the inability of the patient's serum, with and without commercial intravenous immunoglobulin, to opsonize this and another C . fetus strain effectively . The probable presence of a sequestered site of infection in bone, the intrinsic serum resistance of the C . fetus strain, and the absence of specific antibody may account for the persistent infection in this patient . These studies suggest that intravenous immunoglobulin treatment is not useful in eradicating C . fetus bacteremia.

East Afr Med J, 1994 Jul, 71(7), 437 - 40
The changing patterns of Campylobacter jejuni/coli in Lagos, Nigeria after ten years; Coker AO et al.; One hundred and forty-five stool samples from children with diarrhoea at various health centres in Lagos were investigated for Campylobacter jejuni/coli . These organisms were isolated from 24 samples (16.5%) . They were later biotyped as 23 C . jejuni and one C . coli . Previous studies (3,6) recorded isolation rates of 5.2% and 11% respectively . No Campylobacter species was isolated from 100 control patients who did not have diarrhoea . Diarrhoea due to Campylobacter jejuni/coli is still common in males, and the ration of males to females is still 2:1 but the isolation rate is now 11.7%:4.8% . All the isolates of Campylobacter jejuni are still from children under two years of age . Campylobacter jejuni biotype 1 accounted for 52.5% in an earlier study (18), but accounted for 87.5% in this study . Serogroup 29(70.8%) was the commonest in this study, whereas serogroup 36(20.7%) was very common in an earlier study(18) . Erythromycin, which is the drug of choice for the treatment of campylobacter enteritis, had 82% sensitivity to the organism(6) but in the present study only 20.8% of the isolates were sensitive to the antibiotic . Betalactamase production was detected in 12.5% of the isolates as against 6.4% earlier reported(17).

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 1994 Jul, 13(7), 612 - 5
Development of resistance to macrolide antibiotics in an AIDS patient treated with clarithromycin for Campylobacter jejuni diarrhea; Funke G et al.; In an AIDS patient with diarrhea, identical isolates of Campylobacter jejuni susceptible and, later, resistant to macrolide antibiotics were isolated from feces before and after treatment with clarithromycin . Results of rRNA gene restriction analysis and serotyping suggest that development of resistance rather than simultaneous infection with a susceptible and a resistant strain was responsible for this phenomenon . This is the first report of in vivo development of resistance by Campylobacter jejuni in a patient treated with a macrolide for Campylobacter jejuni infection.

Vet Microbiol, 1994 Jul, 41(1-2), 183 - 8
Experimental colonization of mice with Campylobacter jejuni; Berndtson E et al.; The ability of one human and two chicken strains of Campylobacter jejuni to colonise and survive in three different strains of laboratory mice (NMRI, CBA and C57-Black) was studied . Mice were inoculated orally with Campylobacter jejuni and faeces samples were cultured at regular intervals during the following months . The length of colonisation of mice differed between mouse strains but also between Campylobacter strains . The mouse strain C57-Black was not colonised with C . jejuni to the same degree as the other mouse strains . It is concluded that mice can become colonised for prolonged periods and that they may act as reservoirs of Campylobacter for other species.

Vet Microbiol, 1994 Jul, 41(1-2), 1 - 9
Reproduction of proliferative enteritis in hamsters with a pure culture of porcine ileal symbiont intracellularis; Jasni S et al.; Hamsters, three weeks old, were inoculated orally with suspensions of intracellular bacteria, grown in tissue culture cells, IEC-18, rat enterocytes . Cells had been infected with suspensions of intracellular bacteria derived from the lesions of proliferative haemorrhagic enteropathy occurring naturally in two pigs 916/91 and 1482/89 . Infected cell lines containing each separate strain, 916/91 and 1482/89, were passaged one, two or five times and pure cultures of intracellular bacteria, identified as ileal symbiont intracellularis by immunological means, were collected from the cells and used as inocula . Ten of sixteen hamsters dosed with 916/91 passaged one or five times, developed lesions of proliferative enteritis evident as necropsy three weeks after inoculation . Hamsters inoculated with 1482/89 passaged twice and stored frozen, or IEC-18 cells alone or those left uninoculated, failed to develop lesions of proliferative enteritis . Campylobacter jejuni infection occurred throughout, in all groups . Marked hyperplasia of ileal enterocytes, associated with numerous intracellular curved bacteria was invariably detected in experimentally affected hamsters . Immunofluorescence reactions with specific antibodies indicated that these intracellular bacteria were also ileal symbiont intracellularis . The results suggested that proliferative enteritis could be reproduced in hamsters with a pure culture of an agent derived from pigs . We concluded that the reproduction of the disease with our inocula containing a single agent clarifies the aetiology of proliferative enteritis in both hamsters and pigs.

J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Jul, 32(7), 1788 - 94
Distinct genotypes of human and canine isolates of Campylobacter upsaliensis determined by 16S rRNA gene typing and plasmid profiling; Stanley J et al.; The utility of combined 16S rRNA (rrs) gene restriction fragment length polymorphism and plasmid profiles to differentiate between and within Campylobacter upsaliensis of human and canine origin was examined . Fourteen distinct rrs gene restriction fragment length polymorphs consisting of bands sized between 1.9 and 4.8 kb were observed . The copy number of the 16S rRNA gene was three in most strains of C . upsaliensis . Plasmids were found in almost 60% of the strains; ranging in size from 1.5 to 100 kb, they gave 15 distinct plasmid profiles . All isolates from humans contained one or more plasmids, as did strains isolated from dogs with sporadic diarrhea . The two commonest 16S ribotypes were divided into eight and nine subgroups by plasmid profiling . The genotyping of canine isolates from three veterinary surveys detected both multiple infections and reinfection of dogs . Except for one, each of the isolates from humans constituted a single and unique 16S ribotype, and these more frequently carried plasmids than did canine strains . Ribotypes of human strains were not found among canine isolates . These results suggest that host-specific genotypic differences may exist among strains of C . upsaliensis, for example, intraspecific clones or clone complexes pathogenic for humans.

Ann Neurol, 1994 Jun, 35(6), 698 - 703
Monoclonal IgM antibodies to GM1 and asialo-GM1 in chronic neuropathies cross-react with Campylobacter jejuni lipopolysaccharides; Wirguin I et al.; We tested monoclonal IgM anti-GM1 and asialo-GM1 antibodies from 6 patients with chronic motor neuropathies for binding to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from three stains of Campylobacter jejuni . Four of the 6 patients showed strong reactivity with LPS from at least one of the three C . jejuni strains tested as shown by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or western blot . Preabsorption with GM1 or asialo-GM1, or blocking with cholera toxin, prevented antibody binding to LPS . These studies indicate that human anti-GM1 or anti-asialo-GM1 antibodies cross-react with LPS from certain strains of C . jejuni, and that bacterial LPS might provide antigenic stimuli for the activation of B cells expressing anti-GM1 antibodies.

J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Jun, 32(6), 1532 - 6
Two-year study of endemic enteric pathogens associated with acute diarrhea in New Caledonia; Germani Y et al.; A longitudinal study of diarrheal disease among patients of all ages with acute diarrhea was carried out in New Caledonia from January 1990 to December 1991 . Stool samples from 2,088 diarrheal patients were examined for parasites, rotavirus, and bacterial pathogens . Potential sources of contamination (drinking water, seawater and bovine and porcine feces) were investigated . One or more enteric pathogens were identified in 41.8 and 40.6% of the persons with diarrhea, in 1990 and 1991, respectively . Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., HEp-2 cell adherent Escherichia coli (diffuse adherent and enteroaggregative), enteropathogenic E . coli (EPEC) (EPEC adherence factor-positive strains belonging to classical serotypes), localized adherent E . coli (non-EPEC), and enterotoxigenic E . coli were the frequently identified enteropathogenic bacteria . Other major enteropathogens were Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia . Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium perfringens, Yersinia enterocolitica, and rotavirus were isolated from only a few patients . No Vibrio spp., Aeromonas spp., Plesiomonas spp., Shiga-like-toxin-producing E . coli, enterohemorrhagic E . coli, or enteroinvasive E . coli were identified . Shiga-like toxin I-producing E . coli were present in adult bovines and calves, and heat-stable enterotoxin II-producing enterotoxigenic E . coli were found in pigs.

J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Jun, 32(6), 1497 - 502
Rapid detection of Serpulina hyodysenteriae in diagnostic specimens by PCR; Elder RO et al.; A PCR assay for the detection of Serpulina hyodysenteriae in diagnostic specimens was developed on the basis of sequence analysis of a recombinant clone designated pRED3C6 . Clone pRED3C6, which contained a 2.3-kb DNA fragment unique to S . hyodysenteriae, was identified by screening a plasmid library of S . hyodysenteriae isolate B204 genomic DNA in Escherichia coli by colony immunoblot with the mouse monoclonal antibody 10G6/G10, which was produced against cell-free supernatant antigens from the same isolate . Southern blot analysis of HindIII-digested genomic DNA of S . hyodysenteriae serotypes 1 through 7 and of four weakly beta-hemolytic intestinal spirochetes, including Serpulina innocens, with the 2.3-kb DNA fragment of pRED3C6 indicated that the cloned sequence was present exclusively in the seven serotypes of S . hyodysenteriae . An oligonucleotide primer pair for PCR amplification of a 1.55-kb fragment and an internal oligonucleotide probe were designed and synthesized on the basis of sequence analysis of the 2.3-kb DNA fragment of pRED3C6 . Purified genomic DNAs from reference isolates of S . hyodysenteriae serotypes 1 through 9, S . innocens, weakly beta-hemolytic intestinal spirochetes belonging to genotypic groups distinct from those of reference Serpulina spp., other cultivable reference isolates of the order Spirochaetales, and enteric bacteria including Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., and Bacteroides vulgatus were amplified with the oligonucleotide primer pair in a hot-start PCR . The 1.55-kb products were obtained only in the presence of genomic DNA from each of the nine serotypes of S . hyodysenteriae . The specificity of the 1.55-kb products for S . hyodysenteriae was confirmed on the basis of production of a restriction endonuclease pattern of the PCR products identical to the predicted restriction map analysis of pRED3C6 and positive hybridization signal with the S . hyodysenteriae-specific internal oligonucleotide probe . By using total DNA obtained from normal swine feces inoculated with decreasing concentrations of S . hyodysenteriae cells, the sensitivity of the PCR assay was calculated to be between 1 and 10 organisms per 0.1 g of feces . The PCR assay was 1,000 times more sensitive than conventional culture of dysenteric feces on selective medium . There was complete agreement between the results of PCR assays and anaerobic culture on selective agar medium with diagnostic specimen (n = 9) obtained from six farms on which there were cases with clinical signs suggestive of swine dysentery . Detection of S . hyodysenteriae by PCR amplification of DNA has great potential for rapid identification of S . hyodysenteriae in diagnostic specimens.

Biotechniques, 1994 Jun, 16(6), 1064 - 8
Plasmid for the direct subcloning from lambda gt11 to produce an LT-B fusion protein; Meinersmann RJ et al.; We wished to study LT-B fusion proteins for potential as vaccines . We reasoned that a gene that was expressed as a lambda gt11 fusion protein would have a better chance of being expressed fused to LT-B . To facilitate such constructions, we modified plasmid pYA3081 . A BamHI-EcoRI-BamHI* (* is to stop codon) adapter was inserted into the single BamHI site to form a new plasmid-designated pBEB . The insert was designed so that the EcoRI site at the downstream end of the LT-B gene was in the same reading frame as the EcoRI site in the beta-galactosidase gene of lambda gt11 and termination codons occurred downstream in all three reading frames . A clone was selected from a gt11 library based on the production of a protein that reacted with antibodies to flagellin from Campylobacter jejuni . DNA from this clone was digested with EcoRI, the insert fragment purified and ligated into the EcoRI site of pBEB . A fusion protein of 43 kDa was produced that reacted in Western blot with antibodies against LT-B and flagellin . We have succeeded in making an easy method for subcloning fragments from gt11 into a vector for making LT-B fusion proteins.

J Okla State Med Assoc, 1994 Jun, 87(6), 267 - 9
Campylobacter fetus presenting as a septic pleural effusion: a case report; Nadir A et al.; The authors describe a rare case of Campylobacter fetus occurring in a patient who showed no overt evidence of immune incompetence . The patient presented with severe cellulitis of the legs, a chronic low grade fever, and a history of recent exposure to sick calves.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1994 Jun, 60(6), 2069 - 75
Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, salmonellae, and Campylobacter jejuni in raw ground beef by gamma irradiation; Clavero MR et al.; Raw ground beef patties inoculated with stationary-phase cells of Escherichia coli O157:H7, salmonellae, or Campylobacter jejuni were subjected to gamma irradiation (60Co) treatment, with doses ranging from 0 to 2.52 kGy . The influence of two levels of fat (8 to 14% {low fat} and 27 to 28% {high fat}) and temperature (frozen {-17 to -15 degrees C} and refrigerated {3 to 5 degrees C}) on the inactivation of each pathogen by irradiation was investigated . In ascending order of irradiation resistance, the D10 values ranged from 0.175 to 0.235 kGy (C . jejuni), from 0.241 to 0.307 kGy (E . coli O157:H7), and from 0.618 to 0.800 kGy (salmonellae) . Statistical analysis revealed that E . coli O157:H7 had a significantly (P < 0.05) higher D10 value when irradiated at -17 to -15 degrees C than when irradiated at 3 to 5 degrees C . Regardless of the temperature during irradiation, the level of fat did not have a significant effect on the D10 value . Salmonellae behaved like E . coli O157:H7 in low-fat beef, but temperature did not have a significant effect when the pathogen was irradiated in high-fat ground beef . Significantly higher D10 values were calculated for C . jejuni irradiated in frozen than in refrigerated low-fat beef . C . jejuni was more resistant to irradiation in low-fat beef than in high-fat beef when treatment was at -17 to -15 degrees C . Regardless of the fat level and temperature during inactivation, these pathogens were highly sensitive to gamma irradiation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Gut, 1994 Jun, 35(6), 755 - 7
Effects of Helicobacter pylori on histamine and carbachol stimulated acid secretion by human parietal cells; Jablonowski H et al.; Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection is associated with hypo, normal, and hypersecretory disorders of the gastric mucosa . Pathophysiological pathways by which H pylori interacts with acid secretion are still unclear . The effects of H pylori on (14C) aminopyrine uptake by human parietal cells were examined as an indirect assay for acid secretion . Isolated oxyntic glands were stimulated with submaximal concentrations of histamine or carbachol and incubated with sonicates of different H pylori strains . Omeprazole and sonicates of Campylobacter jejuni served as positive and negative controls, respectively . Two of four H pylori strains reduced hydrochloric acid sequestration within the parietal cells significantly and in a dose dependent manner in up to 80% . Interaction with acid secretion may therefore constitute a factor contributing to a distinct pathogenicity of H pylori strains.

Scand J Urol Nephrol, 1994 Jun, 28(2), 179 - 81
Henoch-Schönlein purpura associated with Campylobacter jejuni enteritis . Case report; Lind KM et al.; After an episode of enteritis caused by C . jejuni a 15-year-old boy developed Schonlein-Henoch purpura . Because of continuous proteinuria a renal biopsy was performed . Light microscopy revealed focal proliferative glomerulonephritis . IgA was the dominant immunoglobulin . A causal relationship between enteritis caused by C . jejuni and Schonlein-Henoch purpura complicated with focal proliferative glomerulonephritis is suggested.

Oral Microbiol Immunol, 1994 Jun, 9(3), 136 - 41
The oral gram-negative anaerobic microflora in young children: longitudinal changes from edentulous to dentate mouth; Kononen E et al.; Eruption of primary teeth has a great influence on the oral environment by providing suitable niches for bacterial colonization . The composition of oral gram-negative anaerobic microflora was investigated in 21 young children (mean age 32 months) with primary dentition . The bacterial findings of samples were compared with those of the same children collected at their edentulous infant period (mean age 3 months) . During the primary period, 2 samples were collected from each child: a sample with dental floss from gingival margin of 2 teeth and stimulated saliva pooled with a mucosal swab sample . Both samples were cultured aerobically and anaerobically using nonselective and selective media . Prevotella melaninogenica, nonpigmented Prevotella spp., Fusobacterium nucleatum group and Capnocytophaga spp . were found in all children at the older age, whereas they occurred in edentulous mouth in 76%, 62%, 67% and 19%, respectively . The occurrence of Prevotella loescheii increased from 14% to 90%, Prevotella intermedia from 10% to 67%, Leptotrichia spp . from 24 to 71%, Campylobacter (Wolinella) spp . from 5 to 43% and Eikenella corrodens from 5 to 57% . Only the occurrence of Bacteroides gracilis and Veillonella spp . remained at about the same level . Species not isolated from the edentulous mouth, such as Prevotella denticola, Fusobacterium spp . other than the F . nucleatum group and Selenomonas spp . were now detected in 71%, 71% and 43% of the children . The stability of the colonizing P . melaninogenica strain(s) in the oral cavity was determined by using ribotyping; 1-2 isolates per child from the edentulous infant period of 9 children and 3-15 isolates per child from their primary dentition period were analyzed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

East Afr Med J, 1994 Jun, 71(6), 376 - 8
Cryptosporidiosis among medical patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in Tikur Anbessa Teaching Hospital, Ethiopia; Mengesha B; Fresh stool specimens, collected at random from 63 medical in-patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), were studied prospectively for Cryptosporidium oocyst . The diagnosis of AIDS was made according to the clinical case definition of the Bangui criteria . These patients presented with profuse watery diarrhoea, significant weight loss and other associated symptoms and signs of clinical manifestations of symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection . Using the modified Kinyoun acid fast staining technique, 25(39.7%) of the stool specimens were positive for Cryptosporidium oocyst . This study showed that the protozoan, Cryptosporidium parvum, may be responsible for a significant proportion of cases of chronic diarrhoea among AIDS patients in EthiopiaPIP: All adult patients who were admitted into hospital with chronic diarrhea and who fulfilled the modified World Health Organization surveillance case definition for AIDS (Bangui definition) were included in this study . The presence of generalized Kaposi's sarcoma or cryptococcal meningitis are sufficient by themselves for the diagnosis of AIDS surveillance purposes . Freshly passed liquid stool was collected from each patient . There were a total of 63 patients, 40 males and 23 females, 18-49 years old with a mean of 31 years . 42 (75%) of the 63 were residents of Addis Ababa city . 20 (31%) patients died in hospital . The duration of diarrhea varied from just a month to 9 months, with a mean of 4 months . The stool was watery in the majority of the patients except in those with amoebiasis and bacterial enteropathogen in whom blood and/or mucus was also present . Weight loss was dramatic and reached as much as 30-40% of body weight in some . 25 (39.7%) of study patients had oocyst of Cryptosporidium in their stools . Stool tests for other ova and parasites showed 42 (77%) to be negative . 21 (33%) were positive for single and mixed infections . Entamoeba histolytica accounted for 15 (11%), while Giardia lamblia and Strongyloides stercolaris were positive in 3 patients . Ascaris lumbricoides and hookworm were present concomitantly in 6 of the cases with protozoal parasites . 21 patients had stool cultures that grew no enteropathogens . In 6 others, cultures grew Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter species in 4, 2, and 2 respectively . Double infections were observed in 2 cases . Enteropathogenic parasites and microbial agents were identified in about 63% of patients . In the absence of effective antibiotic or chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of protozoan enteropathogen, the stool smear for Cryptosporidium adds extra cost to the management of AIDS . Prevention remains the only alternative, both for AIDS and cryptosporidiosis .

Onderstepoort J Vet Res, 1994 Jun, 61(2), 193 - 5
First isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from the vaginal discharge of three bitches after abortion in South Africa; Odendaal MW et al.; Campylobacter jejuni was isolated in pure culture from the vaginal discharge from three German Shepherd bitches after late-pregnancy abortions . The main clinical sign occurring in the bitches was a profuse and odourless haemorrhagic vaginal discharge.

J Bacteriol, 1994 Jun, 176(11), 3303 - 13
Structural and antigenic characteristics of Campylobacter coli FlaA flagellin; Power ME et al.; The polar flagellar filament of Campylobacter coli VC167 is composed of two highly related (98%) flagellin subunit proteins, FlaA and FlaB, whose antigenic specificities result from posttranslational modification . FlaA is the predominant flagellin species, and mutants expressing only FlaA form a full-length flagellar filament . Although the deduced M(r) of type 2 (T2) FlaA is 58,884 and the apparent M(r) by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is 59,500, the solution weight-average M(r) by sedimentation analysis was 63,000 . Circular dichroism studies in the presence or absence of 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate or 50% trifluorethanol showed that the secondary structure of T2 FlaA flagellin was altered, with alpha-helix structure being increased to 25% in the nonpolar environment . The molecule also contained 35 to 48% beta-sheet and 11 to 29% beta-turn structure . Mimeotope analysis of octapeptides representing the sequence of FlaA together with immunoelectron microscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with a panel of antisera indicated that many residues in presumed linear epitopes were inaccessible or nonepitopic in the assembled filament, with the majority being in the N-terminal 337 residues of the 572-residue flagellin . Residues at the carboxy-terminal end of the T2 FlaA subunit also become inaccessible upon assembly . Digestion with trypsin, chymotrypsin, and endoproteinase Glu-C revealed a protease-resistant domain with an approximate M(r) of 18,700 between residues 193 and 375 . Digestion with endoproteinase Arg-C and endoproteinase Lys-C allowed the mapping of a segment of surface-exposed FlaA sequence which contributes serospecificity to the VC167 T2 flagellar filament at residues between 421 and 480.

Rev Prat, 1994 May 15, 44(10), 1333 - 8
{New bacterial infections in the course of AIDS}; Rousseau MC et al.; The authors reviewed the recent data on unusual or newly described bacterial infection in AIDS . Mycoplasma species are frequently associated with AIDS and hypothesized to play as a cofactor in AIDS evolution (Mycoplasma fermentans and Mycoplasma penetrans) . Rochalimea henselea and Rochalimea quintana are the agents of peliosis and bacillary angiomatosis . Some Mycobacterium and Campylobacter species, not previously considered as human pathogens, have been recently involved in severe infection in patients with AIDS.

Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen, 1994 May 10, 114(12), 1416 - 20
{Diagnosis and treatment of infections of the digestive system in HIV-infected patients}; Oktedalen O et al.; Patients with HIV infection often suffer from opportunistic and bacterial infections of the digestive tract . The most common agents are Candida albicans, Herpes simplex and Cytomegalovirus, Mycobacterium avium intracellulare, Cryptosporidium parvum, and enteropathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter . The diagnosis is established by means of microbiological examination of blood and faeces, often supplemented by gastrointestinal endoscopy, with mucosal biopsies for culture and histology . Most patients respond well to specific treatment, but the infections tend to relapse after withdrawal of drugs.

Infect Immun, 1994 May, 62(5), 2122 - 5
Lipopolysaccharides from Campylobacter jejuni associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome patients mimic human gangliosides in structure; Aspinall GO et al.; Lipopolysaccharides extracted from Campylobacter jejuni serostrains (serotype reference strains) for serotypes O:4 and O:19 were found to have core oligosaccharides with terminal structures resembling human gangliosides GM1 and GD1a . High-molecular-weight molecules that reflected the presence of O chains were shown in immunoblots to be immunologically specific for each serostrain . The O:19 antiserum also reacted strongly with core oligosaccharides of two isolates from patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), but the banding patterns and molecular structures were different from those of the O:19 serostrain . A neuraminobiose disaccharide unit is attached to the terminal Gal residue in one isolate, and the other isolate lacked terminal N-acetyl glucosamine and galactose with attached sialic acid so that the sialic acid residues were present in a neuraminobiose unit linked to the only remaining galactose . Analysis of the high-M(r) lipopolysaccharides of the O:19 serostrain and the two isolates from GBS patients revealed the presence of a hyaluronic acid-like polymer with disaccharide-repeating units consisting of beta-D-glucuronic acid amidated with 2-amino-2-deoxyglycerol and N-acetyl glucosamine . The results confirm a potential role for the core oligosaccharides in the etiology of GBS but also suggest that the O-chain polysaccharide may be a contributing factor.

Arkh Patol, 1994 May-Jun, 56(3), 27 - 30
{Acute Campylobacter colitis}; Shalygina NB et al.; Biopsies of colon mucous membrane obtained at colonofibroscopy of 16 adult patients with colon campylobacteriosis were studied . Acute diffuse colitis was found in all cases . Exudative inflammation with hemorrhagic component and microerosion formation was found up to day 10 of the disease . Catarrhal inflammation was observed from day 10-16 during the period of convalescence . Abundant infiltration of tunica propria with eosinophylic leucocytes is a peculiar feature of colon campylobacteriosis . This, together with a diffuse character of inflammation, makes a difference with Shigella colitis . Complete normalization of the mucosa does not occur within 16 days.

Int J Food Microbiol, 1994 May, 22(2-3), 189 - 200
Simple extraction of Campylobacter lipopolysaccharide and protein antigens and production of their antibodies in egg yolk; Chandan V et al.; Antigens were heat extracted from Campylobacter jejuni (LI04) and C . coli (LI020) in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) and were recovered in the supernatant of a low-speed centrifugation . The method is simpler, safer and more efficient in extracting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigens than the hot phenol method . The extracted antigens (LPS plus several proteins) elicited production of antigen-specific antibodies in the egg yolk of immunized hens . Antibodies purified by polyethyleneglycol fractionation were used to detect antigens fractionated on SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Aust Vet J, 1994 May, 71(5), 140 - 3
Diagnosis of bovine venereal campylobacteriosis by ELISA; Hum S et al.; An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measuring IgA antibodies in the vaginal mucus was used to diagnose bovine venereal campylobacteriosis in 241 herds with infertility and abortions . The presence of the disease was confirmed on 84 farms (34.8%) and it was suspected on a further 27 farms (11.2%) . The specificity of the ELISA was found to be 98.5% but in the absence of a reliable comparative test sensitivity can not be estimated . Vaccination against campylobacteriosis will not interfere with the IgA ELISA because only IgG is present in the vaginal mucus of vaccinates . Because of the possibility of false reactions caused by antibody fluctuations in individual cattle, the ELISA is best used as a herd test . It appears that at present the vaginal mucus IgA ELISA is the test of choice for the diagnosis of bovine venereal campylobacteriosis.

J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 1994 May-Jun, 9(3), 291 - 303
AIDS and the gut; Chui DW et al.; There are increasing challenges for the practising gastroenterologist in treating AIDS-related gastrointestinal diseases . The differential diagnoses of dysphagia and odynophagia include cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection, non-specific aphthous ulceration and non-AIDS oesophageal diseases, especially reflux oesophagitis . Chronic subacute abdominal pain with nausea, vomiting, early satiety and weight loss is suggestive of an obstructive lesion caused by lymphoma or Kaposi's sarcoma . Severe acute abdominal pain can indicate pancreatitis or intestinal perforation due to cytomegalovirus . Right upper quadrant pain (with or without fever, vomiting or abnormal liver function tests with a cholestatic profile) is suggestive of hepatobiliary pathology including cholecystitis, cholangitis, acalculous cholecystitis and AIDS cholangiopathy . Diarrhoea is the most common gastrointestinal symptom of AIDS, affecting 50-90% of patients . Causes of AIDS diarrhoea include protozoa (Cryptosporidium parvum, Isospora belli, Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Septata intestinalis, Cyclospora spp, Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia), bacteria (Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, Clostridium difficile, Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter jejuni), and viruses (CMV, HSV and possibly HIV) . Chronic diarrhoea, malnutrition and weight loss can shorten the life-span of patients with AIDS . Elemental diets, isotonic formulas, medium chain triglycerides and total parenteral nutrition have been tried with little success in AIDS patients with severe diarrhoea and wasting.

J Clin Microbiol, 1994 May, 32(5), 1229 - 37
Intracellular Campylobacter-like organism from ferrets and hamsters with proliferative bowel disease is a Desulfovibrio sp; Fox JG et al.; Proliferative bowel disease is an intestinal disorder of a variety of domestic animals associated with the presence of an intracellular Campylobacter-like organism (ICLO) . We have identified the ICLO obtained from a ferret with proliferative colitis by 16S rRNA sequence analysis . In this ferret, proliferative bowel tissue containing the ICLO had translocated to the mesenteric lymph nodes, omentum, and liver . The 16S rRNA genes of the ICLO were amplified from an infected fragment of extraintestinal tissue by using universal prokaryotic primers . Approximately 1,480 bases of the amplified 16S rRNA gene were sequenced by cycle sequencing . Comparison of the sequence of the ICLO with those of over 400 bacteria in our data base indicated that the sequence of the ICLO was most closely related to that of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans (87.5% similarity) . Phylogenetic analysis with 12 Desulfovibrio species and 20 species from related genera placed the ICLO in a subcluster within the genus Desulfovibrio with D . desulfuricans and 5 other Desulfovibrio species . We will refer to this organism as the intracellular Desulfovibrio organism (IDO) . Specific primers were produced for PCR amplification of a 550-base fragment of the 16S rRNA gene of the IDO in proliferative intestinal tissue samples . This unique 550-base segment was amplified from samples of frozen intestinal tissue from nine ferrets and three hamsters with ICLO-associated disease but not in four intestinal tissue samples from animals without the ICLO-associated disease . The 550-base amplified products from the bowel tissues of one hamster and one ferret were fully sequenced . The ferret IDO partial sequence was identical to the previously determined 16S rRNA sequence over its length, and the hamster IDO sequence differed by a single base . The same intracellular organism has been identified in proliferative intestinal tissues of swine and that the organism has been successfully maintained in tissue culture . The availability of specific primers for PCR-based detection of this intracellular Desulfovibrio organism will aid in the determination of its role in the pathogenesis of proliferative bowel disease in a variety of infected hosts.

Microbiology, 1994 May, 140 ( Pt 5), 1203 - 8
Cloning, nucleotide sequence and characterization of a gene encoding superoxide dismutase from Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli; Purdy D et al.; Genes encoding superoxide dismutase (SOD: EC 1.15.1.1) were cloned from Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 11351 and Campylobacter coli UA585 by heterologous complementation of a SOD-deficient Escherichia coli mutant . Deletion analysis of the cloned C . jejuni DNA assigned the sod gene to a 1.2 kb insert and this contained an open reading frame of 660 bp . The deduced gene product of 220 amino acids was 71% identical to the E . coli iron-containing SOD and 60% identical to the E . coli manganese-containing SOD . The recombinant SOD was expressed at high levels in E . coli and protected a sodA sodB double mutant from the toxic effects of methyl viologen . Nucleotide sequence analysis of the corresponding gene from C . coli showed it to be 92% identical to that from C . jejuni.

Rev Invest Clin, 1994 May-Jun, 46(3), 221 - 9
{Biochemical characterization of Campylobacter using the "Micro Campy" method}; Granados Silvestre MA et al.; Three species of Campylobacter are recognized as enteropathogens in children under five years of age and in immunocompromised patients . Several groups have tried to classify them using biochemical profiles and have found six different patterns which comprise 12 individual tests . We have designed a "Micro Campy" method which identifies C . jejuni, C . coli and C . lari classifying them into several biotypes . Fifty two Campylobacter strains isolated from humans were studied and classified in 24 different patterns . Strains isolated from diarrhea episodes were seen in two specific patterns . We propose the use of this easy to perform method which has a reproducibility higher than 92% in biotyping Campylobacter strains.

Mikrobiol Z, 1994 May-Jun, 56(3), 51 - 4
{The fatty acid composition of the total lipids in bacteria of the genus Campylobacter}; Kirik DL et al.; Composition of fatty acids of total lipids in home strains of campylobacteria has been studied . Lipids of all the strains of C . jejuni and C . coli mainly consist of saturated fatty acids (from 75.7 to 78.7%) with predominance of tetradecanoic and hexadecanoic fatty acids . The level of unsaturated fatty acids is considerably lower (from 21.0 to 22.5%); These acids are mainly presented by hexadecene acid . Qualitative composition of fatty acids of total lipids in C . jejuni and C . coli does not permit using it for differentiation within these species.

Infect Immun, 1994 May, 62(5), 2101 - 3
Penner's serotype 4 of Campylobacter jejuni has a lipopolysaccharide that bears a GM1 ganglioside epitope as well as one that bears a GD1 a epitope; Yuki N et al.; The carbohydrate structures of lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) of Campylobacter jejuni strains belonging to Penner's serotypes (PEN) 1, 2, 4, 19, 23, and 36 were studied by thin-layer chromatography and immunostaining with several monoclonal antiganglioside antibodies . Anti-GM1 and anti-GD1a antibodies reacted with the LPSs of PEN 1, 4, and 19 . Aspinall et al . (G . O . Aspinall, A . G . McDonald, T . S . Raju, H . Pang, A . P . Moran, and J . L . Penner . Eur . J . Biochem . 213:1017-1027, 1993) recently reported that the LPS of PEN 4 has a GD1a ganglioside-like structure rather than a GM1-like structure . We found that the LPS fraction of C . jejuni (PEN 4) has an LPS that bears a GM1 epitope as well as an LPS that bears a GD1a epitope.

Clin Diagn Lab Immunol, 1994 May, 1(3), 310 - 7
Serum antibody response to the superficial and released components of Helicobacter pylori; Bazillou M et al.; Superficial and released components were extracted from six selected Helicobacter pylori strains . The protein and antigenic profiles of these extracts were representative of the profiles found most frequently among the clinical strains and included major peptidic fractions at 19, 23.5, 57, 68, 76, 118, and 132 kDa and major antigens at 68, 57, and 23.5 kDa . Immuno-cross-reactions were seen with a hyperimmune rabbit serum to Campylobacter fetus but not with sera to Campylobacter jejuni or Salmonella spp . An antigenic preparation was obtained by pooling equivalent quantities of each extract, and the antigenic preparation was used to study the antibody responses of sera from 65 French patients and 127 Tunisian patients . By enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we observed that the sera from French and Tunisian patients clustered into two populations, defined as antibody positive (72 patients) and antibody negative (120 patients) . The antibody-positive patients were more frequently infected with H . pylori (P < 0.01) and were more frequently affected with gastritis (P = 0.05) . However, no correlation between antibody levels and clinical signs of dyspepsia was noticed . The proportions of antibody-positive patients were similar in France and Tunisia . Antibody-positive and antibody-negative sera were studied by western blot (immunoblot) analysis . The antibody-positive sera revealed an average of 7.7 antigenic bands, whereas the antibody-negative sera revealed an average of 2.4 antigenic bands (P < 0.01) . The antigens between 15 and 40 kDa and greater than 66 kDa were specifically recognized by the antibody-positive sera, although in this molecular size range the antibody profiles of these sera exhibited a fairly high degree of diversity . We conclude that the superficial and released components from H . pylori contain a variety of bacterial immunogens and may be useful in antigenic preparations for the serodiagnosis of H . pylori infections . Moreover, a group of antigens in combination appears to be useful for discriminating antibody-positive and antibody-negative patients.

J Periodontol, 1994 Apr, 65(4), 357 - 63
Impaired bactericidal activity of PMN from two brothers with necrotizing ulcerative gingivo-periodontitis; Cutler CW et al.; The purpose of this study was to investigate the pathogenesis of necrotizing ulcerative gingivo-periodontitis (ANUP) diagnosed in two brothers, age 9 (ANUP1) and 14 (ANUP2) from rural Egypt . Complete blood count, differential and blood chemistry were within normal limits for both brothers and they were not malnourished . The phagocytosis and killing function of their polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) towards four bacterial species were assessed using a fluorochrome microassay . The selection of bacterial species was based on preliminary microbiological results in early onset periodontitis in Egypt . Fluorochrome-labeled Prevotella intermedia, Peptostreptococcus micros, Campylobacter rectus, and Porphyromonas gingivalis were pre-opsonized with ANUP serum and added to PMN from both ANUP patients, as well as PMN from three sex-matched and two sex- and age-matched healthy Egyptian control (CTL) subjects . We found significant depressions (P < 0.05) in PMN phagocytosis and killing of C . rectus and P . intermedia by ANUP1 and ANUP2, when compared to all CTL PMN . An assessment of the Gram-negative subgingival microflora present in both ANUP patients (in colony forming unit percent of total CFU recovered) (CFU %) revealed the presence of P . intermedia (ANUP1, 41.7 CFU %; ANUP2, 14.8 CFU %), Fusobacterium nucleatum (ANUP1, 3.6 CFU %; ANUP2, 48.1 CFU %), and Veillonella spp . (ANUP1, 18.2 CFU %; ANUP2, 18.5 CFU %) . Spirochetes were also observed in cytocentrifuged, Gram-stained plaque from both ANUP patients . The predominant Gram-positive bacterial species recovered from both NUG1 and NUG2 was Streptococcus morbillorum.

J Periodontol, 1994 Apr, 65(4), 309 - 15
Flow-cytometric identification and detection of Porphyromonas gingivalis by a LPS specific monoclonal antibody; Kamiya I et al.; The purpose of this study was to identify Porphyromonas gingivalis (P . gingivalis) by flow cytometry (FCM) using a monoclonal antibody (MAb) OMR-Bg1E directed to P . gingivalis-specific lipopolysaccharide (LPS) . The P . gingivalis strains ATCC 33277, 381, ESO75, W50, and A7A1 were selected for the study . Fusobacterium nucleatum (F . nucleatum), Prevotella intermedia (P . intermedia), Campylobacter rectus (C . rectus), Streptococcus sanguis (S . sanguis) and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (A . actinomycetemcomitans) served as controls . A suspension of 10(7) bacteria/ml of each bacteria was prepared and then reacted with a P . gingivalis specific MAb OMR-Bg1E and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled second antibody . These samples were analyzed by FCM . Bacterial specific binding aggregate on data was separated out by the forward- and side-angle-scatter characteristics, while non-specific binding (NSB) was eliminated by excluding the region with mouse IgG-positive and second antibody-positive area . FCM detected a mean range of 56.2% to 97.2% P . gingivalis strains . There was a 5.1% non-specific binding using FCM to non-P . gingivalis strains . When the P . gingivalis concentration was adjusted to 10(2), 10(4), and 10(6) bacteria/ml, a detection rate of 35.7%, 48.1%, and 91.4%, was respectively observed . The lower sensitivity of the flow cytometric assay was 10(2) bacteria/ml . When P . gingivalis was added to P . intermedia suspension at 1, 20, 40, 60, and 80%, the MAb-positive fraction yielded by FCM displayed a coefficient of determination of 0.967 with the actual percentage of P . gingivalis and could be regressed to a linear function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Arch Pathol Lab Med, 1994 Apr, 118(4), 350 - 65
Bacteria in blood for transfusion . A review; Sazama K; OBJECTIVE: To summarize reports of bacterial contamination of blood components for transfusion during this century, considering implicated microorganisms and patient outcomes, with identification and discussion of recommended methods to reduce or eliminate this problem . DATA SOURCES: Articles published in the English-language literature from which summary tables of all reported bacterial infections were prepared by collating published case reports, including fatalities, emphasizing recent concerns about Yersinia contamination . STUDY SELECTION: All case reports and related review articles relevant to issues about bacteria implicated in transfusion-associated sepsis were included . DATA EXTRACTION: The author personally extracted all data . DATA SYNTHESIS: With the exception of Yersinia species and Campylobacter jejuni in red blood cells and Salmonella heidelburg in platelets, the majority of bacteria implicated continue to be those found in the environment and as normal skin flora . Existing measures to identify contaminated components before transfusing them are inadequate . Manufacturing efforts to sterilize these components by various methods may result in greater benefit than those directed toward preventing contamination during collections . CONCLUSIONS: Bacterial contamination remains a problem for transfusion medicine . Active research should continue to focus on elimination of contaminants by filtration, chemical additives, or irradiation, as well as innovative measures to detect and exclude infected units from transfusion.

Am J Clin Pathol, 1994 Apr, 101(4 Suppl 1), S14 - 7
Practical considerations in the laboratory diagnosis of bacterial enteric infections; Nolte FS; Diarrheal diseases caused by bacterial pathogens are important causes of morbidity in the United States, and considerable laboratory resources are spent to detect these enteric pathogens . This article reviews recent developments in the detection and identification of Campylobacter spp, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, and Clostridium difficile, and outlines cost-effective strategies for use of stool cultures.

Epidemiol Infect, 1994 Apr, 112(2), 359 - 65
Immunoglobulin A antibodies directed against Campylobacter jejuni flagellin present in breast-milk; Nachamkin I et al.; We studied the relationship between IgA anti-campylobacter flagellin antibodies in breast milk samples and protection of breastfed infants living in a rural Mexican village from campylobacter infection . There were fewer episodes of campylobacter infection (symptomatic and asymptomatic combined) in infants breastfed with milk containing specific anti-flagellin antibodies (1.2/child/year, 95% CI 0.6-1.8) versus non-breastfed children (3.3/child/year, 95% CI 1.8-4.8; P < 0.01) . Infants breastfed with milk that was anti-flagellin antibody negative by ELISA also had fewer episodes of infection compared with non-breastfed children, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (1.8/child/year, 95% CI 0.7-3.0 versus 3.3/child/year, 95% CI 1.8-4.8, P > 0.05) . Breastfeeding has a protective effect against campylobacter infection and is associated with the presence of specific antibodies directed against campylobacter flagellin.

Epidemiol Infect, 1994 Apr, 112(2), 347 - 57
False positive legionella serology in campylobacter infection: campylobacter serotypes, duration of antibody response and elimination of cross-reactions in the indirect fluorescent antibody test; Marshall LE et al.; Sera from 83 patients with campylobacter gastroenteritis were examined for the presence of legionella antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence . Twenty-one patients (25%) had positive titres (> or = 16) including 11 patients with titres of > or = 128 . Legionella seropositivity persisted in 5 of 9 patients (55%) studied for 6-9 months . Campylobacter isolates were serotyped by the Penner scheme . Isolates associated with legionella seropositivity included Penner types 1, 2 and 4, the common endemic serotypes in England . Campylobacter blocking fluids were prepared from a range of Penner reference strains . The blocking fluid prepared from Penner type 11 was the most efficient at inhibiting the false-positive legionella titres . Using this absorption step legionella titres were inhibited from 24 of 26 patients (92%) with campylobacter but not from 8 patients with culture-proven legionnaires' disease . We recommend that this method is incorporated into routine diagnostic legionella serology in order to eliminate false-positive reactions due to campylobacter.

J Bacteriol, 1994 Apr, 176(7), 1865 - 71
Cloning, characterization, and nucleotide sequence analysis of the argH gene from Campylobacter jejuni TGH9011 encoding argininosuccinate lyase; Hani EK et al.; The complete structural gene for argininosuccinate lyase (argH) from Campylobacter jejuni TGH9011 has been cloned into Escherichia coli by complementation of an E . coli argH auxotrophic mutant . The gene has been subcloned for sequencing on a 4.1-kb DNA segment and localized by the complementing activity of deletion mutants . The complete DNA sequence of the C . jejuni argH gene was determined . The transcription start point for argH mRNA was determined by primer extension analysis and found to be within the coding sequence of the upstream gene, identified as the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene (ppc) . The argininosuccinate lyase and the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase reading frames overlap by one base, the second example of this phenomenon in C . jejuni chromosomal genes . The enzyme has a deduced subunit molecular weight of 51,831 . Recombinant plasmids containing the argH gene generate a 56-kDa protein and a 43-kDa protein in E . coli maxicells . An alternate translation initiation producing a polypeptide with a deduced molecular mass of 42 kDa may account for the smaller protein observed in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis . The C . jejuni argH gene shows nucleotide homology to both yeast and human argininosuccinate lyase genes, and conserved amino acid domains are evident between the corresponding proteins.

J Infect Dis, 1994 Apr, 169(4), 916 - 9
Etiology of diarrhea in a rural community in western Thailand: importance of enteric viruses and enterovirulent Escherichia coli; Echeverria P et al.; The etiology of gastroenteritis was determined in children and adults with diarrhea seen at a district hospital and three government health clinics in Suan Phung, western Thailand, in 1991 . Enteric viruses (rotavirus and astrovirus) were identified in 40%, shigellae in 18%, attaching and effacing Escherichia coli in 13%, Campylobacter jejuni in 9%, and enterotoxigenic E . coli in 7% of children < 5 years old with diarrhea seen at the hospital . Enteric viruses were detected in 15% (24/156) of patients with diarrhea > or = 5 years old and were the only enteric pathogens identified in 12 patients ages 7-79 years (2 astrovirus, 10 rotavirus infections) . Attaching and effacing E . coli, rotavirus, and astrovirus were potential causes of diarrhea in children and adults in this population.

Ann Trop Med Parasitol, 1994 Apr, 88(2), 175 - 82
Diarrhoeal disease in children in Gaza; Sallon S et al.; A 1-year prospective study in Gaza of diarrhoeal disease in children aged < 5 years demonstrated that Salmonella spp . (18.5% of cases), Cryptosporidium (14.6%), Campylobacter spp . (8.3%) and rotavirus (6.8%) were the major pathogens . However, when compared with non-diarrhoeic controls, only Cryptosporidium and rotavirus were significantly associated with diarrhoea . Cryptosporidiosis was found only in children aged < 2 years and significantly more children with cryptosporidiosis were malnourished . This malnutrition may have been due to the infection, since children with cryptosporidiosis tended to have had diarrhoea for relatively long periods prior to admission . It was not possible to distinguish between the different enteropathogens on clinical grounds . However, more children with rotavirus infection vomited and cryptosporidial diarrhoea lasted significantly longer (14.9 days) than rotavirus diarrhoea (5.9 days) . Overcrowding was linked with an increased risk of cryptosporidiosis and breast feeding was associated with some protection . Twenty-one of the 29 children who died during the study died with diarrhoea and Cryptosporidium was detected in eight (38%) of these 21 children.

J Endod, 1994 Apr, 20(4), 169 - 72
Bacteria invading periapical cementum; Kiryu T et al.; The aim of this study was to determine whether microorganisms invade periapical cementum of human teeth from the adjacent periapical lesions . We therefore attempted to isolate microorganisms from periapical cementum through the adoption of standard anaerobic procedures for obligate anaerobes . Samples of cementum were taken from 10 amputated tooth roots at the time of apicoectomy . From two of these samples, bacteria were recovered after anaerobic incubation, but no bacteria were recovered after aerobic incubation of the same samples . Of a total of eight isolates from the cementum, seven were obligate anaerobes and one was aerotolerant . The obligate anaerobes isolated were assigned to the genera Prevotella, Peptostreptococcus, Eubacterium, and Fusobacterium . The aerotolerant anaerobe was Campylobacter . From this, we conclude that bacteria can successfully invade cementum via periapical periodontal tissue, and that such bacteria may play a significant role in chronic periapical pathosis.

Kansenshogaku Zasshi, 1994 Apr, 68(4), 467 - 73
{Serological study of Campylobacter jejuni infections in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome}; Takahashi M et al.; The association between Campylobacter jejuni infection and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) was investigated serologically in 52 GBS patients . The specific antibody titers of immunoglobulin G class to C . jejuni were measured in the patient' sera using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with acid-extracted antigen . The analysis showed that 31 (59.6%) of the 52 patients had evidences of recent C . jejuni infections in contrast to 16 (8.9%) of 180 healthy persons . The seropositive patients were analyzed with respect to the nature of their anticedent events . C . jejuni antibodies were found in 22 (75.9%) of the 29 patients with diarrhea, one patient with esophagus cancer, 4 (30.8%) of the 13 patients with upper respiratory infections, and 4 (50.0%) of the 8 patients without any symptoms, respectively . These findings support that there may be a close relationship between C . jejuni infection and the GBS with preceding diarrhea.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1994 Apr, 60(4), 1191 - 7
Inhibition of Campylobacter jejuni colonization in chicks by defined competitive exclusion bacteria; Schoeni JL et al.; Campylobacter enteritis in humans has been linked to consumption of chicken . Reducing Campylobacter jejuni colonization in chickens can potentially reduce Campylobacter infections in humans . In this study, the reduction of C . jejuni colonization in chicks by oral administration of defined competitive exclusion (CE) cultures, 2.5% dietary carbohydrates, or CE cultures and carbohydrates was examined . Prevention, elimination, or direct challenge of Campylobacter infection was simulated by administering treatments before, after, or at the same time as that of the Campylobacter inoculation . Additionally, the effect of maintaining high levels of protective bacteria was evaluated by administering CE cultures on days 1 and 4 (booster treatment) . All treatments reduced C . jejuni colonization . Protection by aerobically grown CE cultures was not statistically different from that by anaerobically grown CE cultures . A combination of Citrobacter diversus 22, Klebsiella pneumoniae 23, and Escherichia coli 25 (CE 3) was the most effective CE treatment . Maintaining high numbers of CE isolates by administering CE boosters did not increase protection . The greatest reduction of Campylobacter colonization was observed in schemes to prevent or eliminate C . jejuni infection . C . jejuni was not detected in the ceca of birds receiving the prevention treatment, CE 3 with mannose, representing a 62% reduction in the colonization rate . The protection factor (PF), a value combining the colonization rate and the level of infection, for CE 3 with mannose was high (> 13.2) . Fructo-oligosaccharides alone strongly prevented Campylobacter colonization . Only 8% of the chicks in this group were colonized, with a PF of > 14.3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

J Trop Pediatr, 1994 Apr, 40(2), 108 - 13
Production of DogiK: an improved Ogi (Nigerian fermented weaning food) with potentials for use in diarrhoea control; Olukoya DK et al.; As part of a programme to formulate foods to aid the control of diarrhoeal diseases, an improved ogi (the commonest weaning food in Nigeria) named DogiK has been developed . DogiK was produced by using Lactobacillus starter cultures with antimicrobial activity against diarrhoeagenic bacteria and also possessing amylolytic activity . The survival of diarrhoeagenic bacteria was investigated in locally-fermented ogi and in DogiK . The foods were inoculated with cell suspensions of Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Aeromonas, Pleisiomonas, Enteropathogenic and Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Vibrio cholerae . None of the diarrhoeagenic bacteria were detected in DogiK after 6 h whereas in the local ogi Salmonella, E . coli, and Shigella survived for 24 h or more, but showed a sharp decrease in numbers, while V . cholerae survived for 12 h . DogiK is active whether cooked or uncooked and exhibited inhibition of pathogens at neutral pH . It gives consistent quality . Preliminary investigation indicates possession of a better shelf life . Thus, DogiK may have a potential use in the prevention and treatment of diarrhoea.

Oral Microbiol Immunol, 1994 Apr, 9(2), 104 - 11
Macaca fascicularis as a model in which to assess the safety and efficacy of a vaccine for periodontitis; Persson GR et al.; We have assessed Macaca fascicularis as a potential model in which to test the efficacy and safety of a vaccine for periodontitis . Twenty-eight animals were surveyed and 20 studied in more detail . Clinical periodontal status was assessed, the subgingival microflora analyzed especially for the presence and proportions of Porphyromonas gingivalis and titers and avidities of serum antibodies reactive with P . gingivalis measured . Probing depths ranged from 0.90 mm to 3.80 mm, Gingival Index scores from 0.00 to 4.00 and Plaque Index scores from 0.00 to 3.00 . About 40% of sites bled on probing . The animals manifested a subgingival flora characteristic of the anaerobic gram-negative bacteria found in human periodontal pockets, including Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, P . gingivalis, Bacteroides forsythus, Campylobacter rectus, Prevotella intermedia and Fusobacterium nucleatum . P . gingivalis was detected in 70 of 80 samples studied, ranging from 0.01% to 20% of the total flora . Serum antibody reactive with antigens of P . gingivalis was observed in all animals, with titers ranging from 1.0 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) unit to 25 ELISA units and avidities from 0.10 M to 2.20 M . Antibody titer and maximum percentage of P . gingivalis were inversely correlated, indicating that a humoral immune response may be effective in reducing P . gingivalis overgrowth . M . fascicularis appears to be an excellent model for use in vaccine development.

Berl Munch Tierarztl Wochenschr, 1994 Apr, 107(4), 115 - 21
{Occurrence of Campylobacter and salmonellas in relation to liver changes in slaughtered poultry}; Wieliczko A; On the occasion of slaughter, 97 laying chickens, 100 broilers, 48 geese and 36 ducks were examined for Campylobacter spp . and Salmonella spp . in liver, small intestine and caeca . Pathological changes in the liver were recorded . Campylobacters and salmonellas were isolated from 61 and 18% of the laying chickens, 63 and 3% of the broilers, 54 and 15% of the geese and from 81 and 39% of the ducks, respectively . Birds with diseased liver were found more often infected with campylobacters and salmonellas than those without . This correlation could be gathered from the isolation rates from the liver and from the intestine . The occurrence of campylobacters and salmonellas together in the liver was only observed in individuals with pathological changes of the liver . The own findings suggest that besides salmonellas also campylobacters can be responsible for diseases of the liver.

Berl Munch Tierarztl Wochenschr, 1994 Apr, 107(4), 109 - 15
Antigenic changes in Campylobacter spp . after adaptation to media with increased sodium chloride concentrations; Glunder G; Campylobacter strains which were adapted to growth at 3% NaCl in the medium were examined for antigenic changes . The results of the immunodot blot, the immunoprecipitation test and the immunoblot demonstrate changes in the antigenic pattern . Heat-labile and heat stable antigens of the obtained salt-tolerants variants of Campylobacter type-strains showed differences from their parental strains after cross-absorption of antisera . Differences of the antigens between salt-tolerant variants and their salt-sensitive parental strains suggest that the antigenic structure of the flagellum and possibly of outer membrane proteins has been changed by adaptation of strains to higher salt concentrations.

Mol Cell Probes, 1994 Apr, 8(2), 109 - 15
Evaluation of ribotyping techniques as applied to Arcobacter, Campylobacter and Helicobacter; Kiehlbauch JA et al.; Restriction fragment length polymorphisms of ribosomal DNA (ribotyping) of many bacterial species has been useful for both epidemiologic subtyping and species identification . However, the use of ribotyping has been confined to major research and reference laboratories due to two factors: (a) the procedure must be carefully optimized for each organism one wishes to investigate and (b) most currently available protocols use hazardous chemicals or radioisotopes . The purpose of this study is to suggest an overall scheme that a clinical or research microbiologist could apply to ribotyping of any organism . In general, we recommend using a guanidium extraction method for DNA extraction, careful optimization of restriction conditions, and hybridization with non-radioactive digoxigenin-labelled probes; these procedures do not use hazardous chemicals or radioisotopes.

Avian Dis, 1994 Apr-Jun, 38(2), 341 - 9
Isotype, specificity, and kinetics of systemic and mucosal antibodies to Campylobacter jejuni antigens, including flagellin, during experimental oral infections of chickens; Cawthraw S et al.; The immune response of chickens to Campylobacter jejuni infection was studied as a step in the search for vaccine candidates . One-day-old chicks orally challenged with C . jejuni strain 81116 showed significant increases in specific IgG, IgA, and IgM circulating antibodies, as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) . These levels peaked at 9, 5, and 7 weeks postinfection, respectively . Maternal IgG antibodies were also detected over the first 2 weeks . Specific mucosal IgG and IgA antibody levels also increased significantly . All of the birds demonstrated a major response to the 62-kDa flagellin protein by Western blotting techniques . The immunodominance of flagellin was confirmed by ELISA using an antigen preparation from an aflagellate mutant . When overlapping recombinant polypeptide fragments of flagellin were used, epitopes detected by chicken antibodies were observed in region IV, between residues 95-340 of the protein . Thus flagellin may be suitable candidate for a vaccine, although its role in protection must first be established.

Kansenshogaku Zasshi, 1994 Apr, 68(4), 495 - 9
{A simple and rapid confirmation method of the bacterial contamination using polymerase chain reaction}; Kobayashi K; We studied the method for detection of bacterial contamination . Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the 888 base pair of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene fragment of various strains of bacterial species . The supernatant of bacterial suspension after treatment for 10 min at 100 degrees C was used for a template DNA . A total of 151 strains of 16 genus of Gram-negative rod and of one genus of Gram-positive cocci were confirmed and were divided into five categories by comparing digestion patterns resulting from restriction endonuclease (MluI, Eco RI and Hind III) cleavage of target rDNA fragment . These five types, such as Shigella spp . and E . coli group (Group I), other nine genera of Enterobacteria excluding Group I and Aeromonas spp . (Group II), Vibrio spp . (Group III), Campylobacter spp . and P . aeruginosa (Group IV), and S . aureus (Group V), were recognized . The group I was digested by three enzymes used, group II was by Mlu I and Eco RI but not by Hind III, group III was only by MulI, and group IV was not digested with all enzymes . The group V was sensitive to Eco RI and Hind III but was resistant to Mlu I . This method is a widely applicable technique for detection of bacterial contamination.

Microbiology, 1994 Apr, 140 ( Pt 4), 847 - 55
Two types of 16S rRNA gene are found in Campylobacter helveticus: analysis, applications and characterization of the intervening sequence found in some strains; Linton D et al.; In the recently described species Campylobacter helveticus, two sizes of PCR amplicon were detected with primers homologous to conserved regions of the 16S rRNA gene . A conventionally sized gene was sequenced from the type strain, NCTC 12470, placing the new species as phylogenetically related to C . upsaliensis and the thermotolerant campylobacters . This nucleotide sequence enabled PCR primers to be designed for use in rapid molecular identification of C . helveticus and its closest phylogenetic relative, C . upsaliensis . When this assay was employed to characterize 22 'C . upsaliensis-like' isolates, twelve were identified as C . helveticus and nine as C . upsaliensis, in agreement with data obtained with a C . helveticus-specific DNA probe . A 550 bp amplicon internal to the 16S rRNA gene of C . helveticus was used to determine restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) in genomic Southern blots, confirming that the copy number of the C . helveticus gene was three, and identifying nine 16S rRNA gene profiles . In 5/12 C . helveticus isolates identified by PCR, an enlarged amplicon was detected . The enlarged 16S rRNA gene of one of these strains, NCTC 12838, was sequenced and shown to contain an atypical intervening sequence (IVS) of 148 nucleotides . The position and size of such an IVS was inferred in the other four isolates by PCR with primers 5' and 3' to its position in NCTC 12838 . This is a first report of an IVS in the 16S rRNA gene of a eubacterium.

Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen, 1994 Mar 10, 114(7), 795 - 9
{Campylobacter infection . Epidemiology, risk factors and preventive measures}; Kapperud G; Campylobacter bacteria are a significant cause of diarrhoea in Norway . This article reviews aspects of epidemiology, risk factors, and prevention of the disease, with special emphasis on a case-control study conducted in the Oslo region . The results indicate that the following preventive measures are likely to have the greatest impact on the occurrence of the infection: (a) providing consumers with drinking water of adequate hygienic quality, (b) good hygienic practices when in contact with dogs and cats, (c) good kitchen hygiene during barbecues and when handling and preparing poultry, especially poultry purchased abroad (d) preventing import of contaminated food products, (e) reducing the level of Campylobacter colonization in poultry flocks, and (f) educating consumers about how infection can be avoided when travelling abroad.

Nippon Saikingaku Zasshi, 1994 Mar, 49(2), 395 - 403
{The role of flagella of Campylobacter jejuni in colonization in the intestinal tract in mice and the cultured-cell infectivity}; Yanagawa Y et al.; For analyzing the role of the bacterial flagella in colonization in the intestinal tract of mice and adhering to or invading the Intestine 407 cell, a nonflagellated, nonmotile mutant was induced by ultraviolet irradiation of a flagellated, motile wild-type strain of Campylobacter jejuni CF84-340 . There was no great difference in the cellular infectivity to the Intestine 407 cells between the wild-type and the mutant strains . Cellular adherence and invasiveness were then compared by fluorescent antibody staining, and an obvious difference was found in the latter . While 21.4% of the organisms of the wied-type strain invaded the cells, only 6.1% of those of the flagella-defective mutant did so . In the experiments in mice involving oral administration, cellular invasiveness was not found with the flagella-defective mutant and no organisms were detected from the blood, although bacteremia is one of the characteristics of infection with C . jejuni . Moreover, no intestinal adherence of the mutant was detected, suggesting early elimination of the organism administered . These results indicate that the bacterial flagella are concerned in not only the cellular adherence and intestinal deposit, but also the intracellular invasiveness and invasion into the blood stream from the intestinal wall in the infected mice.

Bone Marrow Transplant, 1994 Mar, 13(3), 349 - 51
Campylobacter jejuni bacteremia and Guillain-Barré syndrome in a patient with GVHD after allogeneic BMT; Hagensee ME et al.; Guillain-Barre syndrome is a rare neurologic complication after allogeneic BMT . In the non-transplant setting, Guillain-Barre syndrome has typically been associated with antecedent acute infections and numerous reports have suggested an association between Campylobacter jejuni infection and the subsequent development of Guillain-Barre syndrome . Thus far, however, reports of C . jejuni-associated Guillain-Barre syndrome have been limited to gastrointestinal C . jejuni infections and none has been reported in BMT transplant patients . We report a case of C . jejuni bacteremia associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome that developed in a patient with chronic GVHD approximately 1 year after allogeneic BMT . The patient was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and intravenous ciprofloxacin and had partial recovery . Our report illustrates that Guillain-Barre syndrome can occur in association with C . jejuni bacteremia and is a rare cause of polyneuropathy after BMT.

Eur J Pediatr, 1994 Mar, 153(3), 181 - 3
Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with IgM anti-GM1 antibody following Campylobacter jejuni enteritis; Sugita K et al.; We report a 4-year-old girl diagnosed as having Guillain-Barre syndrome after infection by Penner serotype 19 of Campylobacter jejuni . The patient had the HLA-B35 antigen . Neurological examination revealed distal-dominant weakness and intact sensation . Serial electrophysiological studies indicated that the predominant process was axonal degeneration involving motor nerves . An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed the presence of high titres of serum IgM antibodies to gangliosides GM1 and GM2 . The IgM auto-antibody titres decreased concurrently with the clinical course of the illness and no switching from IgM to IgG secretion took place.

Poult Sci, 1994 Mar, 73(3), 402 - 7
Mucosal competitive exclusion to diminish colonization of chickens by Campylobacter jejuni; Stern NJ; Mucosal competitive exclusion flora (MCE) and length of MCE culture storage were studied to determine their influence upon colonization of Campylobacter jejuni in chickens . Day-of-hatch broiler chicks, held in isolation units, were treated with MCE or were left untreated . Thirty to 48 h later, groups of chicks were challenged with serial dilutions of C . jejuni (Strain A74/C) . Single challenge doses and treatments were administered to chickens within each isolation unit . After 5 d, chicks were killed and levels of the organism in cecal materials were enumerated . Effective MCE was held at -80 C in 15% glycerol for 3 to 9 mo, and efficacy in inhibiting C . jejuni colonization of fresh and stored MCE cultures was compared . Colonization dose-50% (CD50%; dose needed to colonize one-half of the challenged chicks) and colonization quotients (CQ; log10 colony-forming unit geometric means per gram cecal materials) were determined . Data indicated that in three of five trials a significant reduction (P < .02) in CQ was observed in groups of chicks provided fresh MCE as compared with the control groups . Generally, efficacy of MCE treatment decreased with storage of the cultures . This study defines methods for production of MCE and the advantages and limitations of MCE intervention for C . jejuni colonization in chickens.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1994 Mar, 60(3), 1025 - 8
Isolation of Helicobacter strains from wild bird and swine feces; Seymour C et al.; We report the first isolations of Helicobacter strains from wild birds and swine . Genus-specific oligonucleotide probes identified nine Cape Cod isolates from gull, tern, house sparrow, and pig feces as Helicobacter spp . and not Campylobacter spp . Antibiotic sensitivity and urease tests distinguished three phenotypes . Strains examined rapidly lost culturability under simulated natural conditions.

J Infect Dis, 1994 Mar, 169(3), 581 - 7
The etiology of early childhood diarrhea: a community study from Guinea-Bissau; Molbak K et al.; A potential enteropathogen was found in 50% of 1219 diarrheal episodes and 48% of 511 asymptomatic controls in a 1-year community study of childhood diarrhea . Rotavirus (3% of episodes), Cryptosporidium species (6%), and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) with EPEC adherence factor (4%) were more prevalent in cases than controls . Giardia lamblia (19%) was the most prevalent organism but was not associated with diarrhea . Enterotoxigenic E . coli (12%), Strongyloides stercoralis (5%), Shigella species (2%), Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites (2%), and Vibrio cholerae (1%) were found at nonsignificantly higher rates . Salmonella and Campylobacter species were more prevalent among control infants . Cryptosporidium species and sequential infections from other pathogens caused persistent diarrhea.

J Clin Periodontol, 1994 Mar, 21(3), 171 - 6
Relationship between salivary blood group antigens, microbial flora and periodontal condition in young adults; Lie MA et al.; To investigate a possible role for salivary blood-group antigens in the relative frequencies of selected periodontal pathogens and commensal oral micro-organisms, we studied the clinical and microbiological condition in young adults with or without blood group reactive substances in saliva (secretors or non-secretors respectively) . Clinical measurements were recorded at the Ramfjord teeth in 81 1st-year dental students . In addition, presence of interproximal loss of attachment (LA) was assessed at sites with a pocket depth of > or = 4 mm . Microbiological samples were taken from one of the Ramfjord teeth (site without interproximal LA), from interproximal sites of > or = 4 mm in conjunction with LA, and from the saliva . The samples were analyzed for the presence of Actinomyces naeslundii, Actinomyces viscosus, Campylobacter rectus, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Peptostreptococcus micros, Prevotella intermedia, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans . Clinically, no statistically significant differences were found in the periodontal status between secretors (78% of our population) and non-secretors . Furthermore, the occurrence of the monitored micro-organisms was not correlated to the secretor status . It is concluded that bacterial colonization with the micro-organisms tested in this study, apparently occurred independent of secretor status . Among the periodontal pathogens, only P . intermedia was more frequently recovered from the saliva of subjects with interproximal LA (49%) than in those without (33%; p = 0.03) . This finding was irrespective of the secretor status . Therefore, P . intermedia may be an important micro-organism in relation to the onset of periodontal destruction in young adults.

Agents Actions, 1994 Mar, 41(1-2), 73 - 9
Some of the factors that may mediate or modify the gastrointestinal mucosal damage induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Gyires K; Numerous factors are involved in the gastrointestinal mucosal damage induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs . The physico-chemical-acidic-property of the drugs is responsible partly for the rapid absorption, mucosal accumulation and barrier breaking effect, partly for the topical irritant action . The drugs decrease the defensive mechanisms of the stomach at different level, destroy the mucosal barrier, decrease the surface hydrophobicity, the mucosal blood flow, and inhibit the prostaglandin synthesis . Exogenous sulfhydryls and interleukin-1 inhibit the NSAID-induced mucosal damage, whether they are also involved in the ulcerogenic action has not been clearly determined . On the other hand, injurious factors are also stimulated; enhanced gastric acid secretion, increased pepsin activity, enhanced formation of free radicals and leukotrienes, as well as activation of leukocyte can also contribute to the mucosal lesions induced by NSAIDs . Prior Campylobacter pylori infection may make the mucosa more susceptible to NSAID-associated injury.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1994 Mar, 33(3), 495 - 508
In-vitro evaluation of cefpodoxime; Valentini S et al.; In-vitro antimicrobial activity of cefpodoxime was evaluated against several microbial species by both conventional tests and additional parameters which take into consideration some of the conditions likely to be encountered in infected tissues . MICs for 414 recent clinical isolates, including staphylococci, streptococci, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, several Enterobacteriaceae, Aeromonas hydrophila and Campylobacter jejuni were determined . MIC values overall were similar to those observed for strains from other geographical areas . Inhibition of growth by cefpodoxime was virtually unaffected by the inoculum size, even using bacterial populations as large as 10(9) cfu of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, H . influenzae, beta-lactamase-negative M . catarrhalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis . Growth in the presence of human serum as the only source of nutrients did not significantly affect the inhibition exerted by cefpodoxime, even against large bacterial populations of S . aureus, S . pneumoniae, E . coli, and K . pneumoniae . For K . pneumoniae, E . coli, P . mirabilis and beta-lactamase-negative M . catarrhalis it was also found that sub-MIC concentrations of cefpodoxime were still able to inhibit the majority of cells in microbial populations as large as 10(9) cfu . Evaluation of bactericidal activity demonstrated that cefpodoxime concentrations comparable to those achievable in plasma or in the respiratory tract were able to kill rapidly large bacterial populations of S . pneumoniae and S . pyogenes . The bactericidal activity was apparently lower against M . catarrhalis, H . influenzae, S . aureus, E . coli, and K . pneumoniae.

Gastrointest Endosc, 1994 Mar-Apr, 40(2 Pt 1), 184 - 7
Culture of colonoscopically obtained biopsy specimens in acute infectious colitis; Matsumoto T et al.; To investigate the value of colonoscopy in the diagnosis of acute infectious colitis, we prospectively cultured both feces and biopsy specimens obtained during colonoscopy of patients who, because of clinical features such as the acute onset of abdominal pain and diarrhea, were suspected of having the disease . Of the 20 patients who participated in the study, some causative micro-organism was identified in 13 (Campylobacter in 6 patients, Salmonella in 5 patients, and Yersinia in 2 patients), but not in the remaining 7 . In addition, biopsy specimens were more sensitive for culture (positive for Campylobacter in 4 patients, Salmonella in 5 patients, and Yersinia in 1 patient) than were feces samples (positive for Campylobacter in 2 patients and for Yersinia and Salmonella in 1 patient each) (50% versus 20%, p = 0.048) . These findings suggest that cultures of biopsy specimens obtained during colonoscopy may be diagnostic in sporadic cases of acute enterocolitis caused by bacteria.

Clin Infect Dis, 1994 Mar, 18(3), 443 - 6
Campylobacter fetus endocarditis: two case reports and review; Farrugia DC et al.; We report two cases of Campylobacter fetus endocarditis . The first case involved a bicuspid native aortic valve in a 60-year-old woman, and the second involved a prosthetic aortic valve in a 76-year-old woman . No source of infection was identified in either case . Despite antibiotic therapy, hemodynamic deterioration necessitated valve replacement; both patients recovered completely . C . fetus is an uncommon cause of human infection but may be responsible for severe illnesses such as endocarditis and thrombophlebitis because of its tendency to attack the vascular endothelium . Review of the literature revealed 21 cases of endocarditis caused by this organism, usually involving the aortic valve . To our knowledge, there are only two reported cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis . Our second patient is the oldest one encountered so far with this condition.

FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol, 1994 Mar, 8(3), 207 - 11
Immunological properties and ganglioside recognitions by Campylobacter jejuni-enterotoxin and cholera toxin; Suzuki S et al.; The immunological properties of Campylobacter jejuni enterotoxin (CJT) and cholera toxin (CT) were compared by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blotting analysis with antiserum against each toxin . Antibody against CJT recognized the 68, 54 and 43 kDa polypeptides of CJT and the 11 kDa subunit of CT, whereas antibody against CT recognized the 68 and 54 kDa polypeptides of CJT and 11 kDa subunit of CT . The immunological reactions between the heterogeneous combinations of toxins and the antibodies were weaker than those between the homogenous systems . Thus, different antigenicity was found in CJT and CT at the subunit level, although they possessed cross-reactive epitope(s) . The binding of CJT and CT to gangliosides was also examined . CJT and CT bound to GM1 ganglioside preferentially than to other ganglioside species . However, CJT did not bind to GD1b in spite of the fact that CT preferred GD1b . This suggests that both toxins recognize different receptors on the surface of the target cell . This study is the first demonstration of the different properties between CJT and CT in immunological character and ganglioside recognition.

Br J Biomed Sci, 1994 Mar, 51(1), 57 - 64
The pathogenesis of Campylobacter jejuni; Wallis MR; Studies on the pathogenesis of Campylobacter jejuni show that for this organism to cause disease the susceptibility of the host and the relative virulence of the infecting strain are both important . Infection with C . jejuni results from the ingestion of contaminated food or water, and the infective dose can be as low as 800 organisms . To initiate infection the organism must penetrate the gastrointestinal mucus, which it does by using its high motility and spiral shape . The bacteria must then adhere to the gut enterocytes and once adhered can then induce diarrhoea by toxin release . C . jejuni releases several different toxins which vary from strain to strain, mainly enterotoxin and cytotoxins, and these correlate with the severity of the enteritis . During infection, levels of all immunoglobulin classes rise . Of these, IgA is the most important as it can cross the gut wall . IgA immobilises organisms, causing them to aggregate and activate complement, and also gives short-term immunity against the infecting strain of organism . The other immunoglobulin classes act on bacteria entering the blood stream, thus preventing bacteraemia . C . jejuni can also stimulate the cellular immune system, but this seems to play only a small role in preventing infection.

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 1994 Mar, 25(1), 157 - 62
Control randomized study of rehydration/rehydration with dioctahedral smectite in ambulatory Thai infants with acute diarrhea; Lexomboon U et al.; The study was performed to assess the efficiency, acceptability and safety of dioctahedral smectite (DS) associated with rehydration in ambulatory infants with acute diarrhea . Sixty-six Thai infants, aged 1-24 months were randomly divided into 2 groups . One group of 32 infants (control group) received oral or intravenous rehydration, the other group of 34 infants (DS group) received the rehydration with DS . Both groups were comparable for sex, age, weight, diet, duration of diarrhea, body temperature, nutritional and dehydration status . Bacteriological stool examination was positive in 22% in control group and 26% in DS group for Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Plesiomonas sp . Rotavirus was found in 25% of the control group and 29% of the DS group . Seventy-two hours after therapy, 34% of infants were cured in the control group compared to 71% in DS group (p < 0.01) and 5 days after the beginning of treatment, 34% still had diarrhea in the control group compared to 12% in DS group (p = 0.04) . The acceptability of DS was considered to be good in 30 infants (88%) . No major side effect was observed . In conclusion, DS with rehydration shortens the course of acute diarrhea in ambulatory infants and may reduce the occurrence of prolonged diarrhea . DS is well tolerated in infants with acute diarrhea.

AJR Am J Roentgenol, 1994 Feb, 162(2), 387 - 93
Gastrointestinal manifestations of AIDS in children; Haller JO et al.; The gastrointestinal manifestations of AIDS in children are related to opportunistic infections, lymphoproliferative disease, and cancer . The infections that affect the gastrointestinal tract at different sites also occur in patients without AIDS . However, in children with AIDS, the infections are more severe, often relapse, and are harder to eradicate . Candidiasis is the most common infection in the esophagus, but infections caused by herpes simplex virus and cytomegalovirus also are common . Radiologic findings include ulcerations, a cobblestone appearance, and disordered motility . Gastritis and enteritis are usually caused by cytomegalovirus . Lesions produced by this virus include ulcerations caused by ischemic necrosis as a result of vasculitis . Barium studies show increased nodularity and effacement of mucosa . Other organisms (typically found in all immunocompromised patients) include Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Campylobacter, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium . Colitis and proctitis are caused by many of the same enteric pathogens . Cytomegalovirus is the most virulent, causing necrosis, perforation, and often death . Lymphoma, smooth muscle tumors, and Kaposi's sarcoma are the most common neoplasms encountered in children with AIDS.

Clin Exp Immunol, 1994 Feb, 95(2), 215 - 21
Intestinal B cell defects in common variable immunodeficiency; Herbst EW et al.; The humoral immune system of the small intestine of 17 patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) was studied by immunohistology using antibodies specific for IgA1,2, IgM, IgG1-4, the J chain and the secretory component (SC) . IgA1,2+, IgG2+ and IgM+ lamina propria B cells were totally lacking in 65% (11/17), 41% (7/17) and 18% (3/17) of CVID patients, respectively . One patient exhibited an isolated IgA1 subclass deficiency . The proportion of plasma cells in conventionally stained histological sections of the same intestinal biopsies showed a close correlation with the numbers of IgA+ and IgM+ cells . Considerable numbers of J chain-synthesizing cells were present in all patients with CVID, indicating the presence of early B cells unable to differentiate into immunoglobulin-producing plasma cells . Most of the patients with intestinal IgA and/or IgM defects strongly expressed the SC in their enterocytes, suggesting an immunoglobulin-independent regulation of the SC . Clinically, only CVID patients with intestinal IgA defects developed intestinal infections with Giardia lamblia, Campylobacter jejuni or Candida albicans . The outcome of in vitro immunoglobulin synthesis assays with peripheral blood lymphocytes did not predict the presence or absence of the respective isotype-producing B cells in the intestinal lamina propria . Thus, immunohistological examinations of intestinal biopsies are required to determine the extent of mucosal immunodeficiency in CVID patients.

Infect Immun, 1994 Feb, 62(2), 426 - 32
Development and characterization of recA mutants of Campylobacter jejuni for inclusion in attenuated vaccines; Guerry P et al.; Isogenic recA mutants of Campylobacter jejuni have been constructed for evaluation of their usefulness in attenuated vaccines against this major worldwide cause of diarrhea . The recA+ gene of C . jejuni 81-176 was cloned by using degenerate primers to conserved regions of other RecA proteins in a PCR . The C . jejuni recA+ gene encodes a predicted protein with an M(r) of 37,012 with high sequence similarity to other RecA proteins . The termination codon of the recA+ gene overlaps with the initiation codon of another open reading frame which encodes a predicted protein which has > 50% identity with the N terminus of the Escherichia coli enolase protein . A kanamycin resistance gene was inserted into the cloned recA+ gene in E . coli and returned to C . jejuni VC83 by natural transformation, resulting in allelic replacement of the wild-type recA gene . The resulting VC83 recA mutant displayed increased sensitivity to UV light and a defect in generalized recombination as determined by natural transformation frequencies . The mutated recA gene was amplified from VC83 recA by PCR, and the product was used to transfer the mutation by natural transformation into C . jejuni 81-176 and 81-116, resulting in isogenic recA mutants with phenotypes similar to VC83 recA . After oral feeding, strain 81-176 recA colonized rabbits at levels comparable to wild-type 81-176 and was capable of eliciting the same degree of protection as wild-type 81-176 against subsequent homologous challenge in the RITARD (removable intestinal tie adult rabbit diarrhea) model.

Pediatr Infect Dis J, 1994 Feb, 13(2), 116 - 22
Epidemiology of acute diarrheal diseases in children in a high standard of living rural settlement in Israel; Lerman Y et al.; Epidemiologic patterns of acute diarrheal diseases in a high standard of living communal settlement, situated in a region endemic for enteric diseases, were evaluated by a historical prospective study of 284 children (12,064 child months) from August, 1988, through July, 1992 . Three hundred eighty-three episodes of acute diarrhea were identified, yielding a rate of 0.38 episode per 12 child months . One hundred and children (35.6%) were reported to have 1 to 4 diarrheal episodes and 29 (10.2%) children had 5 or more diarrheal episodes during the follow-up period . The mean number of episodes of acute diarrhea per 12 child months in children ages 0 to 2 years was 2.28, in 2- to 6-year-olds 0.44, in 6- to 13-year-olds 0.12 and in 13- to 18-year-olds 0.03 (P < 0.001) . Children less than 12 months of age had a lower incidence of acute diarrheal diseases during the months they were being breast-fed than children that were fed with formula during the same period (1.22 vs . 3.06 episodes per 12 child months, respectively; P < 0.001) . Enteropathogens were isolated in 40% of diarrheal episodes in which stool cultures were obtained . The identification rates of the various enteropathogens were: diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, 11%; Shigella spp., 10%; Giardia lamblia, 10%; Salmonella spp., 4%; Staphylococcus aureus, 3%; Campylobacter jejuni, 1% . Potential interventions against acute diarrhea in this set up of a high standard of living rural community are education of caretakers and parents on hygienic practices that can prevent transmission of pathogens among the young children and encouraging mothers to breast-feed their children.

Kansenshogaku Zasshi, 1994 Feb, 68(2), 249 - 53
{Two cases of Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus sepsis}; Tokumura Y et al.; We encountered two relatively rare cases of sepsis due to Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus (C . fetus) . Case 1 . A 54-year-old female with abdominal polysurgery developed a slight fever and vomiting in August 1984 . Despite the administration of some digestive drugs by her family doctor, these symptoms continued . In mid-October, she was hospitalized with high fever with chill and rigor on the skin . On the third hospital day, C . fetus was detected in the blood culture . After combination chemotherapy of intravenous drip infusion of latamoxef (LMOX) (2 g/day) and oral administration of erythromycin (EM) (800 mg/day), her symptoms improved . Case 2 . A 57-year-old male with diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy was hospitalized because of slight fever, general edema and pleural effusion . On the 6th hospital day, C . fetus was detected in the blood culture and he was diagnosed with sepsis . Under treatment with the intravenous drip of LMOX (2 g/day) and oral administration of EM (1200 mg/day), his condition improved . Both cases had common underlying diseases such as hypoproteinemia with edema and problems in the lower intestinal tract; the former had polysurgery and malabsorption syndrome, the latter had diffuse ulceration of the colon . Such underlying conditions may have permitted the invasion of C . fetus into the blood.

J Clin Pathol, 1994 Feb, 47(2), 174 - 5
Bacteraemia caused by Campylobacter spp; Ladron de Guevara C et al.; The genus Campylobacter has become increasingly recognised as the cause of various infections . Campylobacter jejuni and C coli cause acute gastroenteritis in man all over the world . C jejuni enteritis can lead to bacteraemia, but its actual incidence remains unknown . Seven cases of bacteraemia caused by C jejuni or C coli are reported, from the blood of seven patients: five immune deficient adults; a newborn baby; and a patient who had had abdominal surgery . Patients who develop diarrhoea as a result of Campylobacter infection are at risk of bacteraemia thereafter.

South Med J, 1994 Feb, 87(2), 169 - 73
Foodborne bacterial infections in individuals with the human immunodeficiency virus; Altekruse S et al.; The literature contains reports documenting a foodborne etiology for bacterial infections caused by Salmonella spp, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni, and Vibrio spp in individuals with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) . The incidence of these infections and the life-threatening complications that result are elevated in people with HIV infection . We present practical recommendations to prevent foodborne illnesses and the resulting complications, including gastroenteritis, bacteremia, meningitis, and death . We suggest that patients with HIV infection be counseled to avoid foods at high risk for harboring bacterial pathogens and to use careful sanitary practices in food preparation.

Ann Neurol, 1994 Feb, 35(2), 234 - 7
The clinical correlates of high-titer IgG anti-GM1 antibodies; Kornberg AJ et al.; Serum IgG anti-GM1 antibodies have been reported to occur in a variety of disorders, including Guillain-Barre syndrome and chronic polyneuropathies . Of over 5,000 serums tested in our laboratory, high titers of selective IgG anti-GM1 antibodies (> 1:1,000) and without binding to sulfatide were found in 35 patients . Clinical correlation revealed that almost all patients had axonal, motor neuropathies . One subgroup was comprised of individuals with an acute motor neuropathy, described either as an acute axonal Guillain-Barre-like syndrome that was occasionally associated with a prodrome of Campylobacter jejuni enteritis or as Chinese paralysis syndrome . A second group of patients had chronic asymmetric lower motor neuron (LMN) syndromes with no conduction block or other evidence of demyelination . The presence of selective high-titer IgG anti-GM1 antibody reactivity in serum is uncommon but when present is strongly associated with acute axonal motor neuropathies or chronic asymmetric LMN syndromes.

J Med Microbiol, 1994 Feb, 40(2), 141 - 7
Polymerase chain reaction-mediated DNA fingerprinting for epidemiological studies on Campylobacter spp; Giesendorf BA et al.; The applicability of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-mediated DNA typing, with primers complementary to dispersed repetitive DNA sequences and arbitrarily chosen DNA motifs, to study the epidemiology of campylobacter infection was evaluated . With a single PCR reaction and simple gel electrophoresis, strain-specific DNA banding patterns were observed for Campylobacter jejuni and C . upsaliensis . DNA from multiple strains isolated during an outbreak of C . jejuni meningitis generated identical banding patterns and could be distinguished from randomly isolated strains . Strains from a community outbreak of C . upsaliensis, that were all identical by conventional typing methods, could be divided into two genetically different groups . This report illustrates that PCR fingerprinting can be successfully applied in epidemiological investigations of campylobacter infections.

Lab Anim Sci, 1994 Feb, 44(1), 12 - 6
Enterocecocolitis associated with Escherichia coli and Campylobacter-like organisms in a hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) colony; Dillehay DL et al.; Sporadic diarrhea and weight loss were observed in a breeding colony of Syrian hamsters during a 2-year period . Thirteen adult hamsters with diarrhea, anorexia, and weight loss were examined . Histologic lesions consisted of diffuse nonsuppurative enterocecocolitis and multifocal epithelial proliferation in the cecum and colon . Goblet cell hyperplasia was extensive in the colonic mucosa of many hamsters . The hamsters in this colony had not been treated with antibiotics nor was Clostridium difficile isolated from any of the hamsters . In contrast to typical proliferative ileitis in hamsters, most hamsters involved in this outbreak were mature adults rather than weanlings, and lesions were predominantly inflammatory rather than proliferative and involved small intestine, cecum, and colon rather than ileum . The isolation of beta-hemolytic Escherichia coli and demonstration of Campylobacter-like organisms by transmission electron microscopy and Warthin-Starry staining suggest that these two agents were involved in the pathogenesis of this disease . Further studies, however, are needed to investigate the pathogenesis of this enteric syndrome in hamsters.

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin, 1994 Feb, 12(2), 90 - 4
{Campylobacter jejuni and HIV infection}; Martinez RM et al.; OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the characteristics of the Campylobacter jejuni infection in HIV positive patients . DESIGN: We report all cases appeared in our hospital between September 1991 and October 1992 with: HIV infection, chronic diarrhoea and C . jejuni in stool culture . Epidemiologic factors, other opportunist infections, immunologic situation, clinical symptomatology, antibiotic sensitivity and evolution are recorded . RESULTS: Six patients, 4 men and 2 women, with an average age of 38 years were recorded . They have different risk factors (drug abusers, sexual behaviour and haemophilia) . Chronic liver disease and other opportunist infections of the gastrointestinal tract were the most important facts in past history . CD4 count were directly related with the severity of the illness . Quantitative or qualitative disorders of B lymphocytes or immunoglobulins were not found . All of term suffered from chronic diarrhoea with fever in four of them and bacteremia in 2 patients . First generation cephalosporins resistance in one occasion . A good evolution occurred in 3 patients, another had a relapse and bacteremia appeared in 2 patients whose CD4 count were lower of 100/mm3, have AST, ALT changes and other concomitant gastrointestinal infections . CONCLUSION: C . jejuni infection of the gastrointestinal tract results in chronic diarrhoea with a higher incidence than expected in HIV positive patients . The severity is directly related with CD4 count, and the existence of concomitants infections of the gastrointestinal tract or chronic liver disease . Antibiotic resistance to macrolide is possible, especially in chronic and severe forms.

CMAJ, 1994 Jan 15, 150(2), 189 - 98
Indications for treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection: a systematic overview; Veldhuyzen van Zanten SJ et al.; OBJECTIVE: To determine (a) the advantages and disadvantages of treatment options for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori and (b) whether eradication of H . pylori is indicated in patients with duodenal ulcer, nonucler dyspepsia and gastric cancer . DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search for articles published in English between January 1983 and December 1992 with the use of MeSH terms Helicobacter pylori (called Campylobacter pylori before 1990) and duodenal ulcer, gastric cancer, dyspepsia and clinical trial . Six journals and Current Contents were searched manually for pertinent articles published in that time frame . STUDY SELECTION: For duodenal ulcer the search was limited to studies involving adults, studies of H . pylori eradication and randomized clinical trials comparing anti-H . pylori therapy with conventional ulcer treatment . For nonulcer dyspepsia with H . pylori infection the search was limited to placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials . DATA EXTRACTION: The quality of each study was rated independently on a four-point scale by each author . For the studies of duodenal ulcer the outcome measures assessed were acute ulcer healing and time required for healing, H . pylori eradication and ulcer relapse . For the studies of nonulcer dyspepsia with H . pylori infection the authors assessed H . pylori eradication, the symptoms used as outcome measures and whether validated outcome measures had been used . DATA SYNTHESIS: Eight trials involving duodenal ulcer met our inclusion criteria: five were considered high quality, two were of reasonable quality, and one was weak . Six trials involving nonulcer dyspepsia met the criteria, but all were rated as weak . Among treatment options triple therapy with a bismuth compound, metronidazole and either amoxicillin or tetracycline achieved the highest eradication rates (73% to 94%) . Results concerning treatment indications for duodenal ulcer were consistent among all of the studies: when anti-H . pylori therapy was added to conventional ulcer treatment acute ulcers healed more rapidly . Ulcer relapse rates were dramatically reduced after H . pylori eradication . All of the studies involving nonulcer dyspepsia assessed clearance rather than eradication of H . pylori . No study used validated outcome measures . A consistent decrease in symptom severity was no more prevalent in patients in whom the organism had been cleared than in those taking a placebo . Of the studies concerning gastric cancer none investigated the effect of eradication of H . pylori on subsequent risk of gastric cancer . CONCLUSIONS: There is sufficient evidence to support the use of anti-H . pylori therapy in patients with duodenal ulcers who have H . pylori infection, triple therapy achieving the best results . There is no current evidence to support such therapy for nonulcer dyspepsia in patients with H . pylori infection . Much more attention must be paid to the design of nonulcer dyspepsia studies . Also, studies are needed to determine whether H . pylori eradication in patients with gastritis will prevent gastric cancer.

Biochemistry, 1994 Jan 11, 33(1), 241 - 9
Lipopolysaccharides of Campylobacter jejuni serotype O:19: structures of core oligosaccharide regions from the serostrain and two bacterial isolates from patients with the Guillain-Barré syndrome; Aspinall GO et al.; Lipopolysaccharides from phenol-water extraction of cells of Campylobacter jejuni serotype O:19 were separated into a water-soluble gel of low M(r) and a water-soluble component of high M(r) . Acetic acid hydrolysis of the ketosidic linkages to lipid A furnished respectively a core oligosaccharide, the structure of which is reported herein, and an O antigenic polysaccharide . Structural investigations were performed on the O-deacetylated lipopolysaccharide of low M(r), the liberated core oligosaccharide and the various products from removal of neuraminic acid and phosphate residues, and from the Smith degradation . It is concluded that the lipopolysaccharide from the serostrain has a core region with two types of closely related oligosaccharide chains showing striking homologies with gangliosides, the first with a single N-acetylneuraminic acid residue in an outer chain resembling GM1 and the second with two N-acetyl-neuraminic acid residues with a terminal region resembling GD1a . Similar experiments were carried out on lipopolysaccharides of low M(r) from bacterial isolates OH 4384 and OH 4382 serotyped as O:19 that had been obtained from two patients who subsequently developed the Guillain-Barre syndrome . The core oligosaccharide region of lipopolysaccharide from the former isolate differed only slightly from that of the serostrain, whereas that from the latter isolate was distinctly shorter.

Biochemistry, 1994 Jan 11, 33(1), 250 - 5
Lipopolysaccharides of Campylobacter jejuni serotype O:19: structures of O antigen chains from the serostrain and two bacterial isolates from patients with the Guillain-Barré syndrome; Aspinall GO et al.; An O antigenic polysaccharide was liberated from the lipopolysaccharide of high M(r) from Campylobacter jejuni serotype O:19 by acetic acid hydrolysis of the ketosidic linkage to lipid A . The structure of the polysaccharide was established in several one- and two-dimensional 1H and 13C NMR experiments, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and methylation linkage analysis of the permethylated glycan and its degradation products . It is concluded that the glycan is a derivative of hyaluronic acid in which the beta-D-glucuronic acid residues in the alternating sequence {-4)-beta-D-GlcA-(1-->3)-beta-D-GlcNAc-(1}n are present as amides of 2-amino-2-deoxyglycerol . Parallel experiments were performed on O antigens liberated from lipopolysaccharides of high M(r) from bacterial isolates that had been obtained from two patients who subsequently developed the Guillain-Barre syndrome . Within the limits of structural analysis by NMR spectroscopy and methylation linkage analysis, both these O antigens were identical to that from the serostrain.

Aust N Z J Surg, 1994 Jan, 64(1), 55 - 8
Campylobacter jejuni enterocolitis causing peritonitis, ileitis and intestinal obstruction; Perkins DJ et al.; Patients with Campylobacter enterocolitis may come to laparotomy due to the severity of abdominal symptoms and signs, although only two patients with intestinal inflammation have been described and in neither was the histopathology documented . A case of a 52-year-old male who had a typical diarrhoeal illness of Campylobacter enterocolitis diagnosed on stool culture is reported . Despite appropriate treatment he developed signs and symptoms consistent with small intestinal obstruction . Laparotomy revealed peritonitis and thickened distal ileum with transmural inflammatory changes on histopathology . These changes were shown to have completely resolved at a second laparotomy, required for persistent obstruction due to adhesions . Recurrent adhesions culminated in a third laparotomy . The clinical, operative and histopathological findings may be confused with Crohn's disease.

Tunis Med, 1994 Jan, 72(1), 25 - 8
{Etiology of acute diarrhea in children}; Moalla H et al.; PIP: 170 children aged a few days to six years underwent outpatient examinations at a maternal-child health center in Tunis for acute diarrhea between July and September 1986 . Examination and analysis of stool samples led to positive identification of etiology in 59 cases, or 34.5% . 27 cases were of bacterial origin, including 4 cases of salmonella, 7 of shigella, 8 of campylobacter, and 8 of E . coli . 21 cases of rotavirus were isolated, including 2 in which campylobacter were also observed, and one each in which E . coli and giardia were observed . Giardia were observed in 10 cases and ascaris in 1 case . 78% of the children were under two years old, 16% were two to four, and 6% were four to six . Most of the patients were from socioeconomically disadvantaged social strata . There were 91 boys and 79 girls . Among the 170 children, 3 were treated for moderate dehydration as outpatients and one was hospitalized with severe dehydration . 84 children without diarrhea and aged under six months served as controls . A positive etiology was found in 7.1% of controls, including 1 of campylobacter, 4 of rotavirus, and 1 of Giardia .

Wien Klin Wochenschr, 1994, 106(6), 159 - 63
GM 1 antibodies in Guillain-Barré syndrome: isotypes, course and clinical outcome; Seiser A et al.; IgA, IgG, and IgM antibodies against ganglioside GM 1 were investigated in sera of 15 patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), as compared with healthy controls . Significantly raised titers were found in 4 patients who showed persisting weakness due to muscle wasting (3 patients) or due to the development of a chronic relapsing form of GBS (1 patient) after a follow up period of 1 year . By contrast, only 1 out of 11 anti-GM 1 seronegative patients showed persisting muscle wasting . In 1 patient with GBS following Campylobacter jejuni enteritis an IgA anti-GM 1 immune response was found to predominate, suggesting that this immune response may be due to crossreactivity between GM 1 and Campylobacter antigens . We conclude that elevated antibody titers against ganglioside GM 1 may be a valuable marker to predict poor motor recovery in GBS.

J Int Med Res, 1994 Jan-Feb, 22(1), 47 - 54
Aetiology of gastroenteritis at a major referral centre in Saudi Arabia; Akhter J et al.; To determine the causes of gastroenteritis at a major referral centre in Saudi Arabia, retrospective study was carried out on 58,110 fresh stools from 42,035 patients . Examination of stool specimens for pathogens was based on the clinical judgement of the physician responsible, so that all specimens were not tested for the presence of all pathogen groups . Bacterial enteropathogens were found in 7.7% of patients; Salmonella species (51.7%) were found to be the most frequent pathogens followed by Campylobacter jejuni (28%) and Shigella species (14.9%) . Protozoan or metazoan parasites were detected in 27.8% of patients examined, the most common being Giardia lamblia and Hymenolepsis nana . Of the patients tested for viruses in stool, 14.1% had rotavirus, 5.3% adenovirus, 1.2% small round viruses and 0.3% coronavirus . Clostridium difficile toxin was also found in 9.5% of patients examined.

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin, 1994 Jan, 12(1), 31 - 3
{Bacteremia caused by Campylobacter jeikeium in 2 AIDS patients without neutropenia}; Sanchez-Porto A et al.; BACKGROUND: Bacteremia by Corynebacterium jeikeium is generally described in patients with a bone marrow transplantation and/or neutropenia . In 1991, the first case of bacteremia by C . jeikeium was described in a patient with AIDS and neutropenia . The aim of this study was to describe 2 cases of bacteremia by C . jeikeium in patients with AIDS without neutropenia . To the authors' knowledge, this presentation has not been described previously . METHODS: The bacteremia episode was related with a central venous catheter in both patients . The first patient was diagnosed of tuberculous lymphadenitis and cerebral toxoplasmosis and the second patient of disseminated tuberculosis . Both receive specific treatment for these diseases . Zidovudine was not administered . The bacteremia resolved in both cases after withdrawal of the catheter and antibiotic treatment with vancomycin . CONCLUSIONS: Bacteremia by Corynebacterium jeikeium should be considered in the differential diagnosis of febrile patients with AIDS and vascular catheters, even if granulocytopenia is not present . The isolation of C . jeikeium from blood in AIDS patients, particularly neutropenic patients, should be carefully evaluated by microbiologists and clinicians prior to discard it as a "contaminant".

J Periodontol, 1994 Jan, 65(1), 47 - 55
Detection of Porphyromonas gingivalis in gingival exudate by a dipeptide-enhanced trypsin-like activity; Wikstrom M et al.; Porphyromonas gingivalis in subgingival plaque is an important risk factor for future periodontal attachment loss in susceptible adults . The elimination of P . gingivalis is usually concomitant with a healing process . Therefore, it should be valuable to have an easy chairside method to follow the effect of periodontal treatment on P . gingivalis detection as well as on its eventual reappearance during the maintenance period . We have previously reported the stimulation of amidolytic activity of P . gingivalis by the addition of glycyl-glycine to the assay buffer . In this study we determined the proportions of P . gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Capnocytophaga spp, Campylobacter rectus, and Eikenella corrodens by cultivation technique and the amidolytic activity, using N-benzoyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BAPNA) as substrate, in gingival exudate before and during a 3-year treatment and maintenance period . P . gingivalis was the only species yielding a high and persistent correlation to stimulated amidolytic activity (P values < or = 0.0001) on both site (r = 0.5) and subject (r = 0.8) level . Testing pure cultures of suggested periodontal pathogens for effect of glycyl-glycine on amidolytic activity, we found that of P . gingivalis to be 5.9-fold increased . The amidolytic activity of Treponema denticola was only slightly stimulated (ratio with/without glycyl-glycine = 1.2) and that of Capnocytophaga slightly inhibited (ratio with/without glycyl-glycine = 0.8) . The outcome of this study has the potential to be used for the development of a simple, rapid, and inexpensive assay for a qualitative and quantitative determination of P . gingivalis in gingival crevicular fluid.

Scand J Rheumatol, 1994, 23(4), 167 - 70
Rheumatic manifestations of Campylobacter jejuni and C . fetus infections in adults; Peterson MC; Reports of the rheumatic manifestations of Campylobacter jejuni and C . fetus infections in adults are reviewed in order to determine the most common presentations and which individuals are at risk for rheumatic disease . Relevant English-language articles were identified through a Medline search and from bibliographies of identified articles . 105 articles were reviewed in detail . 29 cases of reactive arthritis or Reiter's syndrome following Campylobacter jejuni enteritis were identified . The knee is the most commonly involved joint and an average of 3.2 joints were involved in affected persons . HL-A B27 positive patients are more frequently affected and have higher erythrocyte sedimentation rates than HL-A B27 negative patients . Eight cases of septic arthritis and 4 cases of osteomyelitis caused by C . fetus or C . jejuni were identified, and these cases generally occurred in compromised hosts or in diseased joints.

Microbios, 1994, 78(317), 215 - 28
Characteristics of cytotoxin produced by Campylobacter jejuni strains; Mizuno K et al.; The cytotoxic activity against cultured cells of nineteen clinically isolated strains of Campylobacter jejuni was tested . These strains were found to have different profiles in cytotoxin and enterotoxin production, and the characteristics of cytotoxin were further investigated . The cytotoxin showed cell killing toxicity against CHO and HeLa cells . Vacuole formation was observed in the case of rat hepatocyte primary culture . Treatment with trypsin at 80 degrees C for 30 min inactivated the cytotoxin activity, suggesting that the toxin was protein . The toxin was produced in the culture supernatant with high specific activity per protein, followed by polymyxin and CHAPS treatment fractions in this order . This suggests that the cytotoxin was a cell-releasing toxin and that the active toxin was present as a membrane-associated form . The cytotoxin activity was separated from the enterotoxin activity by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography . The washed fraction contained enterotoxin and cytotoxin, whereas the KCl eluted fraction showed mainly cytotoxic activity.

Microbiol Immunol, 1994, 38(2), 89 - 95
Inflammatory and phagocytic response to experimental Campylobacter jejuni infection in mice; Pancorbo PL et al.; After intraperitoneal inoculation with Campylobacter jejuni BALB/c, Swiss and DBA mice show a peritoneal inflammatory response of different intensity . Only BALB/c mice have a strong peritoneal response . Simultaneous intraperitoneal inoculation of C . jejuni plus FeCl3 increase both inflammatory response and phagocytic activity in Swiss mice, without production of diarrhea . Some thermostable compounds of C . jejuni have a very strong chemotactic activity against peritoneal cells of mice, whereas a diffusible, thermolabile and glutaraldehyde-resistant factor has an inhibitory effect over murine peritoneal cell phagocytosis . Bactericidal activity of peritoneal cells increased after in vitro re-challenge with C . jejuni . Bacteremia is present in all the mice strains tested, but the clearance is quick in DBA and slow in BALB/c and Swiss mice . These experiments confirm that in mice, peritoneal non-specific mechanisms of defense, such as macrophages, play an important role in order to control C . jejuni infection.

Int Arch Occup Environ Health, 1994, 65(6), 405 - 9
Antimicrobial antibodies in Danish slaughterhouse workers and greenhouse workers; Lings S et al.; As a consequence of contact with animals and animal products slaughterhouse workers might be at risk of infection with pathogenic microorganisms . This hypothesis has been supported by some earlier studies . In this study 217 slaughtermen and a control group of 113 greenhouse workers were investigated for the prevalence of serum antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii, Campylobacter jejuni (IgA and IgG), Yersinia enterocolitica types 3 and 9, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis types I, II, III, IV, and V, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium, and Borrelia burgdorferi . No significant differences were found concerning either frequency of positive tests or magnitude of titers . The prevalence of toxoplasma antibodies was remarkably high in both groups.

Vet Microbiol, 1994 Jan, 38(3), 277 - 84
Studies on inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms in culture media and in bovine semen by photosensitive agents; Eaglesome MD et al.; The application of three photosensitive agents for disinfection of bovine semen was investigated . Bovine microbial pathogens suspended in tissue culture medium and/or PBS and also added to bovine semen were exposed to the photosensitive agents followed by irradiation . Hematoporphyrin, hematoporphyrin derivative and thiopyronine were effective against bovine herpes virus-1, bovine viral diarrhoea virus, Mycoplasma bovigenitalium, Mycoplasma canadense, and Ureaplasma diversum in culture media . In addition, thiopyronine was effective against Leptospira pomona . Similar treatments were not effective against Leptospira hardjo, Mycoplasma bovis, or Campylobacter fetus subsp . venerealis . When microorganisms were added to bovine semen, only bovine herpes virus-1 was controlled by the photosensitive agents used at concentrations which did not appear harmful to sperm cells.

Infection, 1994, 22 Suppl 2, S73 - 9
Mechanisms of quinolone resistance; Wiedemann B et al.; Two mechanisms of resistance to fluoroquinolones are known: (i) alteration of the molecular target of quinolone action-DNA gyrase, and (ii) reduction of the quinolone accumulation . Mutations altering the N-terminus of the gyrase A subunit, especially those around residues Ser83 and Asp87, significantly reduce the susceptibilities towards all quinolones, while alterations of the gyrase B subunit are rarely found and are of minor importance . Reduced drug accumulation is associated with alterations of the outer membrane protein profile in gram-negative bacteria . Such mutations include the marA locus in Escherichia coli and result in low level resistance towards quinolones and unrelated drugs . Increased activity of naturally existing efflux systems, such as the transmembrane protein NorA of staphylococci, may also lead to reduced accumulation in gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria . Clinical fluoroquinolone resistance is rarely found in intrinsically highly susceptible organisms such as Enterobacteriaceae and involves a combination of at least two mutations . In contrast, species with moderate intrinsic susceptibility such as Campylobacter jejuni, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus require only one mutation to become clinically resistant . As a consequence development of resistance during therapy may result from acquisition of already resistant strains in the case of susceptible species, and selection of mutants in the case of less susceptible species.

Gastroenterol Clin Biol, 1994, 18(3), 281 - 4
{Toxic megacolon with colonic perforation complicating Campylobacter jejuni ileo-colitis}; Larvol L et al.; Campylobacter jejuni is an enteropathogen with invasive ability which may be responsible for acute colitis . We report the case of a 38-year-old woman who was hospitalized for severe acute colitis . Stool specimen examination revealed Campylobacter jejuni . A laparotomy was performed due to clinical deterioration and toxic megacolon . Colic perforations were observed . The examination of the colectomy specimen revealed ulcerative pancolitis . This is the first published case of Campylobacter jejuni infection complicated by toxic megacolon and perforation.

Arch Microbiol, 1994, 162(6), 375 - 80
Localization of the sapA gene on a physical map of Campylobacter fetus chromosomal DNA; Fujita M et al.; We constructed a physical map of Campylobacter fetus TK(+) chromosomal DNA digested by either SmaI, SalI, or NotI using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and Southern hybridization data . The genome size of C . fetus TK(+) is 2016kb, larger than that reported by the others . To locate the sapA gene, which encodes the surface array protein (SAP), on the physical map, we performed Southern hybridizations with probes based on the conserved region of the sapA gene . The results showed that more than seven copies of the conserved region were present on C . fetus chromosomal DNA and that the sapA gene was located on a limited number of fragments forming a cluster of genes . By comparing fingerprint patterns of strain TK(+) and strain TK(-), which lost the ability to produce SAP during culture on agar medium, an approximately 10kb deletion was observed in the fragments of strain TK(-) . The results of Southern hybridization with two probes, one from the upstream region and the other from the variable region of sapA, suggest that the loss of SAP expression might not be the result of the loss of the sapA gene itself, but only a loss of its control systems.

Mater Med Pol, 1994 Jan-Mar, 26(1), 9 - 12
Observations on gastric histology, endoscopy appearance and Helicobacter pylori after corrective surgery for bile reflux gastritis; Bielecki K et al.; This study was designed to look for the presence of Campylobacter pylori in patients who had Roux-en-Y procedure to control symptoms of severe alkaline reflux gastritis (ARG) and to correlate findings with endoscopy and histology . Twenty five patients, who had been operated on for ARG during the last 15 years, were recruited into this study (mean age: 53 years) . Surgical procedures were performed by a single surgeon (K.B.) . Clinical symptoms of ARG improved after corrective surgery in all cases, but endoscopic pictures remained abnormal in 14 of 25 patients and histological gastritis was observed in all cases . Helicobacter pylori were detected in 8 patients using an urease test performed on gastric mucosa biopsies (CLO-Gistbrocades test) . All 8 patients had their biliary diversion 10 or more years earlier, suggesting that H-pylori colonisation of the gastric mucosa develops only slowly once the bile reflux has been stopped . Longitudinal studies, looking for the presence of H-pylori in postoperative stomachs, may help in determining whether they have a role in the aethiology of the peptic ulcer and gastritis, or whether it really is only an innocent bystander.

Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd, 1994, 136(11-12), 366 - 76
{Diarrheal diseases in 1 to 4 week old suckling piglets from problem herds: microbial spectrum, histology, enzyme histochemistry}; Guscetti F et al.; Postmortem investigation was performed on 54 scouring (soon after onset of diarrhea) and 23 healthy suckling piglets . The animals were 1 to 4 weeks of age and were collected from 27 herds . In 21 herds diarrhea had been observed for a long time in piglets in this age group . Coccidia were found in 34 piglets, rotavirus in 2, cryptosporidia in 2, enterotoxigenic E . coli in 6, attaching and effacing E . coli in 1, Cl . perfringens type C in 1, Campylobacter coli in 53 and C . hyointestinalis in 8 piglets . Some of these microorganisms were isolated from healthy piglets as well . TGE- and PED-Virus antigen, as well as Salmonella were not recovered from any of the pigs . Results of the histopathological and enzyme histochemical investigations were in agreement with data from the literature . They confirmed and emphasized the role of coccidia as enteropathogenic agents in the animals examined . On the other hand evidence was shown, that C . coli is non-pathogenic . The role of C . hyointestinalis could not be fully elucidated . At least one sort of enteropathogenic agent was detected in about 68% (n = 37) of the scouring pigs or was present in 81% (n = 17) of the herds, respectively.

Med Dosw Mikrobiol, 1994, 46(4), 305 - 11
{Isolation of Helicobacter pylori from gastric mucosa depending on the growth medium used}; Pruszkowski J et al.; The usefulness of selective media in increasing the percentage of isolated Helicobacter pylori as well as the occurrence of H . pylori infection in upper gastro-intestinal tract disorders were evaluated . It was shown that the frequency of H . pylori isolation was significantly higher when selective media (Columbia agar with supplementation according to Skirrow-Campylobacter Selective Supplement SR 69 and Columbia agar with Helicobacter pylori Selective Supplement SR 147,Oxoid) were used instead of non-selective media (Columbia agar) . Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy performed in 125 patients demonstrated that H . pylori infection was rather frequent (50%) and dependent on the type of pathology . It was almost always accompanied by histological features of chronic inflammation of mucosa . In patients with gastric bile reflux the frequency of H . pylori infection was about 19%.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1993 Dec 15, 114(3), 285 - 91
Evidence for the presence of a receptor for the cytolethal distending toxin (CLDT) of Campylobacter jejuni on CHO and HeLa cell membranes and development of a receptor-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of CLDT; Bag PK et al.; Using ligand blotting, it was found that partially purified cytolethal distending toxin prepared from an enterotoxigenic strain of Campylobacter jejuni, bound to two peptides of molecular masses of approximately 59 kDa and 45 kDa and to a single peptide of 59 kDa in protein blots prepared from HeLa and CHO cell membranes, respectively . In contrast, labile toxin of Escherichia coli and cholera toxin bound to a single peptide of the same molecular mass (15 kDa) on protein blots prepared from both CHO and HeLa cell crude membranes resolved by gel electrophoresis . This banding pattern was identical using SDS-solubilized membrane, with or without heat treatment, but no band was obtained when reduced (treatment with 2-mercaptoethanol) samples were used for the gel electrophoresis . The differences between receptors of cytolethal distending toxin and cholera toxin/labile toxin were exploited to develop a receptor-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of cytolethal distending toxin which involved the consecutive addition of either solubilized CHO or HeLa membranes, antigen and antibody . This enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay consistently detected crude cytolethal distending toxin diluted up to 16-fold . The receptor-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of cytolethal distending toxin developed in this study is a suitable alternative assay which can be performed easily in laboratories with minimal facilities and, more importantly, the results are available within a few hours as compared to times of up to 5 days in the conventional tissue culture detection of cytolethal distending toxin.

J Clin Microbiol, 1993 Dec, 31(12), 3351 - 2
Diarrhea in U.S . troops deployed to Thailand; Echeverria P et al.; Ninety-five (28%) of 333 U.S . military personnel deployed to Ubonratchathani, Thailand, for 1 month in February 1993 developed diarrhea . Campylobacter jejuni was identified in 6 (25%), attaching and effacing Escherichia coli was identified in 3 (13%), nontyphoidal Salmonella spp . were identified in 2 (8%), and rotavirus was identified in 1 (4%) of 24 persons who had diarrhea and submitted specimens.

J Clin Microbiol, 1993 Dec, 31(12), 3348 - 50
Application of Lior biotyping by use of genetically identified Campylobacter strains; Nicholson MA et al.; We used the scheme of Lior to biotype 140 genetically identified Campylobacter strains . Our results confirmed previous studies and extended Lior biotyping to show that nine C . jejuni subsp . doylei strains (100%) were one biotype and nine C . jejuni subsp . jejuni nalidixic acid-resistant strains (100%) were C . jejuni biotype I or II . All C . jejuni subsp . jejuni hippurate-negative strains studied and 6 of 35 C . lari strains (17%) were grouped with C . coli biotypes . These findings may be useful in epidemiologic investigations.

J Clin Microbiol, 1993 Dec, 31(12), 3323 - 4
Prosthetic hip joint infection due to Campylobacter fetus; Yao JD et al.; A case of postoperative prosthetic hip joint infection due to Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus is described . Difficulties in isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of this organism are discussed.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1993 Dec, 59(12), 4090 - 5
Efficacy of filter types for detecting Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in environmental water samples by polymerase chain reaction; Oyofo BA et al.; A previously developed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a target region in the flaA Campylobacter flagellin gene was evaluated and adapted for use with environmental water samples . The ability to detect Campylobacter jejuni or Campylobacter coli in seeded water samples was tested with various filters after concentration and freeze-thaw lysis of the bacterial cells . A nonradioactive probe for the amplified flagellin gene fragment detected as little as 1 to 10 fg of genomic DNA and as few as 10 to 100 viable C . jejuni cells per 100 ml of water filtered onto Fluoropore (Millipore Corp.) filters . No amplification was obtained with cellulose acetate filters, most likely because of binding of the DNA to the filter . Concentration and lysis of target cells on Fluoropore and Durapore (Millipore Corp.) filters allowed PCR to be performed in the same reaction tube without removing the filters . This methodology was then adapted for use with environmental water samples . The water supply to a broiler chicken production farm was suspected as the source of C . jejuni known to be endemic in grow-out flocks at the farm, despite the inability to culture the organisms by standard methods . The filtration-PCR method detected Campylobacter DNA in more than half of the farm water samples examined . Amplified campylobacter DNA was not detected in small volumes of regional surface water samples collected on a single occasion in February . The filtration-PCR amplification method provided a basis for detection of C . jejuni and C . coli in environmental waters with a high degree of specificity and sensitivity.

Nippon Rinsho, 1993 Dec, 51(12), 3166 - 9
{Mucinase activity of Helicobacter pylori: application of simplified mucinase test}; Hashiguchi T; We conducted the simplified mucinase tests about Helicobacters (Helicobacter pylori, Helicobacter felis and Helicobacter mustelae) and Campylobacter jejuni, positive controls were Pseudomonas maltophilia and Pseudomonas cepacia . H . pylori, H . felis and C . jejuni showed low resolution activities for hog gastric mucin, however H . mustelae had no detectable the activities . This enzymatic activity varies considerably by cultural condition of H . pylori, therefore it is difficult to compare the activity about each strain . This simplified mucinase test proved that H . pylori has some adverse effect on gastric mucin.

Gastroenterology, 1993 Dec, 105(6), 1724 - 31
Shiga-like toxin-producing Escherichia coli in Seattle children: a prospective study; Bokete TN et al.; BACKGROUND: The frequency with which stools contain Shiga-like toxin producing Escherichia coli not belonging to serotype O157:H7 is unknown in the United States . The aim of this study was to determine the frequency with which these E . coli are present in stools from children from Seattle submitted for bacteriologic analysis . METHODS: 2225 coliform colonies from 445 stools submitted for bacterial culture from Seattle children were probed with the structural genes of Shiga-like toxins I and II in a 1-year prospective study . The adherence and actin aggregating characteristics of these E . coli were subsequently determined . RESULTS: Five (1.1%) patients had non-O157:H7 Shiga-like toxin producing E . coli, a rate of isolation higher than Shigella or Yersinia (0.2% each) but lower than Campylobacter (2.5%), E . coli O157:H7 (2.9%), or Salmonella (3.4%) . Only one of the five patients had bloody diarrhea . None developed hemolytic uremic syndrome . All strains adhered in a localized pattern to, and induced actin aggregation in, HeLa cells, and produced a toxin that was lethal to Vero cells . CONCLUSIONS: Non-O157:H7 Shiga-like toxin producing E . coli are present in stools submitted for bacterial culture in a North American childhood population . Their role in childhood diarrhea warrants better definition.

FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol, 1993 Dec, 7(4), 337 - 44
Campylobacter jejuni: specific oligonucleotides and DNA probes for use in polymerase chain reaction-based diagnosis; Stonnet V et al.; A 1189 base-pair long DNA fragment, VS1, was isolated from a Campylobacter jejuni CIP 70.2 cosmid library and was found to contain regions specific for this bacterial species . For detection and identification of C . jejuni, two oligonucleotides derived from the VS1 sequence were used as primers in polymerase chain reaction tests on genomic DNAs from 38 campylobacter and from 10 non-Campylobacter strains . A specific, 358 base-pair long DNA fragment was amplified only when C . jejuni DNA was used as a target . The detection limit of the amplification reaction was as low as 1.86 fg DNA, which is the equivalent of one C . jejuni genome.

J Trop Pediatr, 1993 Dec, 39(6), 365 - 7
Aetiology of acute diarrhoea in hospitalized children in Rio de Janeiro City, Brazil; Mangia AH et al.; Enteropathogens were investigated in 406 children aged 0-3 years with diarrhoea attending the Salles Neto Municipal Hospital . Enteric bacterial pathogens were isolated from 49 per cent of the children . Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) (20.9 per cent), enteropathogenic E . coli (EPEC) (16.5 per cent), rotavirus (11.6 per cent), and Campylobacter (9.9 per cent) were the most common agents . Among clinical features, vomiting and fever were significantly associated with Rotavirus isolation (50.0 per cent), respiratory infection with Adenovirus (14.3 per cent), bloody diarrhoea with Campylobacter (12.5 per cent), and dehydration with EPEC (71.6 per cent).

J Trop Pediatr, 1993 Dec, 39(6), 338 - 41
Acute diarrhoea and Campylobacter in Peruvian children: a clinical and epidemiologic approach; Murga H et al.; A study performed on Peruvian children < 10 years of age and their controls showed that Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of diarrhoea . Infants 1 year old or younger were the most affected . The disease was usually moderately severe, although > 50 per cent of patients required i.v . fluid therapy . Campylobacter was also more frequent in malnourished patients, who come from socio-economically deprived groups, with overcrowding, poor sanitation, and frequent contact with domestic birds and animals . The seasonal behaviour suggests that diarrhoea caused by Campylobacter is endemic in this area.

J Vet Med Sci, 1993 Dec, 55(6), 1027 - 9
Application of a DNA-DNA hybridization method for detection of Campylobacter jejuni in chicken feces; Chuma T et al.; A direct colony hybridization method was used for the detection of Campylobacter jejuni in chicken feces . The biotin-labeled DNA prepared from the whole genome DNA of C . jejuni subsp . jejuni ATCC 33560 reacted well with homologous DNA and slightly with C . coli DNA . The method with the probe was found to be sensitive enough to detect a small number (10(2) CFU/g) of C . jejuni in chicken feces which contained a large number of background flora . It was suggested that this simple and sensitive method was useful for a wide survey of C . jejuni.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1993 Dec, 37(12), 2645 - 9
Effect of mutational alteration of Asn-128 in the putative GTP-binding domain of tetracycline resistance determinant Tet(O) from Campylobacter jejuni; Grewal J et al.; The deduced amino acid sequence of Campylobacter jejuni Tet(O), cloned in Escherichia coli, has shown that it contains the five highly conserved sequences of the GTP-binding domain found in other GTPases . Asn-128 belongs to the G4 motif of such a domain and is involved in hydrogen bonding with the guanine ring of the nucleotide . Substitution of Asn-128 by 11 other amino acids resulted in a decrease in tetracycline resistance, indicating that tetracycline resistance conferred by Tet(O) is related to GTP binding . The effect of the mutations on the GTP-binding domain is discussed with the EF-Tu-GDP complex as a model.

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 1993 Dec, 87 Suppl 3, 31 - 4
Diarrhoeal disease: current concepts and future challenges . Antimicrobial therapy and prophylaxis; DuPont HL; Empirical antimicrobial therapy is indicated in patients with diarrhoea who have high fever and systemic toxicity, dysenteric disease, or travellers' diarrhoea . Antimicrobials are essential for those with severe shigellosis and amoebiasis . They are useful or possibly useful for other forms of diarrhoeal disease including amoebiasis (milder forms), campylobacteriosis, cholera, giardiasis, shigellosis, and diarrhoea due to a variety of other laboratory-defined bacterial enteropathogens . Furazolidone is useful in infantile giardiasis and mildly effective in other forms of bacterial diarrhoea . Trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole is effective against Shigella spp . in ost parts of the world . Erythromycin is considered the treatment of choice for campylobacteriosis . For adults, the quinolone antimicrobials represent the most useful class of drugs for bacterial enteropathogens . Several dilemmas currently exist in the area . They include the lack of drugs for the therapy of trimethoprim-resistant shigellosis in children, overuse of antimicrobials in the developing world, and the potential for post-treatment prolongation of intestinal excretion of non-typhoid salmonellae . Antimicrobial chemoprophylaxis can be used in the rare person from an industrialized area during brief travels to a tropical region who has a serious underlying medical problem, cannot exercise care in what is eaten and drunk, and will have the purpose of the trip put at jeopardy should any illness develop (even that rendered short-term by effective therapy) . For most people, therapy of illness is preferred to prophylaxis.

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 1993 Dec, 87 Suppl 3, 3 - 5
Diarrhoeal disease: current concepts and future challenges . Molecular biological approaches to the epidemiology of diarrhoeal diseases in developing countries; Taylor DN et al.; Diarrhoea in developing countries is caused by an increasingly long list of bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens with rotavirus, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Shigella, and Salmonella heading the list . Using methods to detect most of the known enteropathogens, one or more enteropathogen(s) is isolated in two-thirds of diarrhoeal illnesses in the developing world . Many of these enteropathogens are also frequently isolated from children without diarrhoea . An aetiologic agent is more frequently isolated from cases of invasive diarrhoea than from those with secretory diarrhoea . Deoxyribonucleic acid probes have proved very useful in detecting pathogens such as enterotoxigenic (ETEC), enteroinvasive (EIEC), and enteropathogenic E . coli (EPEC), but have not yet proved to be particularly rapid or less expensive . Molecular biology has proved useful in epidemiological studies as a means of strain identification . Plasmids were initially used as convenient markers and proved useful in identifying epidemic strains of bacteria . Other molecular markers, such as ribotyping, are accurate enough to be used as taxonomic tools.

Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull, 1993 Dec, 19(3), 71 - 8
Antigen profile of Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from peptic ulcer patients in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Haque M et al.; The whole-cell-extract and the acid-extract preparations of Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from peptic ulcer patients and the NCTC 11638 control strain were studied to compare their antigen profiles . Besides, the anti-H . pylori-antibody profile in serum from H . pylori-infected peptic ulcer patients were also studied to define the antigen stimulating specific anti-H . pylori-antibody response in the infected patients . The whole-cell extract (WCE) and the acid-extract (AE) preparations showed a general antigenic homogeneity among the H . pylori strains isolated from the patients and the NCTC 11638 control strain . A humoral immune response against the infecting organism was observed and three antigenic bands of approximate molecular masses of 61 kDa, 58 kDa and 24 kDa were recognized by all the tested sera . Those bands were found to be unique for H . pylori and did not show any cross reaction with the Campylobacter jejuni antigenic bands . This makes them a candidate for the specific antigens required to develop a specific serological diagnostic test . Further purification and characterization of the protein bands may be carried out to define their probable diagnostic or immuno-pathogenic role.

Mol Cell Probes, 1993 Dec, 7(6), 471 - 80
PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of DNA sequence diversity of flagellin genes of Campylobacter jejuni and allied species; Owen RJ et al.; Genotypes were analysed within 29 geographically diverse strains of Campylobacter jejuni mainly from human enteritis cases and four strains representing C . coli, C . lari and C . helveticus . A 1723 bp DNA fragment, amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the flagellin (fla) genes, was used to probe genomic Southern blots for restriction site variation at homologous loci . Internal Hin fl restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) of the fla gene PCR amplification product were also used to characterize isolates . Copy number and polymorphisms in and around the fla genes were detected, and strains were grouped into 10 genotypes on the basis of fla restriction site similarities . Campylobacter jejuni had a fla gene copy number of two and the majority (64%) of strains in the species had common internal fla gene sequences as indicated by Hin fl restriction analysis . A greater degree of diversity was detected around the fla loci in Hae III and Bgl II genomic Southern blots . The results showed that analysis of fla genes provided a novel and fundamental approach to grouping strains and offered a basis for defining a predominant clonal evolutionary line within C . jejuni.

Vet Q, 1993 Dec, 15(4), 138 - 43
Prevalence of campylobacter in pigs during fattening; an epidemiological study; Weijtens MJ et al.; Numerous epidemiological reports implicate foods of animal origin as vehicles of human campylobacteriosis . Pigs are probably an important reservoir of campylobacter and a potential source of human infection . In order to improve our knowledge of the epidemiology of campylobacter in pigs, the prevalence of campylobacter and its contamination of feed were monitored in eight pig farms . Faeces samples of pigs aged 11 and 22 weeks, and samples of rectal, ileal and gastric content at a slaughterhouse were collected for bacteriological examination . On 5 farms, subsequent groups of pigs housed in the same stalls was sampled, too . A selection of the campylobacter isolates was characterized with a genetic typing method (RFLP) . More than 85% of the sampled porkers were shown to be intestinal carriers of campylobacter at all stages of fattening . Subsequent groups of pigs housed in the same stalls were all carriers, too . The level of campylobacters in the faeces tended to decrease as the pigs got older . There was no difference in the frequency and level of infection with campylobacter between porkers on different farms . The feeding system (wet feed versus dry pellets) did not seem to influence the prevalence of campylobacter although wet feed gave lower counts of Enterobacteriaceae in the faeces . RFLP-typing showed a high diversity of campylobacter strains at each sampling on the farm . Similarities were seen between strains isolated during two subsequent samplings of the same group of pigs, but not between strains isolated on the same farm from subsequent groups of pigs housed in the same stall . This suggests that the piglets were already infected at a young age on the breeding farm.

Infect Immun, 1993 Dec, 61(12), 5384 - 7
Demonstration of lipopolysaccharide with O-polysaccharide chains among different heat-stable serotypes of Campylobacter jejuni by silver staining of polyacrylamide gels; Blake DC Jr et al.; Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from three human and four monkey isolates of Campylobacter jejuni was extracted in high yields that revealed ladder-like structures in polyacrylamide gels by direct silver staining . These observations demonstrate that C . jejuni possesses LPS with O-chain repeating units typical of the family Enterobacteriaceae . The isolates showed differences in the number and electrophoretic mobility of bands in silver-stained gels.

Epidemiol Infect, 1993 Dec, 111(3), 415 - 27
Molecular subtyping by genome and plasmid analysis of Campylobacter jejuni serogroups O1 and O2 (Penner) from sporadic and outbreak cases of human diarrhoea; Fayos A et al.; Ribosomal RNA gene patterns, randomly amplified polymorphic genomic DNA (RAPD) profiles and plasmid profiles were used to discriminate between 28 strains of Campylobacter jejuni serogroups O1 and O2 (Penner) . Most isolates were biotype I (Lior) . The strains were representative isolates from a UK school outbreak of enteritis (7 cases) and from 21 sporadic human cases of enteritis in 4 countries . The molecular techniques discriminated to various degrees between strains in each of the serogroups . The outbreak strains were homogeneous in most molecular features but a variety of types was detected amongst the isolates from the sporadic cases . Five groups of two or more strains with identical ribopatterns were identified and within each, strains from different patients were homogenous with respect to serogroup . RAPD profile typing based on numerical analysis generally matched ribotyping . Plasmid profiling overall gave least discrimination but was useful in separating some strains similar in other features . We concluded that optimal discrimination of C . jejuni could best be achieved using a combination of phenotypic and genotypic properties . Hae III ribotyping was the single most discriminatory and reproducible technique investigated . Several strains of C . jejuni from sporadic infections had similar molecular profiles which have potential for general typing purposes.

Commun Dis Rep CDR Rev, 1993 Nov 5, 3(12), R159 - 73
Foodborne disease surveillance in England and Wales: 1989-1991; Sockett PN et al.; This review summarises reports of food poisoning, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and other acute foodborne illness to the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, and notifications of food poisoning collated by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, in the period 1989-1991 . During this period there were continuing rises in notifications of food poisoning and reports of salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis . There was considerable success in the control of foodborne listeriosis . Newly emerging pathogens, such as Vero cytotoxin producing Escherichia coli, became more important . There was unprecedented scrutiny of the salmonella data by experts and politicians, reflecting continuing concern over the role of eggs as well as poultry meat in the increase of Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4 infection . This concern, along with advances in information technology, has led to developments in the collection and dissemination of information which continue to be implemented.

Infect Immun, 1993 Nov, 61(11), 4885 - 7
Roles of leukotriene B4, prostaglandin E2, and cyclic AMP in Campylobacter jejuni-induced intestinal fluid secretion; Everest PH et al.; Infection of rabbit ileal loops with inflammatory Campylobacter jejuni strains caused elevation of cyclic AMP, prostaglandin E2, and leukotriene B4 levels in tissue and fluids . Incubation of cultured Caco-2 cells with loop fluids caused elevated cellular cyclic AMP levels, an effect which was inhibited by antiserum against prostaglandin E2.

Gig Sanit, 1993 Nov, (11), 20 - 3
{Quantitative correlation of the content of Campylobacter and sanitary indicative bacteria in surface water}; Dorodnikov AI et al.; Quantitative relations between campylobacteria and sanitary indicating bacteria in surface waters were studied . A correlation between numbers of campylobacteria and lactose-positive bacteria was revealed.

Cesk Pediatr, 1993 Nov, 48(11), 659 - 61
{The hemolytic-uremic syndrome in enterocolitis caused by Campylobacter jejuni}; Dolezel Z et al.; In the submitted case-history the authors describe the clinical course of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) during Campylobacter infection in a two-year-old boy . On the described case the authors wish to confirm that in the manifestation of HUS in childhood not only infections caused by the usual microbial agents can participate but also Campylobacter jejuni.

Am J Med Sci, 1993 Nov, 306(5), 325 - 9
Role of the S-layer proteins of Campylobacter fetus in serum-resistance and antigenic variation: a model of bacterial pathogenesis; Blaser MJ; Campylobacter fetus are microaerophilic gram-negative bacteria that are pathogens of animals and humans . These organisms possess paracrystalline surface (S-) layers, composed of acidic high molecular weight proteins . C . fetus strains possessing S-layers are resistant to C3b binding, which explains both serum and phagocytosis-resistance . C . fetus strains also can vary the subunit protein size, crystalline structure, and antigenicity of the S-layer it expresses . Therefore, its S-layer permits C . fetus to resist complement and antibodies, two of the key defenses against extracellular pathogens . C . fetus possesses several full-length genes encoding S-layer proteins with both conserved and divergent sequences, which permits gene rearrangement and antigenic variation.

J Exp Med, 1993 Nov 1, 178(5), 1771 - 5
A bacterium lipopolysaccharide that elicits Guillain-Barré syndrome has a GM1 ganglioside-like structure; Yuki N et al.; There is a strong association between Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and Penner's serotype 19 (PEN 19) of Campylobacter jejuni . Sera from patients with GBS after C . jejuni infection have autoantibodies to GM1 ganglioside in the acute phase of the illness . Our previous work has suggested that GBS results from an immune response to cross-reactive antigen between lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the Gram-negative bacterium and membrane components of peripheral nerves . To clarify the pathogenesis of GBS, we have investigated whether GM1-oligosaccharide structure is present in the LPS of C . jejuni (PEN 19) that was isolated from a GBS patient . After extraction of the LPS, the LPS showing the binding activity of cholera toxin, that specifically recognizes the GM1-oligosaccharide was purified by a silica bead column chromatography . Gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis has shown that the purified LPS contained Gal, GalNAc, and NeuAc, which are sugar components of GM1 ganglioside . 1H NMR methods {Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG), total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY), and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY)} have revealed that the oligosaccharide structure {Gal beta 1-3 GalNAc beta 1-4(NeuAc alpha 2-3)Gal beta} protrude from the LPS core . This terminal structure {Gal beta 1-3GalNAc beta 1-4(NeuAc alpha 2-3)Gal beta} is identical to the terminal tetrasaccharide of the GM1 ganglioside . This is the first study to demonstrate the existence of molecular mimicry between nerve tissue and the infectious agent that elicits GBS.

J Bacteriol, 1993 Nov, 175(22), 7468 - 70
Fine mapping of the three rRNA operons on the updated genomic map of Campylobacter jejuni TGH9011 (ATCC 43431); Kim NW et al.; The three rRNA gene loci of Campylobacter jejuni TGH9011 (ATCC 43431) were cloned . All three rRNA operons were shown to possess a contiguous 16S-23S structure and contain intercistronic tRNA(Ala) and tRNA(Ile) . The three RNA operons and additional 14 genetic markers were mapped in the updated genomic map of C . jejuni TGH9011, which now has a total of 24 genetic markers.

Res Microbiol, 1993 Nov-Dec, 144(9), 709 - 20
Molecular typing of thermotolerant species of Campylobacter with ribosomal RNA gene patterns; Owen RJ et al.; Ribosomal RNA gene restriction patterns (ribopatterns) of 72 strains representing Campylobacter jejuni (subspecies jejuni and doylei), C . coli, C . upsaliensis and C . lari including the urealytic (UPTC) biovar were determined using four common restriction endonucleases (HaeIII, HindIII, PstI and PvuII) . The relative effectiveness of these enzymes for general molecular typing of the thermotolerant campylobacters was assessed . Ribotypes (HaeIII) were defined on the basis of computer-assisted numerical analysis . For C . jejuni, C . coli and C . lari, the HaeIII ribopatterns provided a high level of typability and discrimination, with patterns that were reproducible and easy to code for numerical analysis . There was evidence of diversity within three of the HaeIII types, and PstI ribopatterns proved the most reliable for detecting such differences . C . upsaliensis also could be ribotyped with HaeIII, but HindIII, PvuII and PstI were less satisfactory for this species . For such campylobacters, the HindIII ribopatterns generally were complex and difficult to compare, and the PvuII profiles provided the least discrimination . We conclude that the choice of restriction endonuclease is of critical importance when applying ribotyping to different species of Campylobacter . HaeIII ribopatterns were the most effective means of typing strains of different thermotolerant species of campylobacters and, when combined with PstI ribopatterns, offered a highly discriminatory basis for molecular typing.

Res Microbiol, 1993 Nov-Dec, 144(9), 703 - 8
PCR-mediated DNA typing of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from patients with recurrent infections; Endtz HP et al.; The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and two primers aiming at the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) and arbitrary DNA sequences, respectively, were used to fingerprint the genomic DNA of 24 Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from five patients with recurrent C . jejuni infections . Results were compared with biotyping and serotyping . The latter two methods, when combined, distinguished 9 different types, whereas PCR-mediated DNA analysis discriminated 14 different patterns . For six strains, the results of PCR-mediated typing led to different interpretations . This method is proposed as an additional tool to further discriminate between C . jejuni strains that appear related by conventional typing methods . In view of its rapidity and simplicity, this method is a potential candidate to replace the relatively slow and laborious conventional methods . However, further study is needed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of PCR-mediated DNA analysis and to investigate the usefulness of this method as an epidemiological tool in outbreaks of Campylobacter infections.

Vet Pathol, 1993 Nov, 30(6), 512 - 21
Nursing disease in mink: clinical and postmortem findings; Schneider RR et al.; One hundred fifty lactating mink on one ranch in southern Ontario were monitored over the lactation period in 1989 for evidence of clinical disease, and serial blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis . Antemortem blood samples were collected and necropsies performed on the 17 females that developed nursing disease and on 17 controls matched to the same stage of lactation and on ten nonlactating controls . Twenty-two additional nursing disease cases were selected from seven ranches in the following year and processed similarly . The clinical signs typically observed in affected females were sudden onset lethargy and anorexia followed by dehydration, ataxia, and a reluctance to move . The major clinical-pathologic findings were a marked increase in serum osmolality and total protein, urea nitrogen, creatinine, phosphorus, glucose, and potassium concentrations and a decrease in sodium and chloride concentration . In addition, the animals were acidotic, there was a reduction in the urine specific gravity, and the hemogram was consistent with a stress response . Emaciation and dehydration were the only pathologic changes consistently present in cases of nursing disease and not in controls . In almost all cases, bacteria were not cultured from the liver, spleen, and mammary gland, but Campylobacter jejuni was cultured from the intestinal contents of 15/17 affected mink and 2/5 controls . Aleutian disease virus antibody was not present in any of the affected mink . Lipid vacuoles in hepatocytes and renal tubular epithelium, hypertrophy of cells in the adrenal cortex, and pulmonary congestion and atelectasis were present in both diseased females and controls, as were various sporadic inflammatory lesions . Nursing disease may result from energy depletion due to lactation . All lactating females are affected by this process; clinical disease reflects the terminal physiologic decompensation of the most susceptible individuals.

Rev Clin Esp, 1993 Nov, 193(8), 428 - 30
{Etiology of bacterial gastroenteritis in patients infected by the human immunodeficiency virus}; Reina J et al.; A comparative retrospective study was performed on the bacterial etiology of the diarrheal processes which affect a healthy cohort and those which affect HIV-positive patients . From 1988 to 1991, 10,230 coprocultures were obtained of which 27.3% were positive in the healthy cohort and 16.8% in the HIV-positive group . Of the 43 cases in the latter, 24 (12.2%) were adults and 18 (33.9%) were pediatric patients . The primary enteropathogenic microorganism isolated in the HIV-positive group were 17 (40.5%) S . enterica (I), 16 (38.1%) Campylobacter sp., and 9 (21.4%) aeromonas sp . Even though the overall percentage of enteropathogen detection hardly showed any differences between the two groups, it is worth mentioning that there was a certain predominance of diarrheas due to S . enterica (I) in the healthy cohort as compared to the incidence of diarrheas due to Campylobacter sp . and Aeromonas sp . in HIV-positive patients . There does not appear to be strong differences between the incidence of the various enteropathogens in the two groups, perhaps a simple reflection their geographic and local prevalence.

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 1993 Nov, 12(11), 847 - 9
Isolation and immunogenicity of Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus from an abdominal aortic aneurysm; Grollier G et al.; A Campylobacter fetus strain was isolated from an abdominal aortic aneurysm in a 56-year-old man who had no significant chronic illness except arteriosclerosis . The strain was identified on the basis of the usual taxonomic markers and fatty acid profiles . The patient's immunological status regarding Campylobacter fetus was studied by Western blot . The strong immune response observed against the 99 kDa protein of the strain confirms that the S-layer protein is the immunodominant antigen of Campylobacter fetus.

Lett Appl Microbiol, 1993 Nov, 17(5), 235 - 7
PCR for the detection and typing of campylobacters; Birkenhead D et al.; The flaA gene of Campylobacter sp . was amplified using PCR . Primers were chosen which amplified 1.3 kb of the flaA gene in Camp . jejuni and Camp . coli . 'Campylobacter upsaliensis' amplimer was approximately 1.7 kb in size and was easily distinguishable . Other species of campylobacter failed to yield amplimer . The amplimer was digested with Alu 1 which demonstrated considerable restriction fragment length polymorphism and should allow the development of a rapid novel typing scheme which does not rely on previous culture of campylobacter strains.

Kansenshogaku Zasshi, 1993 Nov, 67(11), 1076 - 82
Immunological specificity of Helicobacter pylori urease and identification by immunological detection of its specific urease; Shingaki M et al.; Helicobacter pylori urease was recovered as a single peak by DEAE-Sepharose column chromatography and Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration . The purified urease was obtained by fast protein liquid chromatography using a Mono Q column . The purified urease preparation gave a single band in polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis . Latex particles were sensitized with anti-urease immunoglobulin . The sensitized latex particles were agglutinated with the purified urease and by cell sonicates obtained from 55 strains of H . pylori which were isolated from the gastric mucosa of patients with gastric and duodenal disorders, while they did not react with those obtained from related bacteria known to be urease producers, such as Helicobacter mustelae and urease- positive "Campylobacter lari variants", or by urease of some strains of Enterobacteriae . We have developed a specific and sensitive method for detecting the urease by using the reversed passive latex agglutination technique, in order to identify of the organism.

Epidemiol Infect, 1993 Oct, 111(2), 245 - 55
Epidemiological investigation of risk factors for campylobacter colonization in Norwegian broiler flocks; Kapperud G et al.; An epidemiological investigation was conducted to identify risk factors related to hygiene and husbandry practices which determine the introduction of Campylobacter spp . into broiler chicken flocks . All 176 broiler farms in an area in southeastern Norway participated in the study . Each farm was represented by one flock selected at random during a one-year period . The flocks were examined for campylobacter colonization at slaughter, and the flock managers were subsequently interviewed about hygiene and husbandry practices . Campylobacter spp . were recovered from 32 (18%) of the flocks . The proportion of colonized flocks varied geographically and seasonally with a peak in the autumn . The following variables were found to be independently associated with an increased risk of campylobacter colonization using logistic regression analysis: (i) feeding the broilers undisinfected water (odds ratio (OR) = 3.42, P = 0.045), (ii) tending other poultry prior to entering the broiler house (OR = 6.43, P = 0.007), (iii) tending pigs before entering the house (OR = 4.86, P = 0.037), (iv) geographic region (Hedmark versus Ostfold county) (OR = 2.91, P = 0.023, (v) season (autumn versus other seasons) (OR = 3.43; P = 0.008) . Presence of rats on the farm was associated with an increased risk, but this factor did not reach statistical significance (OR = 3.96, P = 0.083) . Preventive measures should include disinfection of drinking water and strict hygienic routines when the farm workers enter the rearing room . The results indicate that disinfection of drinking water is the preventive measure most likely to have the greatest impact on the prevalence of campylobacter among broiler chicken flocks in the study area (population attributable fraction = 0.53).

J Infect Dis, 1993 Oct, 168(4), 948 - 54
Kinetic and antigenic characterization of altered protein synthesis by Campylobacter jejuni during cultivation with human epithelial cells; Konkel ME et al.; Cultivation of Campylobacter jejuni with INT 407 cell monolayer cultures results in new or enhanced synthesis of a number of proteins compared with bacteria cultured in the absence of the epithelial cells . These proteins were detected within 60 min after the addition of the bacteria to the epithelial cell cultures, and their synthesis was temporally associated with an increase in C . jejuni internalization . A rabbit antiserum raised against bacteria that were cultivated with INT 407 cells recognized nine proteins that were not recognized by an antiserum against C . jejuni cultivated in medium alone . The former antiserum inhibited the internalization, but not the binding, of Campylobacter jejuni in a dose-dependent fashion . The results suggest that one or more of the proteins synthesized by C . jejuni in response to cocultivation with epithelial cells plays a role in facilitating internalization.

Ann Trop Med Parasitol, 1993 Oct, 87(5), 483 - 6
Helicobacter pylori: isolation from gastric biopsy specimens; Mirza SH et al.; Forty-two gastric biopsies, in two transport media, were homogenized and cultured on three media under micro-aerophilic conditions . Brain-heart infusion agar with a commercial antibiotic supplement (giving 10 mg vancomycin, 5 mg trimethoprim and 2500 i.u . polymixin per litre) yielded the best results . Ordinary chocolate (heated) human blood agar could be used in laboratories with limited resources . Growth was obtained in 4-6 days at 37 degrees C . All isolates were sensitive to metronidazole . The resistance to nalidixic acid and rapid urease production of Helicobacter pylori could be used to differentiate this species from Campylobacter spp . Indicator medium (brain-heart infusion broth with 7% human blood and 40 mg 2,3,5-triphenyletetrazolium chloride agar/litre) also proved useful in identification.

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 1993 Oct, 12(10), 772 - 5
Use of an immunoglobulin M containing preparation for treatment of two hypogammaglobulinemic patients with persistent Campylobacter jejuni infection; Borleffs JC et al.; This report describes two hypogammaglobulinemic patients with persistent Campylobacter jejuni infections in spite of IgG substitution and antibiotic therapy . Since serum bactericidal activity (SBA) depends on IgM, these patients were each treated with six doses of an IgM-containing immunoglobulin preparation (Pentaglobin) at three-week intervals . During IgG therapy SBA was not seen in either patient . However, one hour following administration of the IgM preparation, SBA increased to 90% . Just before the next dose SBA was still at the 30-70% level . Both patients tolerated the therapy very well and there were no culture-confirmed relapses of Campylobacter jejuni infection . The IgM preparation may therefore be a useful alternative to conventional IgG in the treatment of hypogammaglobulinemic patients with persistent Campylobacter jejuni infection.

Ulster Med J, 1993 Oct, 62(2), 127 - 31
Are the birds feeding you Campylobacter?
McElroy G, Smyth B.
During May and June 1992 there was a marked increase in reports of campylobacter infections compared with other years . Several affected patients mentioned they had been drinking milk from bottles previously pecked by birds . A case control study was initiated to investigate whether there was any significant association . It was concluded that drinking milk pecked by birds was associated significantly with subsequent campylobacter infection.

Vaccine, 1993 Oct, 11(13), 1316 - 20
Killed Campylobacter elicits immune response and protection when administered with an oral adjuvant; Rollwagen FM et al.; The heat-labile toxin (HLT) of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a potent oral adjuvant . We determined whether the ETEC HLT could be mixed with killed campylobacter to induce an immune response protective upon subsequent challenge with live pathogens . Mice were immunized orally three times with 10(9) sonicated campylobacter with or without 25 micrograms of ETEC HLT, and humoral immune responses in intestinal lavage fluids measured by ELISA . Whereas 10(9) live bacteria induced strong intestinal IgA responses, killed bacteria did not unless ETEC HLT was also added . The magnitude of the antibody response was dependent on the amount of antigen given . The ETEC HLT given with bacteria also induced a potent cross-reaction with cholera toxin . The latter had an adjuvant effect in mice similar to that of ETEC HLT . Protection against colonization was studied in mice and rabbits . In contrast to non-immune animals, those given live organisms or sonicated cells mixed with ETEC HLT quickly cleared homologous, but not heterologous, Lior serotypes of Campylobacter upon challenge . These data show for the first time that ETEC HLT can potentiate an immune response to killed campylobacter that promotes a rapid clearance of live pathogens from the intestine.

Contracept Fertil Sex, 1993 Oct, 21(10), 753 - 9
{Value of adding antibiotics to frozen bovine semen: the example of mycoplasmas and campylobacters}; Guerin B et al.; Two studies have been conducted to control opportunistic pathogen bacteria in frozen bovine semen . The first one was reported by Shin et al . (1988) and was based on (a) an experimental in vitro contamination of raw bull semen with various types of bacteria, (b) adding several antibiotics, alone or in combination with different concentrations . The second experiment, performed in our laboratory, was designed to compare from 240 split ejaculates the effect of adding concentrated solutions of antibiotics to the raw semen vs control (ie addition of antibiotics in the extender) . The combination of gentamicin (500 micrograms/ml)-tylosin (100 micrograms/ml)-linco-spectin (300/600 micrograms/ml) was found to be the most effective on the strains of bacteria tested . The addition of a concentrated solution of antibiotics to the raw semen was not found here to be of any advantage on the numbers of CFU . Furthermore, such a protocol contributed to significantly decrease the percentage of motile spermatozoa . In conclusion, opportunistic pathogens such as those here studied may be kept under control with the appropriate antibiotics and with no deleterious effect on semen parameters provided that they are added at the adequate concentrations in the diluents used for semen cryopreservation.

Clin Infect Dis, 1993 Oct, 17(4), 779 - 82
Short-term treatment of traveler's diarrhea with norfloxacin: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study during two seasons; Mattila L et al.; Clinical efficacy of norfloxacin for treatment of traveler's diarrhea in 106 Finnish tourists vacationing in Morocco was evaluated during two different seasons . When the criteria for diagnosis of traveler's diarrhea were fulfilled, norfloxacin (400 mg) or a placebo was given orally, twice daily for 3 days . All symptoms and signs subsided sooner in the norfloxacin group . The clearest difference was observed in the duration of diarrhea: 1.2 days in the norfloxacin group vs . 3.3 days in the placebo group (P < .001) . The duration of diarrhea due to particular species was as follows for the two groups: in cases due to Salmonella enterica, 1.1 vs 4.1 days (P < .01); in cases due to Campylobacter jejuni, 1.8 vs . 5.0 days (P < .01); and in cases due to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, 1.0 day vs . 3.1 days (P < .01) . The rate of full recovery during administration of norfloxacin or a placebo was also greater among the norfloxacin recipients: 84% vs . 47% (P < .001) . No significant adverse effects were reported . Norfloxacin proved to be safe and effective in therapy for traveler's diarrhea.

Oral Microbiol Immunol, 1993 Oct, 8(5), 306 - 12
Microbiology of the pericoronal pouch in mandibular third molar pericoronitis; Leung WK et al.; The microorganisms associated with mandibular third molar pericoronitis were investigated using direct microscopy and anaerobic culture method . The pericoronal pouch was sampled with paper points in A) 8 patients without mandibular third molar pericoronitis and B) 6 patients with mandibular third molar pericoronitis . Under the microscope, the microflora was found to be a complex mixture comprising gram-positive and gram-negative cocci, rods and filaments (including fusiform and curved rods), motile rods and spirochetes . Significantly higher proportions of motile, gram-negative rods were found in group B than in group A . The predominant cultivable microflora of 9 samples: A (4) and B (5) comprised several species of facultative and obligate anaerobic bacteria, namely Peptostreptococcus, Streptococcus, Actinomyces, Eubacterium, Propionibacterium, Veillonella, Porphyromonas, Prevotella, Bacteriodes, Fusobacterium, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus, Stomatococcus, Lactobacillus, Neisseria, Capnocytophaga, Haemophilus, Selenomonas and Centipeda species . The microflora in pericoronitis appeared similar to that of diseased periodontal pockets.

Q J Med, 1993 Oct, 86(10), 623 - 34
Campylobacter jejuni and Guillain-Barré syndrome; Rees JH et al.; Campylobacter jejuni is the most frequently identified bacterial cause of gastroenteritis in the UK, and commonly precedes Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) . There is some evidence that the resultant neurological disease may be a more severe variant of GBS with predominant axonal degeneration . Crossreactivity between neural antigens and C . jejuni may be one of the mechanisms by which GBS is triggered . Unravelling the immunopathogenesis of GBS following C . jejuni enteritis may shed light on the way in which bacterial infections induce autoimmune disease.

J Gen Microbiol, 1993 Oct, 139 ( Pt 10), 2485 - 93
Transformation of Helicobacter pylori by chromosomal metronidazole resistance and by a plasmid with a selectable chloramphenicol resistance marker; Wang Y et al.; Most strains of Helicobacter pylori are naturally competent for uptake of chromosomal DNA . Transformation frequencies for streptomycin resistance or rifampicin resistance markers ranged from 1 x 10(-4) to 1 x 10(-3) per viable cell using a plate transformation procedure . Transformation of a metronidazole resistance marker (MtrR) was demonstrated when either a laboratory-derived mutant or a MtrR clinical isolate were used as the source of donor DNA . MtrR was transformed at a frequency of 3 x 10(-5) per viable cell . All H . pylori strains tested produce large amounts of DNAase, which may reduce DNA available for transformation . Four H . pylori plasmids were isolated . DNA fragments from H . pylori plasmids were deleted or rearranged when cloned in pUC19 and propagated in Escherichia coli DH5 alpha . An H . pylori plasmid, pUOA26 which contained a chloramphenicol resistance determinant from Campylobacter coli, was constructed in H . pylori . This plasmid could be successfully introduced by natural transformation only into H . pylori recipients which contained a homologous resident plasmid . Transformation of pUOA26 into plasmid-free cells of H . pylori was achieved by electroporation . Transformation frequencies were 1 x 10(-4) transformants per viable cell when plasmid DNA was isolated from the same strain; however, introduction of pUOA26 DNA derived from H . pylori 8091 into a different H . pylori strain, NCTC 11639, resulted in transformation at much lower frequencies (< or = 1 x 10(-7) per viable cell).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

J Clin Microbiol, 1993 Oct, 31(10), 2611 - 5
Enhanced detection of intracellular organism of swine proliferative enteritis, ileal symbiont intracellularis, in feces by polymerase chain reaction; Jones GF et al.; A sensitive assay based on amplification of a 319-bp DNA fragment of the intracellular bacterium of swine proliferative enteritis was developed for the detection of the organism in the feces of swine . A vernacular name, ileal symbiont intracellularis (IS-intracellularis), has recently been published for the intracellular bacterium, which was formerly known as a Campylobacter-like organism (C.J . Gebhart, S.M . Barnes, S . McOrist, G.F . Lin, and G.H.K . Larson, Int . J . Syst . Bacteriol . 43:533-538, 1993) . As few as 10(1) IS-intracellularis organisms purified from intestinal mucosa, or 10(3) IS-intracellularis per g of feces, were detected . No amplification product was produced from a polymerase chain reaction performed on DNA extracted from the feces of healthy pigs . A 319-bp DNA fragment specific for IS-intracellularis was produced on amplification of DNA from the feces of pigs with experimental and naturally occurring proliferative enteritis.

Am J Vet Res, 1993 Oct, 54(10), 1585 - 90
Use of a DNA probe to detect the intracellular organism of proliferative enteritis in swine feces; Jones GF et al.; A method of extracting bacterial DNA from swine feces was developed and used in a molecular assay for the presence of ileal symbiont (IS) intracellularis, formerly known as the Campylobacter-like organism associated with swine with proliferative enteritis . Hybridization with a digoxigenin-labeled, IS intracellularis-specific probe detected the presence of IS intracellularis at a concentration of 10(7) organisms/g of feces . This method was sufficient to detect IS intracellularis in the feces of swine with experimentally induced and naturally acquired infection . Results of the hybridization were in agreement with those from histologic postmortem examination.

J Am Vet Med Assoc, 1993 Oct 1, 203(7), 1039 - 42
Granulomatous enteritis and Campylobacter bacteremia in a horse; Johnson PJ et al.; A 10-month-old Standard-bred colt was examined because of weight loss, fever, and extensive subcutaneous edema of the ventral aspects of its trunk . Diagnosis of granulomatous enteritis was based on D-xylose malabsorption, hypoproteinemia, and rectal mucosal biopsy . Campylobacter fetus subsp fetus was cultured from jugular venous blood when the horse was admitted to the hospital and 24 hours later . Appropriate antimicrobial agents and glucocorticoids failed to effect clinical remission . After euthanasia, granulomatous enteritis was confirmed at necropsy but C fetus subsp fetus was not isolated from tissues.

Rev Latinoam Microbiol, 1993 Oct-Dec, 35(4), 371 - 5
{Incidence of Campylobacter spp . and Salmonella spp . in raw and roasted chicken in Guadalajara, Mexico}; Castillo-Ayala A et al.; The presence of Campylobacter spp . and Salmonella was studied in 70 samples of fresh retail chicken pieces and in 40 samples of roast chicken . Total plate count was performed in every sample as well . Most of the samples of fresh chicken yielded total plate counts > 10(8)/piece (thigh), while in roast chicken these counts ranged from 10(3) to 10(5)/piece (leg and thigh) . Campylobacter was isolated from 33% of fresh chicken and from no sample of roast chicken . Salmonella was isolated from 69% of fresh chicken and 2.5% of roast chicken . There was no relationship between total plate counts in fresh chicken and isolation of either Campylobacter or Salmonella . Sixty percent of the Salmonella isolates belonged to serotype S . anatum, and about 50% of the isolates of Campylobacter were identified as being C . coli . The only Salmonella-positive sample of roast chicken yielded three serotypes: S . give, S . muenster, and S . manhattan . Presence of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken is of concern, due to the risk of spreading from the raw food to other cooked foods . The isolation of pathogens from roast chicken indicates mishandling during processing and/or storage of the product.

Lett Appl Microbiol, 1993 Oct, 17(4), 152 - 5
Morphological changes of Campylobacter jejuni growing in liquid culture; Griffiths PL; Campylobacter jejuni growing in liquid culture was found to exhibit gross morphological changes with time . Exponentially growing cells showed typical short spiral forms . At mid-stationary phase the cells became approximately twice the length of the exponential forms . Late stationary/early decline phase cells were seen to be a mixture of coccal forms and cells which were between 3 and 4 times the length of exponentially growing cells . Continued incubation of cultures eventually resulted in a population largely of coccal forms . These morphological changes have not previously been observed when Camp . jejuni has been grown on agar-based solid medium . It is likely that such changes result from the differential expression of genes that control the timing of cell division.

Int J Syst Bacteriol, 1993 Oct, 43(4), 631 - 9
Campylobacter showae sp . nov., isolated from the human oral cavity; Etoh Y et al.; Nine Campylobacter-like strains were isolated from human gingival crevices and characterized . These strains were gram-negative, straight rods that were motile by means of multiple unipolar flagella . They were asaccharolytic and preferred an anaerobic atmosphere rather than a microaerophilic atmosphere for growth, and their growth was stimulated by formate and fumarate . These strains were biochemically similar to Campylobacter curvus and Campylobacter rectus, but were clearly distinguishable from these organisms by the number of flagella (two to five flagella at one end of the cell), by being catalase positive, by their whole-cell protein profiles, by their Western blot (immunoblot) patterns, and on the basis of DNA-DNA homology data . They could also be differentiated from the other species of the genus Campylobacter . The nine Campylobacter-like strains were compared with two strains (FDC 286 and VPI 10279) representing a previously described but unnamed Wolinella sp . The nine isolates and strains FDC 286 and VPI 10279 were found to be members of a single species . The 16S rRNA sequences of two strains of the newly identified species were compared with the rRNA sequences of 21 reference Campylobacter, Wolinella, and Helicobacter species in order to generate a phylogenetic tree . We propose the name Campylobacter showae for the newly identified strains; strain SU A4 (= ATCC 51146) is the type strain of this new species.

Lab Anim Sci, 1993 Oct, 43(5), 405 - 10
Antigenic specificity and morphologic characteristics of Chlamydia trachomatis, strain SFPD, isolated from hamsters with proliferative ileitis; Fox JG et al.; Profound diarrhea associated with proliferating intestinal cells containing intraepithelial campylobacter-like organisms (ICLO) occurs in a variety of mammalian hosts, particularly swine and hamsters . Recently, intracellular bacteria were isolated from proliferative intestinal tissue of hamsters and propagated in intestine cell line 407 . Oral inoculation of hamsters with cell culture lysates containing these organisms reproduced the disease in susceptible hamsters . In the present study, an intracellular bacterium from the INT 407 cell line was shown by a variety of techniques to be a member of the genus Chlamydia and has been designated Chlamydia sp . strain SFPD . McCoy cells infected with Chlamydia sp . strain SFPD demonstrated bright fluorescent-stained intracytoplasmic inclusions when examined with fluorescein-labeled species-specific C . trachomatis monoclonal antibodies . The organism also reacted to fluorescein-labeled polyclonal but not monoclonal ICLO "omega" antisera . Ultrastructural examination of the Chlamydia sp . strain SFPD from McCoy cells revealed electrondense elementary bodies and a less electron-dense reticulate-like body that was circular; both features are consistent in morphology to developmental forms of Chlamydia and do not conform to ICLO morphology . Molecular studies, 16S ribosomal sequence analysis, and sequencing of the outer membrane protein confirmed that the isolate is a C . trachomatis closely related to the mouse pneumonitis strain of C . trachomatis.

Gene, 1993 Sep 30, 132(1), 131 - 5
Genetic manipulation of Campylobacter: evaluation of natural transformation and electro-transformation; Wassenaar TM et al.; Two methods, natural transformation and electro-transformation, for the introduction of DNA into nine strains of Campylobacter jejuni were compared . Both methods were successful with a limited number of strains . Natural transformation was efficient only for the introduction of C . jejuni chromosomal DNA, while electro-transformation was also applicable for the introduction of Escherichia coli-derived vector DNA into at least one C . jejuni strain . The efficiency of DNA recombination after entry was determined using C . jejuni chromosomal DNA containing disrupted flagellin genes of C . jejuni or suicide vectors containing a portion of these genes . In the latter case, DNA recombination occurred with as little as 200-bp homology present, indicating that only short homologous DNA segments are required.

Gene, 1993 Sep 6, 131(1), 27 - 34
Characterization of a new class of tetracycline-resistance gene tet(S) in Listeria monocytogenes BM4210; Charpentier E et al.; The nucleotide sequence of the tetracycline (Tc)-minocycline (Mc)-resistance determinant of plasmid pIP811 from Listeria monocytogenes BM4210 has been determined . The gene, designated tet(S), was identified by analysis of the start and stop codons as a coding sequence of 1923 bp, corresponding to a protein with a calculated M(r) of 72,912 . The apparent 68-kDa size estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of the protein characterized in a cell-free coupled transcription-translation system was in good agreement with the calculated value . The tet(S) gene product exhibits 79 and 72% amino acid identity with Tet(M) from Streptococcus pneumoniae and Tet(O) from Campylobacter coli, respectively . The distribution of tet(S) in strains of Gram+ and Gram- genera resistant to Tc (TcR) and Mc (McR) was studied by hybridization under high stringency using a 590-bp intragenic probe . Homology with tet(S) was detected in two clinical isolates of L . monocytogenes isolated in different geographical areas.

J Biol Chem, 1993 Sep 5, 268(25), 18717 - 25
PEB1, the major cell-binding factor of Campylobacter jejuni, is a homolog of the binding component in gram-negative nutrient transport systems; Pei Z et al.; The protein PEB1 (28 kDa) is a common antigen and a major cell adherence molecule of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli . We created a bank of chromosomal DNA fragments of C . jejuni strain 81-176 using lambda gt11 . Screening this bank in Escherichia coli Y1090 cells with antibody raised against purified PEB1 enabled us to isolate and to purify a clone with a 2.6-kilobase insert expressing an immunoreactive protein of 28 kDa . DNA sequencing revealed that the insert contains three complete and two partial open reading frames (ORFs), designated 5' to 3' as ORFs A-E . The peb1A gene (ORF D) contains 780 bases encoding a 259-residue polypeptide having a calculated molecular mass of 28,181 Da . The peptide sequence starting at residue 27 matches that determined from aminoterminal sequencing of mature PEB1 from C . jejuni . The first 26 residues contain typical signal peptidase I and II cleavage sites . The deduced amino acid composition and pI of the recombinant mature protein are similar to those determined for purified PEB1 . Gene bank searches indicated significant overall homology of peb1A and ORF C with operons for amino acid transport systems in other Gram-negative organisms . peb1A is homologous to the binding components of systems such as glnH (27.8%) and hisJ (28.9%), whereas ORF C has nearly 50% identity to glnQ and hisP . Thus, PEB1 could be involved both in binding to intestinal cells and in amino acid transport.

Infection, 1993 Sep-Oct, 21(5), 331 - 3
Septic abortion associated with Campylobacter fetus subspecies fetus infection: case report and review of the literature; Sauerwein RW et al.; In contrast to the situation in cattle, goat and sheep, Campylobacter fetus subspecies fetus only rarely causes disease in humans . While a major inducer of septic abortion in animals, only a minority of clinical infections in humans are found during pregnancy . Eleven cases have so far been described in pregnant women . Clinical symptomatology is usually mild during gestation but often leads to premature labor . Here we present a multigravida with positive cultures for C . fetus who went into septic shock . She completely recovered after delivery of a C . fetus-infected fetus at 18 weeks' gestation and treatment with a combination of cephazolin and gentamicin . C . fetus infections should be suspected in patients with intensive contact with (infected) cattle or after intake of unpasteurized dairy products.

Zentralbl Bakteriol, 1993 Sep, 280(1-2), 58 - 72
Interaction of Helicobacter pylori (strain 151) and Campylobacter coli with human peripheral polymorphonuclear granulocytes; Kist M et al.; Helicobacter pylori associated gastritis is characterized by dense mucosal inflammatory infiltrations with predominantly neutrophilic granulocytes, together with a local and systemic immune response . Nevertheless, the natural course of the infection is chronic in nature, and active phagocytosis of H . pylori by mucosal granulocytes was only rarely observed . The aim of the present study was to investigate with electronmicroscopic methods the interaction of H . pylori with freshly harvested human peripheral granulocytes, with Campylobacter coli as control organism . Bacteria, either untreated or opsonized with complement or antiserum, were coincubated with phagocytes for up to 120 min . After defined time periods the following parameters were electronmicroscopically evaluated: i) internalization of bacteria., ii) morphological characteristics of bacteria and phagocytes, iii) decrease of lysosomes, and iv) by use of myeloperoxidase staining, the characteristics of phagolysosomal fusion . In the absence of complement, both organisms were internalized to a comparable extent . However, in contrast to C . coli, remarkable amounts of H . pylori cells remained extracellularly attached even after 120 min of coincubation, as well as internalized bacteria remained morphologically largely unimpaired . If complement was present, internalization and morphological destruction of H . pylori cells were significantly enhanced . The latter was characterized by rounding and swelling of H . pylori cells . It was already apparent in the extracellular space, and therefore probably induced by a complement effect, rather than by tee phagocytic action . Decrease of lysosomes, in general paralleled the degree of microbial uptake . Myeloperoxidase staining experiments furthermore showed an obviously regular consumption of lysosomal granules . However, if complement opsonization was excluded, lysosomal degranulation was not accompanied by a corresponding degradation of H . pylori cells, the latter indicating an at least partial resistance to phagocyte caused microbicidal mechanisms . In most of those cases ingested H . pylori cells were, in contrast to C . coli, surrounded by a rather "tight" phagosome . A possible explanation for this phenomenon could be a "leakage" of the phagosomal membrane, possibly caused by membranotoxic ammonia produced by the organism . If such an impairment of the phagocytic action would occur in vivo, it could lead to an impaired cellular defense, and therefore contribute to the chronic course of H . pylori infections.

J Diarrhoeal Dis Res, 1993 Sep, 11(3), 165 - 8
A community study on the aetiology of childhood diarrhoea with special reference to Campylobacter jejuni in a semiurban slum of Varanasi, India; Nath G et al.; In a community study of 607 diarrhoeal and 529 non-diarrhoeal (control) patients less than 5 years old carried out between August 1988 and July 1989, the Campylobacter jejuni isolation rate was 4% in the diarrhoeal and 0.9% in the control group . It was the second most common bacterial enteropathogen isolated after Escherichia coli . Its incidence was more common among 1-2 year old children (4.8%) and during rainy season (July-October) . Features of dysentery were absent in C . jejuni diarrhoea . Findings strongly suggest its aetiological role in childhood diarrhoea . Among other enteropathogens in diarrhoeal specimens, rotavirus was the commonest (16.4%) followed by enterotoxigenic E . coli (13.8%), G . lamblia (10.3%), enteropathogenic E . coli (7.0%), E . histolytica (5.0%), Cryptosporidium (3.8%), H . nana spp . (1.5%), NAG vibrios (0.5%), P . shigelloides (0.5%), V . mimicus and Salmonella spp . (0.3%) . Approximately one quarter of the stool specimens (22.6%, 256/1136) tested were positive for the ova of A . lumbricoides.

An Esp Pediatr, 1993 Sep, 39(3), 191 - 3
{Erythema nodosum in pediatric patients . A study of 22 cases}; Artola Aizalde E et al.; In this study we report the cases of 22 pediatric patients with nodal erythema . The predominance of this condition in male patients was clear . Etiological factors were determined in 77% of the patients . In our series, the principal cause was tuberculosis (36%) . We would like to point out the etiological diversity in this small series of children: streptococcal infection, gastrointestinal infection with Salmonella enteritidis or Campylobacter jejuni, cat scratch disease, infectious mononucleosis, chronic hepatitis B, Crohn's disease and pharmacological (amoxycillin) . In 22% of the cases no cause was found.

J Appl Bacteriol, 1993 Sep, 75(3), 215 - 9
Survival of pathogenic bacteria during mesophilic anaerobic digestion of animal waste; Kearney TE et al.; The survival of pathogenic bacteria was investigated during the operation of a full-scale anaerobic digester which was fed daily and operated at 28 degrees C . The digester had a mean hydraulic retention time of 24 d . The viable numbers of Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter jejuni were reduced during mesophilic anaerobic digestion . Escherichia coli had the smallest mean viable numbers at each stage of the digestion process . Its mean T90 value was 76.9 d . Yersinia enterocolitica was the least resistant to the anaerobic digester environment; its mean T90 value was 18.2 d . Campylobacter jejuni was the most resistant bacterium; its mean T90 value was 438.6 d . Regression analysis showed that there were no direct relationships between the slurry input and performance of the digester and the decline of pathogen numbers during the 140 d experimental period.

Rev Sci Tech, 1993 Sep, 12(3), 717 - 32
Application of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for epidemiological studies of diseases of livestock in the tropics of Mexico; Barajas-Rojas JA et al.; This study was conducted at the Centre for Research, Teaching and Extension in Tropical Livestock (Centro de Investigacion, Ensenanza y Extension en Ganaderia Tropical) of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico . During the latter part of 1986 and throughout 1988 and 1989, the herd of Holstein x zebu cattle at the University was tested for IgG antibodies to twenty-one viral, bacterial, rickettsial and parasitic agents . Antigens prepared from twenty infectious disease agents were used as the solid phase in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the agar gel immunodiffusion procedure was used to test for antibodies against bovine leukaemia virus . The prevalence of IgG antibodies was high (> 50%) for bluetongue virus, Anaplasma marginale and Mycoplasma bovis . Antibodies to Brucella abortus were absent and antibodies against bovine virus diarrhoea virus and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus showed a very low prevalence (< 5%) . Antibodies to fifteen other antigens showed intermediate prevalence (15-46%) . Antibodies to Campylobacter fetus, A . marginale, bluetongue virus, bovine leukaemia virus and Haemophilus somnus displayed seasonal variations . Levels of antibody to bovine leukaemia virus, M . bovis and Listeria monocytogenes exhibited increasing secular trends while antibodies to bovine virus diarrhoea virus and C . fetus showed declining trends . Prevalence of antibodies increased with the age of animals tested . No consistent difference in antibody prevalence was found between three genotypic groups examined.

Mikrobiol Z, 1993 Sep-Oct, 55(5), 89 - 101
{Current concepts of the biology of bacteria in genus Campylobacter and their role in human pathology}; Kirik DL; An analytical review of literature on the problem of biological properties of campylobacteria is presented . Taxonomic characteristics of campylobacteriosis agents are given . Morphological and cultural peculiarities of campylobacteria are considered, their ability to form coccal forms is emphasized . Peculiar attention is paid to serotype and biotype characteristics of bacteria of the Campylobacter genus . It is shown expedient to develop the home schemes of sero- and biotypization . Data on biological properties of "new" agents of human campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter cinaedi, C . hypointestinalis, C . upsaliensis) are generalized for the first time in home literature . A conclusion is made that the study of biological properties of campylobacteria strains circulating in the Ukrainian territory as well as the development of efficient prophylactic and antiepidemic measures on this basis are urgent now.

Curr Microbiol, 1993 Sep, 27(3), 147 - 51
Amplification and sequencing of variable regions in bacterial 23S ribosomal RNA genes with conserved primer sequences; Van Camp G et al.; Published bacterial 23S ribosomal RNA sequences were aligned, and universally conserved regions flanking highly variable regions were looked for . In strategically positioned conserved regions, six oligonucleotides suitable for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing were designed, allowing fast sequencing of four of the most variable 23S rRNA regions . Two other primers were designed for PCR amplification of nearly complete 23S rRNA genes . All these primers successfully amplified fragments of 23S rRNA genes from seven unrelated bacteria . Four primers were used to determine 938 bp of sequence for Campylobacter jejuni subsp . jejuni . These results indicate that the oligonucleotide sequences presented here are useful for PCR amplification and sequence determination of variable 23S rRNA regions for a broad variety of eubacterial species.

J Biol Chem, 1993 Aug 25, 268(24), 18321 - 9
An antigenic polysaccharide from Campylobacter coli serotype O:30 . Structure of a teichoic acid-like antigenic polysaccharide associated with the lipopolysaccharide; Aspinall GO et al.; A water-soluble antigenic polysaccharide of high M(r) associated with the lipopolysaccharide has been isolated from phenol-water extraction of cells of Campylobacter coli serotype O:30 . The polysaccharide and oligosaccharide degradation products formed on O-dephosphorylation and by periodate oxidation followed by reduction have been investigated by one- and two-dimensional 1H, 13C, and 31P NMR . It is concluded that the antigenic polysaccharide has a teichoic acid-like structure with a poly-Ribitol phosphate, {5-Ribitol-1-P}n, backbone with side chains at O-2 of O-(6-deoxy-beta-D-talo-heptopyranosyl)-(1-->4)-(2-acetylamino-2-deoxy-beta-D- glucopyranosyl) units . The structure is unusual in Gram-negative bacteria and is unique in possessing 6-deoxy-D-talo-heptose as a constituent sugar . Evidence for the relationship of the antigenic polysaccharide to the lipopolysaccharide of low M(r) is discussed.

Cas Lek Cesk, 1993 Aug 23, 132(16), 498 - 501
{Occurrence of acute infectious diarrhea during the lunar phases}; Mikulecky M et al.; A chronobiometric analysis of 753 cases of acute infectious diarrhoea in adults in 1981-1990 in Kosice confirmed to a surprising extent recently reached conclusions of an investigation made by authors from Bratislava . The Kosice group comprised 352 cases of bacillary dysentery, 305 patients with salmonellosis, 72 with campylobacteriosis and 24 with yersiniosis . Statistically significantly fewer patients (p < 0.0001) were hospitalized during full moon, moon quarterly and new moon . In the intervals there were periods with a short-term increase of the daily admissions by cca 25% . This 7.38-day periodicity cannot be explained by the influence of the social 7-day week, as during observations extending over several years this rhythm is eliminated by a gradual shift across different phases of the moon . The authors did not find similar reports in the literature . For explanation, not only the organism of the host (variable immunity?) but also the infectious agent must be taken into account . More profound understanding of the mechanism may open the road to practical application of the described lunar relationship . Its knowledge can help already now to improve the organization of the health service.

Gene, 1993 Aug 16, 130(1), 127 - 30
Construction of new Campylobacter cloning vectors and a new mutational cat cassette; Yao R et al.; We have developed new Campylobacter shuttle vectors which are 6.5-6.8-kb plasmids carrying Campylobacter and Escherichia coli replicons, a multiple cloning site (MCS), the lacZ alpha gene, oriT and either a kanamycin or chloramphenicol resistance-encoding gene (KmR or CmR) from Campylobacter which functions in both hosts . These vectors can be mobilized efficiently from E . coli into C . jejuni or C . coli, and stably maintained in these hosts . Plasmids pRY107 and pRY108 carry a KmR marker and 17 unique cloning sites in two different orientations in lacZ alpha, allowing easy blue/white color selection . Plasmids pRY111 and pRY112 contain a CmR gene and 17 unique sites in both orientations . In addition, MCS are flanked by T7 and T3 late promoters and M13 forward and reverse primer sites, facilitating expression in T7 or T3 expression systems and sequence analysis . A Campylobacter CmR gene cartridge, bracketed by six restriction sites, has been developed for use in site-specific mutagenesis of Campylobacter genes.

J Periodontol, 1993 Aug, 64(8 Suppl), 754 - 9
Effect of therapy on periodontal infections; Socransky SS et al.; Periodontal disease progression requires the simultaneous presence of high numbers of pathogens, low numbers of compatible or beneficial species, a conductive local environment, and a susceptible host . Effective therapy acts by altering one or more of these factors . Data from an ongoing study were used to examine the biological basis of treatment success or failure . Seventeen subjects showing disease progression were treated by Widman flap surgery at deep sites, scaling at shallow sites, and 1 of 4 randomly-assigned, systemically-administered adjunctive agents including amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium (Au) (n = 3), ibuprofen (n = 3), tetracycline (n = 9), or a placebo (n = 2) . Clinical measurements and microbiological samples (enumerated using DNA probes) taken from the mesial aspect of each tooth pre-treatment and 12 months post-treatment were compared and 418 pre- and 418 post-therapy plaque samples were enumerated . Overall, the 4 treatments resulted in pocket depth reduction and "gain" in attachment . After therapy, the percentage of sites colonized by Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens, and Bacteroides forsythus was decreased and counts > 10(6) were less frequent . Large attachment level gains were accompanied by major decreases in these species and were more frequent in subjects receiving antibiotics . A small number of sites in each treatment group became deeper and/or lost attachment . More than half of these sites were detected in 2 subjects who were older (65 vs . 44), had higher serum antibody to Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans serotype a (506 vs . 125 ELISA units), A . actinomycetemcomitans serotype b (518 vs . 130), and Campylobacter rectus (39 vs . 18).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

J Dairy Sci, 1993 Aug, 76(8), 2366 - 79
Antibiosis revisited: bacteriocins produced by dairy starter cultures; Barefoot SF et al.; Well before the existence of starter bacteria was recognized, their activities were instrumental in preserving dairy foods . During growth in fermented products, dairy starters, including lactobacilli, lactococci, leuconostocs, streptococci, and propionibacteria, produce inhibitory metabolites . Inhibitors include broad-spectrum antagonists, organic acids, diacetyl, and hydrogen peroxide . Some starters also produce bacteriocins or bactericidal proteins active against species that usually are related closely to the producer culture . Several bacteriocins have been biochemically and genetically characterized . Evaluating properties of the Lactobacillus acidophilus bacteriocin, lactacin B, led to a new purification protocol . Purified lactacin B migrates in SDS-PAGE as a single 8100-Da band with inhibitory activity after Coomassie blue staining . Production of lactacin B is enhanced by cultivation of the producer with the sensitive indicator, Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp . lactis 4797; understanding this interaction may increase knowledge of production of bacteriocins in heterogeneous cultures . Bacteriocins have been recently identified in dairy propionibacteria . Jenseniin G, a bacteriocin produced by Propionibacterium jensenii P126, has narrow activity; propionicin PLG-1 produced by Propionibacterium thoenii P127 inhibits propionibacteria, some fungi, Campylobacter jejuni, and additional pathogens . Better understanding of these antagonists may lead to targeted biocontrol of spoilage flora and foodborne pathogens.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1993 Aug 1, 111(2-3), 327 - 30
Studies on the pathophysiological mechanism of Campylobacter jejuni-induced fluid secretion in rat ileum; Kaur R et al.; Calcium has been reported to play an important role in regulating the intestinal electrolyte transport via Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM) and/or protein kinase C (PKC) systems . The role of Ca2+, CaM and PKC in the pathogenesis of Campylobacter jejuni-induced fluid accumulation was studied in vivo in ligated rat ileal loops . Calcium ionophore A23187 (5 microM) and PKC activator, phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA, 100 micrograms kg-1) when injected alone induced fluid accumulation in the control loops . However, these modulators did not enhance further C . jejuni-induced fluid accumulation when injected along with C . jejuni live culture in the experimental loops . Both 1-verapamil (100 microM) and PKC antagonist, H-7 (15 micrograms/ml-1) significantly reduced C . jejuni-induced fluid accumulation (P < 0.001) . The effect of CaM antagonist W-7 (60 microM) on C . jejuni-induced fluid secretion was not significant (P > 0.05) . Our findings suggest that both Ca2+ and PKC appear to be the important second messengers involved in the stimulation of intestinal fluid accumulation in C . jejuni infection.

FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1993 Aug 1, 111(2-3), 233 - 7
Heterologous gene expression in Campylobacter coli: the use of bacterial luciferase in a promoter probe vector; Purdy D et al.; A novel promoter probe plasmid (pSP73) was constructed to allow the analysis of environmentally regulated gene expression in Campylobacter . The vector utilizes the luxAB genes from Xenorhabdus luminescens, which encode a thermostable luciferase, as reporters of gene expression . The utility of this reporter system was demonstrated by placing the expression of luxAB under the transcriptional control of the flaA gene promoter.

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin, 1993 Aug-Sep, 11(7), 366 - 72
{Clinical and microbiologic characteristics of 282 pediatric patients with mesophilic Aeromonas isolated from feces}; Reina J et al.; BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to assess the microbiological characteristics and the clinical aspects of pediatric patients (age < 14 years) with infectious diarrhea due to one of the species included among the mesophilic Aeromonas group (AMs) from January 1989 to December 1991 . METHODS: The samples (stools) were processed following the routine methodology recommended . For isolation of AMs the XDCA medium was used and identification of species was performed by gas production tests from glucose and esculin hydrolysis . Clinical and epidemiologic features were recorded by means of a retrospective analysis of the clinical histories . RESULTS: In 30.3% of the 7,653 stool-cultures studied, an enteropathogenic microorganism identified as S . enterica (I) was isolated in 979 (12.8%), 536 cases to Campylobacter sp . (7.0%) infection, 58 to Shigella sp . (0.7%), 56 to Y . enterocolitica (0.7%, 221 to rotavirus (2.8%) and 49 to adenovirus (0.6%) The presence of AMs was detected in 282 patients (3.7%), representing 12% of the all positive stool-cultures . The species isolated were A . caviae (54.9%), A . sobria (21.9%) and A . hydrophila (23.1%) . In 56% of the cases the AMs were isolated as the single pathogen . Thirty-nine point seven percent of the isolations were performed in patients aged less than 12 months (17% with less than 3 months) . The A . caviae species was found to be predominant among the breast-fed babies (51.7%) . Seventy percent of the children of 0-3 months presented A . caviae as unique pathogen . A total of 84.3% of the children infected with A . caviae, had been or were being fed with artificial lactation . AMs predominated in the late summer-early fall months (August-October) reading the maximum rate of isolations in these months (35.3 cases/month) . CONCLUSIONS: Infections gastroenteritis due to mesophilic Aeromonas in the authors' geographic area appears to affect males mainly, and presents as an acute self-limited diarrhea, community-acquired . The predominance of A . caviae during the lactation period and in the first three months of life are data which should be further considered and confirmed.

Can J Surg, 1993 Aug, 36(4), 321 - 5
Acalculous cholecystitis associated with cytomegalovirus and sclerosing cholangitis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; Keshavjee SH et al.; Intra- and extrahepatic bile-duct strictures, papillary stenosis and acalculous cholecystitis have all been described in ill patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) . Acalculous cholecystitis associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV), Cryptosporidium or Campylobacter organisms has typically been described in critically ill or moribund patients . The authors report a case of acute acalculous CMV cholecystitis in a 28-year-old man who presented with abdominal pain . The patient was infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but was ambulatory and had had no AIDS-defining illness . The patient did not have any well-recognized risk factors for acalculous cholecystitis, showing that this entity can occur in relatively healthy HIV-infected patients as well as in the terminal stages of AIDS . The diagnosis should be considered when such a patient presents with abdominal pain . Furthermore, this patient had sclerosing cholangitis of the intra- and extrahepatic bile ducts as well as papillary stenosis . The cause of the acalculous cholecystitis was presumed to be CMV, but the disease progressed despite therapy with foscarnet.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1993 Aug 1, 90(15), 7265 - 9
Rearrangement of sapA homologs with conserved and variable regions in Campylobacter fetus; Tummuru MK et al.; The Campylobacter fetus surface-layer (S-layer) proteins mediate both complement resistance and antigenic variation in mammalian hosts . Wild-type strain 23D possesses the sapA gene, which encodes a 97-kDa S-layer protein, and several sapA homologs are present in both wild-type and mutant strains . Here we report that a cloned silent gene (sapA1) in C . fetus can express a functional full-length S-layer protein in Escherichia coli . Analysis of sapA and sapA1 and partial analysis of sapA2 indicate that a block of approximately 600 bp beginning upstream and continuing into the open reading frames is completely conserved, and then the sequences diverge completely, but immediately downstream of each gene is another conserved 50-bp sequence . Conservation of sapA1 among strains, the presence of a putative Chi (RecBCD recognition) site upstream of sapA, sapA1, and sapA2, and the sequence identities of the sapA genes suggest a system for homologous recombination . Comparison of the wild-type strain (23D) with a phenotypic variant (23D-11) indicates that variation is associated with removal of the divergent region of sapA from the expression locus and exchange with a corresponding region from a sapA homolog . We propose that site-specific reciprocal recombination between sapA homologs leads to expression of divergent S-layer proteins as one of the mechanisms that C . fetus uses for antigenic variation.

Ann Neurol, 1993 Aug, 34(2), 136 - 44
The spectrum of immune responses to Campylobacter jejuni and glycoconjugates in Guillain-Barré syndrome and in other neuroimmunological disorders; Enders U et al.; An acute infectious illness frequently precedes the Guillain-Barre syndrome . Recently, Campylobacter jejuni was claimed to be a predominant precipitating agent that may also trigger a humoral immune response to glycoconjugates of peripheral myelin in Guillain-Barre syndrome . Because of conflicting reports, we determined the frequency of a recent infection with C . jejuni in 38 patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome using a highly sensitive and specific immunoblot technique, and of the presence of circulating antibodies to gangliosides . We detected IgM and/or IgG C . jejuni directed antibodies in 15 of 38 patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome . In contrast, only 7 of 39 healthy control subjects, 3 of 20 patients with multiple sclerosis, and 2 of 72 patients with neuroborreliosis showed IgA or IgM antibody responses to C . jejuni . In Guillain-Barre syndrome, C . jejuni-specific antibodies were predominantly directed to outer membrane proteins of one specific serotype, Lior 11, whereas the most common serotype associated with enteritis in Germany is Lior 4 . Two of 27 patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome had ganglioside-specific IgA antibodies; 1 of 32 patients, antibodies of IgM; and 4 of 31 patients, antibodies of IgG class . There was no correlation between severity, type (axonal versus demyelinating), and outcome of the disease and the presence or absence of a humoral immune response to C . jejuni or to glycoconjugates . Our findings do not support previous suggestions that a preceding C . jejuni infection heralds a poorer outcome or that antibodies to gangliosides carry prognostic significance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Ann Neurol, 1993 Aug, 34(2), 130 - 5
Serum antibodies to GM1, GD1b, peripheral nerve myelin, and Campylobacter jejuni in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome and controls: correlation and prognosis; Vriesendorp FJ et al.; Serum antibodies to monosialoganglioside (GM1), disialoganglioside (GD1b), and Campylobacter jejuni, measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and serum antibodies to peripheral nerve myelin, measured by the C1 fixation and transfer assay, were studied in 58 acute-phase patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), 42 disease controls, and 29 normal controls . Anti-peripheral nerve myelin antibodies were elevated in 57 of 58 patients with GBS compared with controls, whereas only 8.6% had increased antibody titers to GM1 and 10.3% to GD1b . Only low antibody titers (GM1) or no antibodies (GD1b) were found in controls . More GBS patients (17.2%) than controls (7%) had antibodies to C jejuni . Poor recovery with inability to walk at 1 year after onset of symptoms was seen in 3 (5%) of the patients with GBS . All 3 patients had serological evidence of recent C jejuni infection but no antibodies to GM1 or GD1b . GBS patients with antibodies to GM1 or GD1b had excellent recovery . Our data indicate that antibodies to GM1 or GD1b do not necessarily mediate the extensive axonal damage seen in these severely affected patients.

Infect Immun, 1993 Aug, 61(8), 3466 - 75
Newborn piglet model for campylobacteriosis; Babakhani FK et al.; An in vivo model system for human campylobacteriosis has been developed in which colostrum-deprived newborn piglets are orally challenged with an invasive strain of Campylobacter jejuni . Piglets developed clinical symptoms and histopathological lesions similar to those observed in humans infected with C . jejuni . Gross lesion examination at autopsy revealed the presence of edema, hyperemia, and mucus . Histopathologic examinations by light and transmission electron microscopy demonstrated damage to surface epithelial cells with the presence of intracellular bacteria, mainly in the large intestine . Similar lesions were not demonstrated in control piglets.

Infect Immun, 1993 Aug, 61(8), 3440 - 8
Isolation and characterization of two Campylobacter glycine-extracted proteins that bind to HeLa cell membranes; Kervella M et al.; Two immunogenic proteins of 27 (CBF1) and 29 (CBF2) kDa from enteropathogenic Campylobacter species appear to bind to mammalian cells . We purified these two proteins from a pathogenic and adherent Campylobacter jejuni strain to homogeneity by using acid extraction, preparative gel electrophoresis, and electroelution . Polyclonal rabbit antisera to these proteins were prepared . Immunologic studies indicate that CBF1 corresponds to the PEB1 and CBF2 corresponds to the PEB4 described by Pei et al . (Z . Pei, R . T . Ellison, and M . Blaser, J . Biol . Chem . 226:16363-16369, 1991) . Immunogold labeling of a C . jejuni adherent strain with anti-CBF1, anti-CBF2, and anti-PEB1 suggested that CBF1 (PEB1) is surface exposed while CBF2 (PEB4) is not . Analysis of whole-cell extracts from 14 strains by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with 7 M urea and immunoblotting with antisera to CBF1 and CBF2 suggests that CBF proteins from adherent and nonadherent strains are different . Use of purified proteins in a microassay of adherence to cellular membranes indicated that CBF1 was much more adherent than CBF2 . Adherence of C . jejuni to viable HeLa cells was markedly reduced with the antiserum to CBF1, whereas the CBF2 antiserum was a poor inhibitor . Purified CBF1 competitively inhibited adherence of whole bacteria to HeLa cells, whereas purified CBF2 was no better a competitor than bovine serum albumin . Adherence of CBF2 was markedly reduced in the presence of Tween 20 or SDS, whereas adherence of CBF1 was reduced only by SDS . We conclude that (i) CBF1 (PEB1) is surface exposed and may be the key protein for C . jejuni adhesion and (ii) CBF2 (PEB4) may be complexed with CBF1 and may passively coadhere with CBF1 under certain experimental conditions . Adherent and nonadherent strains contain different isotypes of these two proteins which could be useful markers of C . jejuni adhesion.

Adv Dent Res, 1993 Aug, 7(2), 163 - 74
Role of suspected periodontopathogens in microbiological monitoring of periodontitis; Dahlen G; Periodontal disease is the clinical result of a complex interaction between the host and plaque bacteria . Although a specificity to some degree is found for Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP), it has been difficult to obtain evidence for a specific etiological role of the bacteria associated with periodontal disease in adults . What we see is the net result of host-parasite interactions which in an unpredictable moment accumulate and exceed the threshold of tissue integrity . This hypothesis is concomitant with the view of periodontal disease as a polymicrobial infection, predominantly anaerobic, which occurs commonly in the oral cavity or elsewhere in the body . Some micro-organisms (risk markers) occur more frequently than others and may significantly determine the outcome of this host-parasite interaction . Microbiological sampling and analysis seem to be of limited value in risk assessment; however, they can be used as tools in diagnosis in LJP patients and acute infections, and in treatment decision and therapy control in "refractory" patients . Suspected pathogens (risk markers) are Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and some species of spirochetes, while the roles of Prevotella intermedia, Bacteroidesforsythus, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Campylobacter rectus, and Peptostreptococcus micros are more uncertain . The presence of periodontopathogens as well as enterics, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida especially, should be considered in patients with systemic individual disorders--e.g., diabetes mellitus, neutropenia, agranulocytosis, and AIDS--or with implants.

Oral Microbiol Immunol, 1993 Aug, 8(4), 230 - 5
Campylobacter rectus in human periodontitis; Rams TE et al.; Campylobacter rectus (formerly Wolinella recta) in periodontitis lesions was studied relative to age and sex distribution, relationship to disease-active periodontitis, response to periodontal debridement and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility . Subgingival C . rectus was collected with paper points, transported in VMGA III and plated onto nonselective enriched brucella blood agar and Hammond's selective medium for C . rectus, both incubated anaerobically . C . rectus was recovered from 80% of 1654 periodontitis patients . Although the organism showed similar age and sex occurrence, its proportional recovery in culture-positive adults was inversely related to increasing age (r = 0.999, P < 0.001) . The organism was positively associated (summary odds ratio = 2.95) with disease activity in a 24-month longitudinal study of 93 adult periodontitis patients on maintenance therapy . C . rectus decreased from 8.2% to 0.7% following local periodontal debridement of 20 culture-positive adult periodontitis patients . The organism exhibited high in vitro susceptibility to therapeutic levels of tetracycline hydrochloride, metronidazole, penicillin G and ciprofloxacin . These findings further delineate the epidemiology and potential pathogenic role of C . rectus in human periodontitis.

Oral Microbiol Immunol, 1993 Aug, 8(4), 213 - 8
Microbial associations in periodontitis sites before and after treatment; Wikstrom M et al.; Duplicate samples from 110 periodontal sites of 6 mm or more pocket depth in 16 patients were analyzed for the presence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Capnocytophaga spp., Campylobacter rectus, Eikenella corrodens and Fusobacterium nucleatum . The sites were sampled before and after nonsurgical periodontal treatment . No statistically significant associations were found before treatment between any of the analyzed species . After treatment, statistically significant associations were found between E . corrodens and all the other species, F . nucleatum and P . intermedia; Capnocytophaga spp . and C . rectus; P . intermedia vs Capnocytophaga spp . and P . gingivalis; and C . rectus vs Capnocytophaga spp . and A . actinomycetemcomitans . Some of these associations could be explained either by patient-related factors or site-related characteristics such as the pocket depth . The proportion of P . gingivalis seemed to be unrelated to the proportion of P . intermedia in the samples . If one of the analyzed microbes was found in one of the sampled pockets in a patient, the probability of finding that microbe in all the sampled sites in the same patient before treatment was more than 50% . This probability was reduced after treatment for many species, especially P . gingivalis, which showed a probability of zero . The probability of detecting a bacterial species on at least one additional site if it was present on one in the same individual was nearly 100%, both before and after treatment, for all species studied . This study has shown several potential microbial associations in the subgingival plaque flora of deep periodontal pockets.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 1993 Aug-Sep, 17(2), 177 - 9
In vitro activity of new quinoxaline compounds against Campylobacter species and Clostridium difficile; Segreti J et al.; SC-44914 and SC-44942-A are two new quinoxaline compounds with a spectrum of activity similar to that of metronidazole . We studied the activity of SC-44914 and SC-44942-A against 35 Campylobacter jejuni, 30 C . coli, and 20 Clostridium (Cl.) difficile and compared it with that of metronidazole by utilizing an agar dilution method . The quinoxalines had little activity against the C . jejuni and C . coli {minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)90 > or = 64 micrograms/ml} . SC-44914 and SC-44942-A had excellent activity against Cl . difficile (MIC90 < or = 0.06 micrograms/ml for SC 44914, and 0.5 micrograms/ml for SC-44942A).

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 1993 Aug, 12(8), 627 - 30
Use of nonradioactive DNA probes to identify a Campylobacter jejuni strain causing abortion; Quentin R et al.; A case of human abortion due to a Campylobacter infection is reported . Cultures revealed two morphologically different isolates with large and small colonies respectively . Using conventional methods of identification, the large colonies were identified as Campylobacter jejuni and the small colonies as Campylobacter coli . Dot blot hybridization and determination of rDNA restriction fragment patterns revealed that both colony types were the same strain of Campylobacter jejuni . This observation illustrates the need to use methods other than phenotypic methods when identifying strains of Campylobacter.

Zentralbl Bakteriol, 1993 Aug, 279(3), 368 - 76
Plasmid profiles and antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from Israeli children with diarrhea; Schwartz D et al.; Thirty Campylobacter jejuni (C . jejuni) strains isolated from stools of Israeli children with enteritis were tested for sensitivity to eight antimicrobial agents (MIC) and the presence of plasmids . It was found that all the isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, furazolidone and erythromycin . Of the 30 strains tested, 21 (70%) were found to be tetracycline-resistant, a relatively high resistance rate as compared with data from other countries and previous reports from Israel . Plasmids were detected in 17 out of 30 C . jejuni isolates (55.6%) . A total of nine different plasmid profiles could be distinguished; six profiles were represented by one strain each . Of the 21 tetracycline-resistant strains, plasmids were found in 17 isolates (80%) carrying from 1-2 to 5 plasmids of various sizes . No plasmids were found in tetracycline-sensitive strains, with the exception of one isolate which contained a 24.4 MDa plasmid and was co-trimoxazole-resistant . Our studies indicate a relatively high percentage of tetracycline-resistant C . jejuni isolates in the Tel Aviv area . In 80% of these strains, various plasmid profiles were detected.

Acta Paediatr Suppl, 1993 Aug, 82 Suppl 390, 87 - 94
Early child health in Lahore, Pakistan: VIII . Microbiology; Khalil K et al.; The causative agents of acute diarrhoea were investigated in children under the age of five years from 1985-1991 in three socio-economically different areas in Lahore, Pakistan . The aim was to determine the frequencies of the most common enteropathogens in faeces . The total isolation rate was 73.4%; two thirds (53.5%) were of bacterial and one third (19.9%) of viral origin . ETEC-LT (23.4%), Rota virus (19.9%), EPEC (15%) and Campylobacter (12%) were the single most frequent pathogens in all age groups and areas of living . The positivity of Campylobacter increased from 1.6% to 12% after the change of isolation technique . Shigella was isolated significantly (p > 0.001) more in children over than under one year of age . The incidence of bacterial infections was high during all seasons, while in certain years Rota virus was relatively low in the summer compared to the cooler months . The prevalence of ETEC-LT diarrhoea was higher in the periurban slum as compared to the village and the urban slum . The study is the first of its kind in Pakistan, and the results are similar to other comparable studies . It is thus possible to establish a well functioning and reliable microbiological laboratory in developing countries in a setting with restricted trained personnel and material resources.

Am J Vet Res, 1993 Aug, 54(8), 1256 - 61
Transmission of proliferative enteritis to swine by use of embryonating chicken eggs; Jones GF et al.; Embryonating eggs were inoculated with filtered porcine ileal mucosa containing intracellular curved rods (ICR) and incubated for 4 to 6 days . Three of 12 pigs given the eggs per os developed microscopic lesions of proliferative enteritis (PE) . Nonchallenge-exposed control pigs did not develop lesions of PE . Four of six positive control pigs given ileal mucosa from pigs with PE also developed microscopic lesions of PE . All of the PE lesions were found in pigs necropsied 10 to 29 days after challenge exposure . None of the swine in the study had clinical signs or gross lesions of PE . Campylobacter spp were isolated from pigs with and without exposure to the ileal mucosa from pigs with PE . There was no relationship between Campylobacter spp isolation and development of lesions . Deoxyribonucleic acids extracted from embryonating chicken eggs injected with the equivalent of 0.5 mg of mucosal lesions and incubated for 4 days hybridized to a DNA probe specific for the ICR, whereas DNA extracted from 1.5 mg of mucosal homogenates of the same proliferative tissue did not hybridize with the same probe . Results of these experiments indicated that ICR injected into eggs remained infective for pigs and suggest replication of ICR in the first-passage eggs.

APMIS, 1993 Aug, 101(8), 647 - 50
Serological testing for campylobacteriosis with sera forwarded for Salmonella and Yersinia serology; Maeland JA et al.; Single serum specimens forwarded for Salmonella and Yersinia serology, from a total of 250 patients, were tested for anti-C . jejuni antibodies of the IgG class . Anti-Salmonella and anti-Y . enterocolitica O3 antibodies were examined by a microagglutination test and anti-C . jejuni antibodies by ELISA against a C . jejuni ultrasonicate before (ELISA) and after neutralization of antibodies which cross-reacted with Helicobacter pylori antigens (ELISA-Abs) . Blood donor sera (n = 50) and sera (n = 40) from patients with various infectious diseases served as controls . A positive test for anti-Salmonella antibodies was recorded in 4/250 (1.6%) of the patients, for anti-Yersinia antibodies in 7/250 (2.8%), and for anti-C . jejuni antibodies in 7/250 (2.8%) in the ELISA; in 25/250 (10%) in the ELISA-Abs . No mixed infection was recorded by the serological testing . The ELISA-Abs showed a diagnostic specificity of 97.7% . Our results support the inference that diagnostic serology for enteropathogenic bacteria should include serology for C . jejuni, preferably by tests which exclude participation by antibodies which cross-react with H . pylori antigens.

J Bacteriol, 1993 Aug, 175(16), 4979 - 84
Shift in S-layer protein expression responsible for antigenic variation in Campylobacter fetus; Wang E et al.; Campylobacter fetus strains possess regular paracrystalline surface layers (S-layers) composed of high-molecular-weight proteins and can change the size and crystalline structure of the predominant protein expressed . Polyclonal antisera demonstrate antigenic cross-reactivity among these proteins but suggest differences in epitopes . Monoclonal antibodies to the 97-kDa S-layer protein of Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus strain 82-40LP showed three different reactivities . Monoclonal antibody 1D1 recognized 97-kDa S-layer proteins from all C . fetus strains studied; reactivity of monoclonal antibody 6E4 was similar except for epitopes in S-layer proteins from reptile strains and strains with type B lipopolysaccharide . Monoclonal antibody 2E11 only recognized epitopes on S-layer proteins from strains with type A lipopolysaccharide regardless of size . In vitro shift from a 97-kDa S-layer protein to a 127-kDa S-layer protein resulted in different reactivity, indicating that size change was accompanied by antigenic variation . To examine in vivo variation, heifers were genetically challenged with Campylobacter fetus subsp . venerealis strains and the S-layer proteins from sequential isolates were characterized . Analysis with monoclonal antibodies showed that antigenic reactivities of the S-layer proteins were varied, indicating that these proteins represent a system for antigenic variation.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1993 Jul 15, 90(14), 6884 - 8
Unusual microtubule-dependent endocytosis mechanisms triggered by Campylobacter jejuni and Citrobacter freundii; Oelschlaeger TA et al.; Bacterial invasion of six different human epithelial cell lines showed that some strains of the intestinal pathogen Campylobacter jejuni invaded intestinal cell lines at a level 10(2)-10(4) times higher than reported previously for other Campylobacter strains . Separately, urinary tract isolates of Citrobacter freundii triggered a high-efficiency invasion of bladder cells . Use of multiple inhibitors with known effects on eukaryotic cell structures/processes allowed us to define in these genetically distinct bacterial genera unusual bacterial invasion mechanisms that uniquely require microtubules but not microfilaments . Campylobacter jejuni strain 81-176 uptake into 407 intestinal cells and Citrobacter entry into T24 bladder cells was blocked by microtubule depolymerization and inhibitors of coated-pit formation but not by microfilament depolymerization . Inhibitors of endosome acidification had no significant impact on intracellular survival of Campylobacter jejuni or Citrobacter freundii, but monensin markedly reduced Citrobacter uptake . Epithelial cell invasion by both of these bacterial genera was dependent upon de novo bacterial protein synthesis but not upon de novo eukaryotic cell protein synthesis . In contrast to the T24 cell line-specific, strict microtubule-dependent uptake, Citrobacter entry into other cell lines was inhibited by both microtubule- and microfilament-depolymerization, suggesting that these bacteria encode two separate pathways for uptake (i, microtubule-dependent; ii, microfilament-dependent) that are cell line-specific and are recognized perhaps depending on the presence and abundance of appropriate eukaryotic receptors.

J Infect Dis, 1993 Jul, 168(1), 210 - 5
Early colonic damage and invasion of Campylobacter jejuni in experimentally challenged infant Macaca mulatta; Russell RG et al.; Experimental challenge studies with Campylobacter jejuni were conducted in 3.5-month-old infant Macaca mulatta . One infant monkey (92-1) was challenged with 2.7 x 10(10) cfu of strain 78-37 . A second infant was infected intentionally by natural transmission . The infants developed diarrhea 32 h after challenge of infant 92-1 . Electron microscopic observations indicate that cell invasion is the primary mechanism of colon damage and diarrheal disease caused by C . jejuni . Intracellular C . jejuni were located in membrane-bound vacuoles and were free in the cytoplasm . Damaged epithelial cells exhibited premature apoptosis and were exfoliated into the lumen of the colon . C . jejuni were also located extracellularly in the mucosa and submucosa . Some cells had dilated endoplasmic reticulum, indicating possible alteration in ion and water transport.

Infect Immun, 1993 Jul, 61(7), 2930 - 6
A Campylobacter jejuni homolog of the LcrD/FlbF family of proteins is necessary for flagellar biogenesis; Miller S et al.; A Campylobacter jejuni homolog of the lcrD/flbF family of genes was cloned and sequenced . The nucleotide sequence of the gene, called flbA, predicted a protein of 78,864 Da, with significant homology to a group of related proteins including the Yersinia pestis LcrD, Salmonella typhimurium InvA, and Caulobacter crescentus FlbF proteins . The greatest homology was seen with the C . crescentus FlbF protein, with an overall amino acid sequence homology of 57% . An insertion mutation in the C . jejuni 81-176 flbA gene was constructed . The resultant strain did not synthesize flagellin and was nonmotile.

J Periodontal Res, 1993 Jul, 28(4), 294 - 300
Macaca nemestrina: a non-human primate model for studies of periodontal disease; Persson GR et al.; The non-human primate Macaca nemestrina was evaluated for use as a potential model in periodontal research by study of 16 animals . Using one incisor, premolar, and molar per quadrant, we measured supragingival plaque, severity of gingival inflammation, and pocket depth, and analyzed the subgingival flora . Serum IgG titers and avidities to antigens of Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) were also assessed . Ten animals were between 13 and 24 years old, and six were between 4 and 5 years old . While mean gingival inflammation scores were significantly higher for older than for younger animals (2.2 vs 1.8, p < 0.05), mean plaque index scores and mean probing depths did not differ significantly . The animals harbored a subgingival microflora considered to be pathogenic for humans including Aa, Pg, Bacteroides forsythus, Prevotella intermedia I and II, Campylobacter recta and Fusobacterium nucleatum . Aa, however, was found only in the younger animals . All of the animals had serum IgG antibodies reactive with antigens of Pg and Aa, and titers for Pg but not for Aa were significantly higher in the older relative to the younger animals (t test p < 0.02) . In contrast, antibody avidity did not significantly differ between the two groups . A combined clinical assessment index based on maximum probing depth, gingival index score, and tooth loss was used to assess the overall disease severity . Titers were positively associated with disease severity (Spearman's rank correlation 0.57, p = 0.02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Plasmid, 1993 Jul, 30(1), 79 - 81
Indirect evidence for two distinct mechanisms of DNA cleavage at the oriT of RP4 during conjugation; Waterman SR et al.; Mobilization of a potential Campylobacter shuttle vector from Escherichia coli K-12 into C . hyointestinalis generated a small plasmid harboring a hybrid oriT nick region . This is presumed to have resulted from the cleavage and religation of the oriT of RP4 and the putative nick region of the shuttle vector . These data imply that two distinct DNA cleavage reactions occur at the oriT site of RP4 during conjugal transfer.

J Vet Diagn Invest, 1993 Jul, 5(3), 398 - 402
Diagnoses in 1,784 ovine abortions and stillbirths; Kirkbride CA; Of 1,799 accessions of ovine abortions and stillbirths by the South Dakota Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory during a 10-year period, 1,784 were suitable for examination . Etiologic diagnoses were made in 786 (44%) . Infectious agents were found responsible in 702 accessions (39%), and noninfectious causes were involved in 84 (5%) . No diagnosis was made in 998 accessions (56%), 61 of which were mummified fetuses . Lesions, most of which indicated the presence of an infectious agent, were found in 274 cases (15%) in which no agent could be identified . Together, Toxoplasma gondii, Campylobacter sp., and Chlamydia psittaci caused approximately 25% of all abortions and stillbirths examined.

J Infect, 1993 Jul, 27(1), 39 - 42
Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic analysis of Campylobacter jejuni DNA for use in epidemiological studies; Suzuki Y et al.; The cleavage patterns of the genomic DNA of 42 clinical isolates of Campylobacter jejuni determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were compared with their Lior and TCK serotypes . The fragment patterns of DNA obtained with SalI and SmaI restriction enzymes did not always accord with the corresponding serotypes but strains of the same serotype could be further divided into subtypes by their cleavage patterns . This PFGE method may prove useful for subclassifying C . jejuni.

Berl Munch Tierarztl Wochenschr, 1993 Jul, 106(7), 235 - 41
{Hemorrhagic enteropathies in fattening swine}; Appel G et al.; It is reported on 34 fattening pigs with hemorrhagic enteropathy or blood in the intestine, which were submitted for necropsy to the Veterinary Ambulance Schwarzenbek . Only those animals were included in this study, which had lesions in the small intestine or small and large intestine . Cases of swine dysentery with the lesions being restricted to the large intestine were not considered here . No common cause of hemorrhagic enteropathy was found . In four cases there was an intestinal torsion . In one animal the blood in the intestine originated from a gastric ulcer . On 25 of the 34 pigs further examinations could be done . Of those, enteropathogenic E . coli were isolated in 13 cases, with two of the animals having a mixed infection of two serotypes each . Cl . perfringens was found in two cases and S . hyodysenteriae in four cases . In one pig S . typhimurium was isolated from the mesenteric lymph nodes and in one animal the proliferative-hemorrhagic form of the adenomatosis-complex was diagnosed . Histopathologically Campylobacter-like organisms were found in epithelial cells of crypts in the small intestine.

J Appl Bacteriol, 1993 Jul, 75(1), 49 - 54
Occurrence of campylobacters in small domestic and laboratory animals; Moreno GS et al.; Faeces samples from 156 healthy domestic pets and laboratory animals were examined for campylobacters with both a selective medium (Campylobacter Blood Free Medium; Oxoid, CM739) and selective filtration through a 0.65 micron pore size filter . Campylobacter spp . were isolated from 78 of the samples; filtration was the most effective method . Isolates were characterized by biochemical tests and DNA/DNA hybridization with whole chromosomal DNA from reference strains as probes . Campylobacter upsaliensis was the most common species isolated from cats (45 from 68 samples) whilst Camp . jejuni was more often isolated from dogs (19 from 56 samples) . More attention should be paid to pets as a potential source of campylobacters capable of causing diarrhoea in human beings . Procedures other than those involving currently-used selective agents must be employed to efficiently detect all campylobacters.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1993 Jul, 59(7), 2161 - 5
Direct polymerase chain reaction detection of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in raw milk and dairy products; Wegmuller B et al.; A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method designed to sensitively detect and identify Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli without the need for isolating and culturing strains is described . The intergenic sequence between the flagellin genes flaA and flaB was amplified and characterized with a triple primer or seminested primer approach . A total of 50 bacterial strains, 27 of C . jejuni and C . coli and 23 of other species, were tested, giving no false-positive or false-negative results . The detection limit as determined by ethidium bromide staining of amplification products on agarose gels was 10 bacteria or less in artificially contaminated water, milk, and soft cheese samples with the seminested primer PCR assay . As an application of the PCR system, a set of 93 samples of milk and other dairy products was screened for the presence of C . jejuni and C . coli . We identified six positive samples (6.5%), while none were found with a conventional culture method.

Am J Trop Med Hyg, 1993 Jul, 49(1), 93 - 100
Common diarrhea pathogens and the risk of dehydration in young children with acute watery diarrhea: a case-control study; Faruque AS et al.; The role of common diarrheal pathogens in dehydration was examined in children with acute watery diarrhea who attended the treatment center of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, in Dhaka . Two hundred sixty-nine children with moderate or severe dehydration were matched with 700 children with no dehydration . Vibrio cholerae O1 infections were 5.5 times more likely to be associated with dehydration than in cases without this agent . No significant association could be found between the presence of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli . Campylobacter jejuni, or rotavirus infection and dehydration . These results were obtained after simultaneously controlling for age, lack of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) at home, protein energy malnutrition, withdrawal of breast-feeding during diarrhea at home, poor housing, longer duration of diarrhea at home, and delay in reaching the treatment center . The cholera isolation rate was only 4.5% and thus explains only a small proportion of the cases of dehydration . In cholera-endemic areas, a strategy to prevent dehydration in small children is needed to ensure correct use of ORT at home, prompt referral, and the use of a suitable antibiotic when cholera is clinically suspected.

Mol Gen Genet, 1993 Jul, 240(1), 29 - 35
Cloning and characterization of the gamma-glutamyl phosphate reductase gene of Campylobacter jejuni; Louie H et al.; The gamma-glutamyl phosphate reductase gene, proA, of Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from a recombinant pBR322 clone . A HindIII fragment of the insert containing the gene was subcloned into pUC19 and sequenced in both orientations . The deduced amino acid sequence of gamma-glutamyl phosphate reductase (EC 1.2.1.41) of C . jejuni exhibits 36.4% identity to that of Escherichia coli and 36.0% identity to Serratia marcescens . Two highly conserved regions in the amino acid sequence were identified from the alignment of the three available gamma-glutamyl phosphate reductase gene sequences . The gene was expressed from its own promoter and the transcription start site was mapped . The proline biosynthetic genes of C . jejuni are not located tandemly and thus differ in this respect from those of E . coli and S . marcescens, where gamma-glutamyl phosphate reductase and gamma-glutamyl kinase (proB) are located in a single operon.

Br J Rheumatol, 1993 Jul, 32(7), 582 - 5
The possible role of Shigella in sporadic enteric reactive arthritis; Sieper J et al.; Reactive arthritis (ReA) occurs after a urogenital infection usually with Chlamydia trachomatis or an enteritis due to Yersinia, Salmonella, Campylobacter or Shigella, Shigella, except during epidemics, is not considered to be a frequent cause of enteric reactive arthritis . However this might be due to the lack of a reliable antibody test, which makes diagnosis difficult . We compared synovial and peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation to various bacterial antigens in 19 consecutive patients with ReA or undifferentiated oligoarthritis . In five patients Shigella was identified as the causative microbe by a specific synovial lymphocyte proliferation . All five patients had a history of symptomatic diarrhoea and had negative stool cultures by the time arthritis developed . Four of the five were HLA B27 positive . We conclude that Shigella may be underestimated as a cause of non-epidemic ReA.

J Bacteriol, 1993 Jul, 175(14), 4448 - 55
The Campylobacter sigma 54 flaB flagellin promoter is subject to environmental regulation; Alm RA et al.; The complex flagellum of Campylobacter coli VC167 is encoded by two tandemly oriented flagellin genes which are transcribed as two discrete transcriptional units from two different classes of promoters . The flaB gene, which encodes the minor FlaB filament protein, is controlled by a sigma 54 promoter . A transcriptional fusion between a promoterless chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene cartridge and C . coli VC167 DNA carrying flaB transcription and translation signals, including the typical position -13-to-(-)26 flaB sigma 54 consensus promoter sequence, was constructed . When carried on plasmid pRIC1013, the sigma 54-CAT fusion expressed chloramphenicol resistance in Escherichia coli, and CAT production was affected by the pH of the growth medium, the composition of the growth atmosphere, and the growth temperature, with production being significantly higher at 42 degrees C . A conjugative suicide vector, pRIC1028, containing the sigma 54-CAT fusion was constructed and used to recombine the flaB-CAT fusion back into the C . coli chromosome in the correct position with respect to the flaA gene and its transcription terminator . CAT production from the flaB sigma 54 promoter in the C . coli transconjugant VC167-T2/28-1 was shown to peak at mid-log phase and to be modulated by growth medium pH, growth temperature, and the concentration of certain inorganic salts and divalent cations in the growth medium . Under growth conditions which promoted elevated flaB sigma 54 promoter activity, a flaA flaB+ mutant of C . coli VC167 produced increased amounts of FlaB flagellar protein and displayed increased motility.

Zentralbl Veterinarmed B, 1993 Jul, 40(5), 326 - 8
A case of bovine mastitis caused by Campylobacter jejuni; Gudmundson J et al.; A Campylobacter jejuni mastitis in a Holstein cow, 60 days into the first lactation, is reported . This was characterized by a sudden onset, a pyrexia, painful quarter and pink milk with a few small clots present . There was good response to a treatment protocol of: parenteral oxytetracycline, frequent stripping and intramammary infusions of erythromycin . This organism has a zoonotic property.

Br Vet J, 1993 Jul-Aug, 149(4), 339 - 69
The dangers of disease transmission by artificial insemination and embryo transfer; Philpott M; This review summarizes the major infectious diseases of the three major agricultural species (cattle, sheep and pigs) and horses, and presents the evidence for and against the possibility of infectious agents being transmitted between animals via the venereal route or by the use of semen or early embryos in commercial artificial insemination (AI) or embryo transfer (ET) . Cattle feature most prominently in the widespread distribution of frozen semen, and national and international organizations have set out guidelines to work towards disease-free bull studs with semen free from potential pathogens . With the control of major epizootic diseases, attention has been focused on such diseases as IBR, BVD and blue tongue, where clinical signs are rarely evident but the detection of virus in semen is of great importance . New information on the relevance of bacterial disease such as Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, campylobacteriosis and leptospirosis is reviewed, along with details of the mycoplasma and ureaplasma species of the bull's genital tract . Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has attracted much research and semen is not regarded as a source of infection . New work on the pathogenesis of a number of diseases and the use of new biotechnology in diagnosis is included . The International Embryo Transfer Society (IETS) has encouraged a great deal of experimental work--much originating in Canada--on the risk of transmission of disease from donors to recipients via a 7-day-old blastocyst . There has been much success in demonstrating that with an approved protocol of handling the embryos, to date there is very little danger in disease transmission with both viruses and bacteria . The mycoplasma group appear more intractable and the role of BSE is still being evaluated . In sheep, scrapie, Brucella ovis infection and blue tongue feature in current work . In the pig there is a surge in international movement of pig semen, and Aujeszky's disease and the new so-called Blue Ear disease feature prominently . Much work is in progress on infectious agents likely to be found in the semen of stallions, with an expanding trade in the international movement of chilled and frozen semen . Equine embryo transfer experiments are hampered by the very limited number of embryos available . Reference is also made to the further risk of disease transmission by in vitro manipulated embryos.

Lik Sprava, 1993 Jul, (8), 104 - 5
{The diagnosis of campylobacteriosis}; Ginzburg RM et al.; Results of assays for Campylobacter in patients with intestinal dysfunction are presented for the period from 1984 to 1991 . 4147 cases were analyzed in 144 of which (3%) Campylobacter was detected in feces . Children constituted 12% of this group . They were distributed by age in the following way: 1 year and younger--1%, from 1 to 2 years--4.2%, from 3 to 6 years--3.8%, from 7 to 16 years--2.3% . 15 Campylobacter-positive patients were established to discharge other enteropathogenic microorganisms . 4% of children suffered from severe form of campylobacteriosis associated with exsicosis, 80% had moderate form of the disease . In order to study reservoirs of the infection 102 samples of intestinal content in livestock were analyzed for Campylobacter 57.1% of which proved to be positive.

Z Rheumatol, 1993 Jul-Aug, 52(4), 201 - 9
{Synovial cellular immune response to bacterial pathogens in patients with chronic juvenile arthritis}; Braun J et al.; Juvenile chronic arthritis is a heterogenous disease with an ill-defined pathogenesis . In our study, synovial fluid (SF) and peripheral blood (PB) of 70 children with oligoarthritis were investigated; bacteria-specific lymphocyte proliferation and antibodies to arthritogenic bacteria were determined . Specific cellular immune responses in SF but not in PB were found in 4/7 patients with either Lyme- or reactive arthritis (60%) . In comparison, in subgroup JCA II (n = 45) encompassing mainly elder HLA B27 positive boys, a specific response in SF but again not in PB was detected in 10 children to Yersinia enterocolitica (YE), in four children either to Borrelia burgdorferi (BB) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), and in one child to Campylobacter jejuni (CJ) . In contrast, in subgroup JCA I (n = 17) encompassing mainly young ANA-positive girls with chronic iridocyclitis, no specific response was found . The correlation of the synovial cellular and the humoral immune responses was 100% in the case of BB and 50% for YE; no antibodies against CT or CJ were detectable . Neither specific cellular nor humoral immune responses were detected against Salmonella or Shigella . We conclude that, in the pathogenesis of some patients with JCA, bacterial microbes have a triggering role . Mainly YE, but also BB and CT are responsible for cases of JCA in which no symptomatic infection preceded.

Ann Intern Med, 1993 Jun 15, 118(12), 947 - 53
Serologic evidence of previous Campylobacter jejuni infection in patients with the Guillain-Barré syndrome; Mishu B et al.; OBJECTIVE: To determine if patients with the Guillain-Barre syndrome are likely to have had Campylobacter jejuni infection before onset of neurologic symptoms . DESIGN: A case-control study . SETTING: Several university medical centers . PATIENTS: Case patients met clinical criteria for the Guillain-Barre syndrome between 1983 and 1990 and had a serum sample collected and frozen within 3 weeks after onset of neurologic symptoms (n = 118) . Disease controls were patients with other neurologic illnesses (n = 56); healthy controls were hospital employees or healthy family members of patients (n = 47) . MEASUREMENTS: Serum IgA, IgG, and IgM antibodies to C . jejuni were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays . Assays were done in a blinded manner . RESULTS: Optical density ratios > or = 2 in two or more immunoglobulin classes were seen in 43 (36%) of patients with the Guillain-Barre syndrome and in 10 (10%) of controls (odds ratio, 5.3; 95% CI, 2.4 to 12.5; P < 0.001) . Increasing the optical density ratio or the number of immunoglobulin classes necessary to yield a positive result increased the strength of the association . The number of patients with the Guillain-Barre syndrome who had positive serologic responses was greatest from September to November (P = 0.02) . Male patients were three times more likely to have serologic evidence of C . jejuni infection (P = 0.009); the proportion of patients with the syndrome who had a positive serologic response increased with age . CONCLUSIONS: Patients with the Guillain-Barre syndrome are more likely than controls to have serologic evidence of C . jejuni infection in the weeks before onset of neurologic symptoms . Campylobacter jejuni may play a role in the initiation of the Guillain-Barre syndrome in many patients.

Epidemiol Infect, 1993 Jun, 110(3), 601 - 7
The colonization of broiler chickens with Campylobacter jejuni: some epidemiological investigations; Humphrey TJ et al.; Between June 1990 and July 1991, broiler chickens from 49 flocks from 23 farms were examined for the carriage of Campylobacter jejuni at slaughter . Thirty-seven flocks (76%) were campylobacter-positive . Prevalence of campylobacter-colonization was not associated with any of a variety of factors such as water source and broiler house floor structure . There was also no apparent seasonal variation in carriage . Investigations on one farm indicated that dipping boots in disinfectant before workers entered broiler houses either delayed or prevented colonization with C . jejuni.

Infect Immun, 1993 Jun, 61(6), 2723 - 6
Primary swine intestinal cells as a model for studying Campylobacter jejuni invasiveness; Babakhani FK et al.; Swine small-intestinal enterocytes were used to test the invasiveness of Campylobacter jejuni . The cells were removed from the small intestines of 6-h-old piglets by enzymatic digestion . Two clinical C . jejuni isolates invaded swine enterocytes at significantly higher frequencies than an Escherichia coli control strain . The recovered colonies of C . jejuni T13192 appeared to be highly mucoid and invaded tissue culture cells (INT 407) at higher frequency (0.14%) than the parental strain (0.003%) . The data not only support the previous in vitro findings regarding the invasiveness of C . jejuni but also suggest that invasiveness of C . jejuni may be an in vivo virulence attribute.

J Gen Microbiol, 1993 Jun, 139 ( Pt 6), 1171 - 5
Colonization of chicks by motility mutants of Campylobacter jejuni demonstrates the importance of flagellin A expression; Wassenaar TM et al.; Campylobacter jejuni strain 81116 contains two flagellin genes, flaA and flaB . Wild-type (WT) bacteria express flaA only, but flaB can be expressed under certain conditions . We have determined the importance of flagella for colonization of the avian caecum, which appears to be the natural environment for these bacteria . Mutants in which flaA or flaB, or both had been inactivated, and motility variants, were investigated . Flagella are not a requisite for colonization, but mutants lacking both flagellin genes colonized less efficiently than WT . Inactivation of the flaB gene, which had no effect on bacterial motility, enhanced chicken caecal colonization 1000-fold compared to WT . A variant (SF-1) with flagella composed of flagellin A, but with poor motility, also colonized better than WT . Conversely, mutants with an inactivated flaA gene colonized 100- to 1000-fold less efficiently than WT, regardless of their motility conferred by truncated or full-length flagellin B flagella . These results suggest that the presence of flagellin A, rather than motility, is essential for optimal bacterial colonization of chicken caeca.

Hybridoma, 1993 Jun, 12(3), 333 - 42
An immunofluorescent stain for Helicobacter pylori; Sciortino CV Jr; We prepared a murine monoclonal antibody that recognized the Helicobacter pylori urease . Monoclonal antibody, U2, reacted with purified native urease in enzyme linked immunosorbent assay but it did not react in Western immunoblot analysis . Urease was immunoprecipitated with U2 bound to Staphylococcus aureus protein A, followed by elution and visualization by sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis . The species and strain specificity of U2 were determined by biodot reaction with H . pylori, H . mustelae, Campylobacter spp., and other gram-negative bacteria . Monoclonal antibody, U2, was used for an indirect immunofluorescent stain of formalin fixed gastric biopsies from patients with H . pylori gastritis . The immunofluorescent stain showed spiral and coccoid forms of H . pylori within the gastric mucosa . U2 was specific for H . pylori and did not react with other tested bacteria . These findings suggest that antibody U2 might be of diagnostic value for specific immunofluorescence detection of H . pylori.

J Vet Med Sci, 1993 Jun, 55(3), 507 - 9
Production of cytolethal distending toxin (CLDT) by Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus isolated from calves; Ohya T et al.; Cytolethal distending toxin (CLDT) production by Campylobacter fetus subsp . fetus isolated from calves was examined using CHO cells . Twenty-five of the 26 strains tested were positive for CLDT with titer of ranging 1:8 to 1:2,048 . CLDT positive strains were divided into low and high cytotoxin titer groups . Isolates from diarrhea cases tended to produce a significant amount of CLDT compared with isolates from liver . CLDT produced by C . fetus showed no effect on Y-1 cells and was heat-labile and trypsin-sensitive.

Arch Oral Biol, 1993 Jun, 38(6), 449 - 55
Suppression of proliferation of a human B-cell leukaemic cell line derived from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia by soluble factor(s) from Campylobacter rectus; Saito S et al.; Soluble sonic extracts of several strains were examined for their ability to alter proliferation of a cell line derived from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (BALL-1) . Extracts of all strains tested caused dose-dependent suppression of proliferation when assessed by DNA (tritiated thymidine incorporation), RNA (tritiated uridine incorporation) and protein (tritiated leucine incorporation) synthesis . There was no effect on the viability of BALL-1 as measured by either trypan-blue exclusion or extracellular release of the cytoplasmic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase . The suppressive factor(s) was separated in a well-defined peak by high-pressure liquid DEAE ion-exchange chromatography, which revealed a single active peak with a molecular mass of 48 kDa . Characterization of the peak indicated that the suppressive factor(s) was heat labile (activity destroyed at 80 degrees C) and sensitive to the proteolytic enzyme pronase P . The soluble suppressive factor(s) from Campylobacter rectus thus has protein-like properties and no cytotoxicity to a human B-cell leukaemic cell line.

Semin Arthritis Rheum, 1993 Jun, 22(6), 420 - 6
Reactive arthritis associated with Clostridium difficile pseudomembranous colitis; Putterman C et al.; Reactive arthritis is associated with several gastrointestinal pathogens, particularly Shigella, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Yersinia . Another, less well recognized bowel infection leading to reactive arthritis is pseudomembranous colitis, caused by Clostridium difficile . An illustrative case is presented, and the clinical features and characteristics of all reported patients with this association are reviewed . The pathogenesis of the reactive arthritis seems to be related to an immunological response in joints and other tissues against bacterial antigens, which gain access to the systemic circulation through increased intestinal permeability . Therapy with nonspecific antiinflammatory drugs, anticlostridial agents, or a combination of the above is effective . Despite the possibility of persistent articular involvement after gastrointestinal symptoms have subsided, the long-term prognosis seems to be excellent.

Clin Infect Dis, 1993 Jun, 16 Suppl 4, S304 - 9
Oral and dental infections with anaerobic bacteria: clinical features, predominant pathogens, and treatment; Tanner A et al.; Microbial populations colonizing the teeth are a major source of pathogens responsible for oral and dental infections, including periodontal diseases, gingivitis, pericoronitis, endodontitis, peri-implantitis, and postextraction infections . Each entity has distinct clinical and microbial features . Bacterial species associated with oral infections include Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Bacteroides forsythus, Campylobacter rectus, Eubacterium species, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Eikenella corrodens, and Peptostreptococcus micros . Treponema pallidum-related spirochetes have been associated with acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis . Porphyromonas endodontalis appears to be specifically related to endodontic infections . Oral infections in medically compromised patients, including those with AIDS, are associated with similar species and are usually complicated by superinfection with enteric and Candida species . Isolation of species causing oral infections requires the collection of appropriate samples and the use of strictly anaerobic techniques . Rapid selective culture, immunofluorescence, and DNA probe methods have been developed for the identification of these oral species . The varied measures required in the management of oral and dental infections may include antimicrobial therapy . Accurate microbiological diagnosis, including antibiotic susceptibility testing, is indicated for cases that do not respond to therapy.

Clin Infect Dis, 1993 Jun, 16 Suppl 4, S168 - 74
Recent taxonomic changes for anaerobic gram-positive and selected gram-negative organisms; Summanen P; The strains formerly classified as Streptococcus anginosus or "Streptococcus milleri" have now been recognized as three distinct species, Streptococcus anginosus, Streptococcus constellatus, and Streptococcus intermedius . Streptococcus morbillorum has been transferred into the genus Gemella . Four new species within the genus Peptostreptococcus were recently named . A recent addition to the genus Clostridium is Clostridium argentinense, which includes Clostridium botulinum type G . Two new species of Actinomyces have been introduced: Actinomyces georgiae and Actinomyces gerencseriae . Arachnia propionica was shown to be related to propionibacteria and has been renamed Propionibacterium propionicum . Eubacterium yurii was named to contain "test-tube brush" bacteria found in subgingival plaque . Lactobacillus uli and Lactobacillus rimae are obligately anaerobic lactobacilli found in periodontal pockets . Bilophila is a new genus of gram-negative bacilli . Wolinella recta and Wolinella curva are now included in the genus Campylobacter . The taxonomic position of Mobiluncus, currently assigned to the family Bacteroidaceae, remains uncertain.

Poult Sci, 1993 Jun, 72(6), 1169 - 73
Control of Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry production . A summary of work at Russell Research Center; Bailey JS; The primary mission of the USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Poultry Microbiological Safety Research Unit is to develop technology preventing commensal intestinal colonization of chickens by human bacterial enteropathogens, including Salmonella and Campylobacter . The different mechanisms of colonization and the wide variety of sources of these pathogens combined with the different factors that affect host susceptibility to colonization indicate that a multifaceted research approach will be required to control Salmonella and Campylobacter during poultry production . The working hypothesis is that only by delivering chickens free of Salmonella or Campylobacter to the processing plant can significant reductions in the number and levels of contamination of chickens leaving the plant with these pathogens be achieved . As the means are developed to substantially reduce or eliminate the intestinal colonization of chickens by these pathogens, the pathogen-free chickens can be delivered to the processing plant, thereby eliminating or at least reducing the prevalence and levels of Salmonella on processed broilers.

J Clin Microbiol, 1993 Jun, 31(6), 1541 - 6
Development of species-specific DNA probes for Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, and Campylobacter lari by polymerase chain reaction fingerprinting; Giesendorf BA et al.; The application of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fingerprinting assays enables discrimination between species and strains of microorganisms . PCR primers aiming at arbitrary sequences in combination with primers directed against the repetitive extragenic palindrome (REP) or enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) motifs generate isolate-specific DNA banding patterns . Analysis of these PCR fingerprints obtained for 33 isolates of Campylobacter jejuni, 30 isolates of Campylobacter coli, and 8 isolates of Campylobacter lari revealed that besides generation of isolate-specific fragments, species-specific DNA fragments of identical size were synthesized . It appeared that these DNA fragments could be used as species-specific probes, since they are unique for the pattern which they are deriving from . The probes do not cross-react with amplified DNA originating from a large panel of nonrelated microorganisms . Moreover, these probes displayed species specificity, as they reacted with a single restriction fragment on Southern blots containing DNA from C . jejuni, C . coli, and C . lari and other Campylobacter species . This combination of PCR fingerprinting and probe hybridization results in a highly specific identification assay and provides an example of specific test development without the prior need for DNA sequence information . The principle of the procedure holds great promise for the rapid isolation of DNA probes which, in combination with a general PCR assay, may lead to efficient typing and detection procedures for a multitude of medically important nonviral microorganisms.

Zhonghua Nei Ke Za Zhi, 1993 Jun, 32(6), 375 - 7
{Five cases of Campylobacter jejuni enteritis accompanied with Guillain-Barré syndrome}; Yuan JM et al.; 17 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) were admitted to The First Hospital of Beijing Medical University and Baoding Hospital from July, 1991 to October, 1992 . Five patients had diarrhea before the onset of GBS and showed positive reaction for serum IgM antibodies to Campylobacter jejuni . They were considered to have Campylobacter jejuni enteritis as well . This incidence of Campylobacter jejuni enteritis in GBS patients was higher than in those with other neurological diseases and in normal controls . These five patients were all from countryside and had their onset in the summer and autumn . Moreover, four of them were below twenty-four years old . The epidemiological pattern was quite similar to that of Campylobacter jejuni enteritis in China . Our data showed the close association between GBS and Campylobacter jejuni enteritis and the possible mechanism was discussed.

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