Enterobacteriacea

Ann Inst Pasteur Microbiol, 1988 Sep-Oct, 139(5), 605 - 12
Multiple typing of strains of Salmonella enterica subsp . bongori ser . 48:Z35:- isolated in southern Italy; Nastasi A et al.; In 1984-87, 10 isolates of Salmonella enterica subsp . bongori ser . 48:Z35:-, 9 of human source, were identified at the Southern Italy Centre of Enterobacteriaceae . This serotype had never been identified in Southern Italy before 1984 . The combined use of different typing methods, with particular reference to restriction enzyme fingerprinting of plasmid and chromosomal DNA, supports the hypothesis that all Bongor serovars derive from a single strain.

J Bacteriol, 1988 Sep, 170(9), 4008 - 14
Accumulation of a lipid-linked intermediate involved in enterobacterial common antigen synthesis in Salmonella typhimurium mutants lacking dTDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase; Rick PD et al.; The heteropolysaccharide chains of enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) are composed of linear trisaccharide repeat units having the structure----3)-alpha-Fuc4NAc-(1----4)-beta-D-ManNAcA-(1---- 4)-alpha-D-GlcNAc- (1---- . Mutants of Salmonella typhimurium lacking the structural gene for dTDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (rfbA) are severely impaired in their ability to synthesize dTDP-glucose, which is a precursor of dTDP-4-acetamido-4,6-dideoxy-D-galactose (Fuc4NAc), the donor of Fuc4NAc residues for ECA synthesis . These mutants synthesize only trace amounts of ECA, and they are hypersensitive to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) . Incubation of delta rfbA mutants with {3H}N-acetylglucosamine ({3H}GlcNAc) resulted in the accumulation of radioactivity in N-acetyl-D-mannosaminuronic acid (ManNAcA)-GlcNAc-pyrophosphorylundecaprenol (lipid II), the putative acceptor of Fuc4NAc residues in ECA synthesis . Lipid II did not accumulate in either wild-type cells or in rff mutants unable to synthesize ManNAcA . Both the accumulation of lipid II and the synthesis of trace amounts of ECA were abolished when delta rfbA mutants were grown in the presence of the antibiotic tunicamycin . Tunicamycin also prevented the SDS-mediated lysis of the mutants . SDS-resistant derivatives of delta rfbA mutants were isolated that were no longer able to synthesize trace amounts of ECA . Characterization of these derivatives revealed that they were defective in various steps of ECA synthesis leading to the synthesis of lipid II . The data support the conclusion that accumulation of lipid II is responsible in some way for the hypersensitivity of delta rfbA mutants to SDS.

South Med J, 1988 Aug, 81(8), 1061 - 2
Acute necrotizing pneumonia caused by Enterobacter cloacae; Broughton WA et al.; We have described a 55-year-old man with fever, productive cough, and a right upper lobe infiltrate, which subsequently cavitated . Cultures of bronchial secretions obtained by bronchoscopic protected brush catheter technique revealed Enterobacter cloacae, a previously unreported cause of acute necrotizing pneumonia.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1988 Aug, 22(2), 155 - 65
In-vitro activity and beta-lactamase stability of LY163892; Cao C et al.; LY163892 is a new orally absorbed carbacephem . It inhibited Streptococcus pyogenes and Str . pneumoniae at less than or equal to 1 mg/l, but was less active against group B streptococci and groups C, F, G and bovis streptococci with MICs of 1 to 2 mg/l for most but as high as 8 mg/l for some isolates . MIC90 of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus was 8 mg/l, but greater than 128 mg/l for methicillin-resistant staphylococci . LY163892 had activity similar to cefaclor and cephalexin with MIC90 values of 16 mg/l for Escherichia coli, 8 mg/l for Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Yersinia enterocolitica, but was more active against Haemophilus influenzae, and Branhamella catarrhalis . It had no activity against Enterobacter, Providencia, Serratia, and Pseudomonas and Bacteroides spp . LY163892 was more rapidly lytic than cephalexin . It was hydrolyzed by a number of plasmid and chromosomal beta-lactamases . For TEM-1, the Km = 354.7 microM, Vmax = 2.5 microMoles/min/mg of protein, P99 Km = 24.3 microM, Vmax = 28.9 microM/min/micrograms of protein, Staph . aureus PC Km = 47.4 microM, Vmax = 2.7 microMoles/min/mg of protein . Overall it had beta-lactamase stability similar to cefaclor, less than cephalexin, and markedly less than cefuroxime.

Antibiot Khimioter, 1988 Aug, 33(8), 597 - 601
{Sensitivity to cephalosporin antibiotics of infectious causative agents in surgery}; Bekbergenov BM et al.; Comparison of antimicrobial effects of cephalosporins of the 1st and 2nd generations showed that the latter were advantageous with respect to gram-negative bacteria causing surgical infections . Three cephalosporins of the 3rd generation were characterized by the highest activity against such bacteria, including Enterobacter spp . and indole positive strains of Proteus spp., as well as non-enzymatic bacteria . The antimicrobial spectra and MICs of the new cephalosporins with respect to the cultures isolated from surgical patients were different which requires in vitro sensitivity assay of each antibiotic.

Chemioterapia, 1988 Aug, 7(4), 267 - 70
Comparative activity of cefotetan against plasmid-encoded aminoglycoside-resistant enterobacteria strains; Gomez-Lus R et al.; 304 strains of R-plasmid harbouring enterobacteria resistant to aminoglycosides were studied for their susceptibilities to a range of antibiotics, including cefotetan . Cefotetan and latamoxef were the most active of the four cephamycins tested and all were stable to the beta-lactamases produced by these strains . No new beta-lactamases (SHV-2, CTX-1, TEM-4, CAZ-1) were found in these strains capable of hydrolysing third generation cephalosporins . The activity of cefotetan against these multi-resistant, beta-lactamase producing strains may be of clinical value.

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1988 Aug, 41(8), 1130 - 6
L-656,575 (OCP-9-176): a novel oxacephem . In vitro activity against aerobic and anaerobic clinical bacterial isolates; Weissberger B et al.; L-656,575 (OCP-9-176) is a novel oxacephem superior to ceftazidime in in vitro activity against clinical isolates of Enterobacter species, methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, and multiply-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Our results suggest that L-656,575 has a high affinity for penicillin binding proteins of Pseudomonas and may bind preferentially to PBP-3 in this organism . L-656,575 is active against beta-lactamase derepressed Enterobacteriaceae and ceftazidime-resistant P . aeruginosa.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1988 Aug, 32(8), 1251 - 6
In vitro activity of PD 127,391, an enhanced-spectrum quinolone; Wise R et al.; The in vitro activity of PD 127,391, a dihalogenated quinolone, was compared with those of ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, gentamicin, and cefuroxime against 525 recent isolates and well-characterized antimicrobial agent-resistant strains . The MICs of PD 127,391 against 90% of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, Bacteroides fragilis, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria sp., and Streptococcus pneumoniae were less than or equal to 0.12 microgram/ml . Some 90% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and staphylococci were susceptible to 0.25 micrograms of PD 127,391 per ml . Against most strains, PD 127,391 was 2- to 8-fold more active than ciprofloxacin, but it was 64-fold more active than ciprofloxacin against B . fragilis . Strains of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae which were resistant to nalidixic acid were less susceptible to all of the quinolones tested, including PD 127,391 . The MIC and minimum lethal concentration of PD 127,391 against three strains of Chlamydia trachomatis were each 0.06 microgram/ml, and the MIC against 90% of 21 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was 1 microgram/ml . PD 127,391 was less active at pH 5, its maximal activity being at pH 7 to 8 . The presence of urine at pH 5.9 decreased the bactericidal activity . The protein binding of PD 127,391 was 2 to 7%, and serum had little effect on activity.

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 1988 Aug, 7(4), 511 - 7
Comparison of the Cobas-Bact five-hour susceptibility testing system with the NCCLS agar diffusion and dilution methods; Wust J et al.; The results of susceptibility tests performed by the Cobas-Bact system were compared with those of the NCCLS agar diffusion (Kirby-Bauer) and NCCLS agar dilution methods . A total of 998 clinical isolates were tested against 10 to 18 antimicrobial agents . Essential agreement (comprising full agreement and minor discrepancies) varied from 90.5% to 99.2% on comparison of Cobas-Bact with Kirby-Bauer results, depending on the bacterial group (mean for all 998 strains tested 95.7%) . These figures ranged from 91% to 99.2% (mean 96.3%) for the Cobas-Bact/MIC comparison and from 95.2% to 99.7% (mean 98.7%) for the Kirby-Bauer/MIC comparison . The best results were found for Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus aureus, whereas for enterococci and coagulase-negative staphylococci there was a lower rate of essential agreement in all three comparisons . In the case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa there was a good rate of essential agreement but many minor discrepancies, resulting in a disappointing rate of full agreement of between 67.5% and 78.9% in the three comparisons . The Cobas-Bact system would appear to provide satisfactory susceptibility test results in most cases, however there are still some major problems in the system which should be resolved.

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 1988 Aug, 7(4), 495 - 500
Distribution and antibiotic susceptibility of extraintestinal clinical isolates of Klebsiella, Enterobacter and Serratia species; Varaldo PE et al.; A total of 451 extraintestinal, clinically relevant strains of the Klebsiella, Enterobacter and Serratia spp . isolated over a nine-month period from hospitalized patients at four different centers in Italy were investigated . Identification using the API 20E system showed that isolates belonged to 12 different species . Overall, strains of Klebsiella, Enterobacter and Serratia were in a ratio of approximately 3.4:2:1 . Fifty-nine per cent of all strains were from urinary specimens, 12% from respiratory secretions, 10% from wounds and abscesses, and lower percentages from other sources . All strains were tested for their susceptibility to ten antibiotics . The rate of resistance to most drugs was generally greater in Enterobacter and Serratia than in Klebsiella . The overall incidence of strains of the intermediate category (i.e . between full sensitivity and resistance) was unexpectedly high . Both the relative frequency and the antibiotic susceptibility of strains of the various species varied from center to center; possible reasons for such differences are examined.

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 1988 Aug, 10(4), 221 - 40
Multicenter in vitro evaluation of lomefloxacin (NY-198, SC-47111), including tests against nearly 7,000 bacterial isolates and preliminary recommendations for susceptibility testing; Jones RN et al.; Lomefloxacin (NY-198 or SC-47111) is a difluoro-quinolone derivative having a C-methyl at the 3-position of the piperazine ring, thus minimizing its metabolic alteration in vivo . In our research, its antimicrobial activity was most similar to that of difloxacin, enoxacin, fleroxacin, and norfloxacin but usually less than that of ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin against most species . Lomefloxacin shared cross-resistance with other 4-quinolones but remained very active against ceftazidime-resistant organisms, including stably derepressed beta-lactamase producing Gram-negative bacilli . Lower pH increased the lomefloxacin MICs . MBCs were usually identical to the measured MIC, and the lomefloxacin MICs were not significantly increased by high inoculum concentrations . The Enterobacteriaceae were found to have a very low rate of spontaneous mutation to lomefloxacin resistance (10(-8)-10(-9) . In vitro tests by 5-micrograms and 10-micrograms lomefloxacin disks and dilution methods were correlated, and the 10-micrograms disk was recommended for clinical trials using a less than or equal to 4 micrograms/ml susceptible breakpoint . The quality assurance guidelines for dilution tests were determined by a multilaboratory study.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1988 Aug, 32(8), 1289 - 91
Heterogeneity of 6'-N-acetyltransferases of type 4 conferring resistance to amikacin and related aminoglycosides in members of the family Enterobacteriaceae; Tran Van Nhieu G et al.; DNA-DNA hybridization and immunoblotting were used to assess the relatedness between the 6'-N-acetyltransferases of type 4 encoded by plasmid pAZ007 from a clinical isolate of Serratia marcescens and those encoded by NR79 and R5 . The absence of detectable DNA-DNA homology and of immunological cross-reactivity suggests the existence of at least two distinct 6'-N-acetyltransferase type 4 genes that mediate amikacin resistance in gram-negative bacilli.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1988 Aug, 32(8), 1196 - 203
Monitoring beta-lactamase activity in vivo by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Mobashery S et al.; A 13C-labeled cephalothin, 7 beta-(2-thienylacetamido)-3-{acetoxy-13C1}methyl-3-cephem-4- carboxylate (compound 1), has been prepared and used to monitor beta-lactamase activities by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy . Time-elapsed spectral analysis of the reaction of the labeled cephalothin with the TEM-2 beta-lactamase purified from Escherichia coli revealed the progressive loss of the cephalothin acetyl resonance at 176.8 ppm and accumulation of an acetate signal at 184.3 ppm . Spectral results identical to those observed in the in vitro experiment were obtained when compound 1 was incubated with cell suspensions of E . coli JSR-O (pBR322), which contains the plasmid-encoded TEM-2 beta-lactamase, and Enterobacter cloacae strains that contain a class I chromosomal beta-lactamase . Pseudo-first-order rate constants for the lactamase-catalyzed formation of acetate from cephalothin in vivo were obtained by integration of the 13C-acetyl resonances of compound 1 during timed incubations with cell preparations . These results constitute the first demonstration of the ability to monitor beta-lactamase activity in viable cells by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Drugs, 1988 Aug, 36(2), 193 - 228
Fluoroquinolone antibiotics . Microbiology, pharmacokinetics and clinical use; Paton JH et al.; The newer fluoroquinolones are a major advance in antimicrobial chemotherapy . They inhibit the supercoiling activity of the DNA gyrase enzyme, thus exerting their antibacterial action on DNA and RNA synthesis, resulting in a biphasic response and killing of susceptible organisms . The newer fluoroquinolones have an extended antimicrobial spectrum compared to their older congeners, and are highly active against most Gram-negative pathogens including the Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . While Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci are usually susceptible to the fluoroquinolones, streptococci are generally more resistant and enterococci are resistant . All of the newer fluoroquinolones may be administered orally and most of them have been administered parenterally . They are widely distributed in the body, attaining therapeutic concentrations in most tissues . All of the fluoroquinolones have long half-lives and may be administered once or twice daily . The fluoroquinolones have proved effective in many infections, including uncomplicated or complicated urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections, gonorrhoea, bacterial gastroenteritis, and soft tissue infections due to Gram-negative organisms . In general, success has been notable in the management of Gram-negative infections but less so with Gram-positive infections . Resistance has occurred and is proving a problem with P . aeruginosa in some cystic fibrosis patients, but as yet no plasmid-mediated resistance has developed . Cross-resistance occurs between the quinolones but only rarely with other classes of antibacterial drugs . The fluoroquinolones have an excellent safety record and their adverse effects, which include hypersensitivity reactions, dizziness, headache, gastrointestinal disturbance and minor haematological abnormalities are usually mild and transient . However, the fluoroquinolones have been found to damage juvenile weight-bearing joints in animals and are therefore only to be used with caution in children; transient arthralgia has been reported in a cystic fibrotic teenager on long term ciprofloxacin therapy . All of the fluoroquinolones except ofloxacin are associated with a variable increase in the serum concentration of theophylline, warfarin and caffeine . Thus, the fluoroquinolones are an attractive option in the management of many infections . Cost and possible resistance, however, should counsel caution in their use, and may limit them to situations where a cheaper antimicrobial of equivalent efficacy is not available.

J Clin Pathol, 1988 Aug, 41(8), 910 - 4
Evaluation of the Microbact-24E bacterial identification system; Ling JM et al.; The Microbact 24E (MB24E) system is a commercial microsystem for the identification of common clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae and non-fermenting Gram negative bacilli, and consists of dehydrated substrates distributed in the wells of microtitre trays . This system was compared with the API20E for the identification of 386 bacterial isolates, which included 284 clinical and 102 environmental organisms . There was 97% and 91% agreement for the identification of clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae and other Gram negative bacilli, respectively . The identification of environmental isolates by both systems was less satisfactory . The API20E has a more extensive database than the MB24E and is thus more reliable for the identification of rare or unusual organisms, but the MB24E is cheaper, is easy and convenient to use, and is suitable for a routine microbiology laboratory.

J Clin Microbiol, 1988 Aug, 26(8), 1586 - 8
Evaluation of autoscan-4 for identification of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae; Gavini F et al.; A study was performed to compare the Autoscan-4 (MicroScan, Inc., Mahwah, N.J.) with conventional biochemical methods for identifying clinical isolates of the family Enterobacteriaceae . The Autoscan-4 yielded correct identification of 95.4% of the isolates at the species level and 98.4% at the genus level . Only one misidentification was observed . The identification of both common and less-common isolates of Enterobacteriaceae makes this system highly efficient.

Mol Gen Genet, 1988 Aug, 213(2-3), 487 - 90
IS1-mediated mobility of the aerobactin system of pColV-K30 in Escherichia coli; de Lorenzo V et al.; Genes determining the high affinity iron transport system mediated by the siderophore aerobactin are flanked in the enterobacterial plasmid pColV-K30 by inverted repeats of IS1 sequences, suggesting that the aerobactin genes are part of a transposon . To study this possibility, the entire region between the two IS1 sequences was cloned as an 18 kb HindIII-BamHI restriction fragment in pUC8 giving plasmid pMO1 . A number of derivatives of pMO1, in which aerobactin genes were tagged with a kanamycin resistance gene, were prepared in order to assess the ability of both IS1s to promote the formation of cointegrates with pCJ105, an F derivative devoid of insertion sequences . Mating-out assays indicated that both flanking IS1s were active in cointegrate formation at detectable frequencies . In some cases, the cointegrates could be resolved, the final result being a transposition-like event for the entire aerobactin system.

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1988 Jul, 41(7), 949 - 58
In vitro and in vivo antibacterial activity of KY-109, a new orally active cephalosporin; Obana Y et al.; The in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial potencies of KY-109, a pro-drug of KY-087, were compared with those of amoxicillin, cephalexin (CEX), and cefaclor (CCL) . The following results were obtained . KY-087, which is the active form of KY-109, had broad antimicrobial spectrum against Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms, but showed low antimicrobial activity against Enterobacter sp., Serratia, and Pseudomonas sp . The antimicrobial activities of KY-087 against clinically isolated Gram-positive organisms were superior to those of CEX and CCL . The antimicrobial activities of KY-087 against Gram-negative organisms, such as Enterobacter sp., Serratia, and Pseudomonas sp., were less active . KY-087 showed dose-related bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli . The therapeutic efficacy of KY-109 against experimental intraperitoneal infections caused by Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms in mice was comparable to that of CEX but inferior to that of CCL . In experimental granuloma pouch models in rats and kidney infection in rabbits, therapeutic efficacy of KY-109 was either comparable or superior to that of CEX and CCL.

Gut, 1988 Jul, 29(7), 916 - 25
Immunoglobulin containing cells in terminal ileum and colorectum of patients with arthritis related gut inflammation; Cuvelier C et al.; In 40 distal ileal and 40 colonic biopsies of arthritic patients mostly without gastrointestinal symptoms, but with histological evidence of acute or chronic inflammation of the gut, the number of immunoglobulin (Ig) containing plasma cells was studied morphometrically using a peroxidase antiperoxidase technique . Compared with controls, the ileal mucosal biopsies showed an increase of IgA and IgG in acute ileitis . In chronic ileitis there was an increase of IgA, IgG, and IgM similar to Crohn's disease . In colonic biopsies there was a significant increase of all immunoglobulin classes in acute inflammation . In chronic inflamed mucosa there was also an increase of all three Ig classes . The Ig distribution, however, was significantly different in acute and chronic colitis . These findings give immunohistochemical evidence of the existence of two different types of inflammation related to reactive arthritis or the peripheral joint involvement of ankylosing spondylitis . The Ig pattern in acute colitis is similar to that found in infectious colitis, suggesting an enterobacterial origin of the arthritis in this group of patients although bacteriological and serological investigations were negative . In the chronic type of arthritis related ileocolitis, the pattern of Ig containing cells is similar to that found in Crohn's disease but different from infectious and ulcerative colitis, which makes the hypothesis that a great number of these arthritis patients suffer from asymptomatic or subclinical Crohn's disease acceptable.

Radiat Res, 1988 Jul, 115(1), 1 - 25
Use of antibiotics in the management of postirradiation wound infection and sepsis; Brook I; Ionizing gamma irradiation depresses the host defenses and enhances the susceptibility of the immunocompromised host to local and systemic infection due to endogenous or exogenous microorganisms . Trauma and wounding act synergistically and decrease the survival after exposure to irradiation . The current antimicrobial agents suitable for controlling serious infections and their use in post irradiation local and systemic infection with and without trauma are discussed . The experience gained in managing immunocompromised patients following chemotherapy is reviewed . Empiric single agent or combination agent therapy should be directed at the eradication of potential gram-negative as well as gram-positive pathogens . The most important organisms known to cause these infections are Pseudomonas sp . and Enterobacteriaceae . Management of intra-abdominal infections following trauma should include early surgical correlation and antimicrobials directed against the Bacteroides fragilis group and Enterobacteriaceae . Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes cause most skin and soft tissue infections following trauma . Chemoprophylaxis of enteric sources of systemic infection can be achieved by antimicrobials that selectively inhibit the Enterobacteriaceae sp . and preserve the anaerobic flora . The management of infection in the injured and irradiated host includes supportive and restorative therapy . Supportive therapy includes debridement and cleansing of wounds, fluids, immunoglobulin, and antimicrobials . Restorative therapy includes definite surgery repair and replenishment of the immune system by use of immunomodulators, growth factors, and bone marrow transplantation . Further studies are needed to examine the usefulness of presently available drugs and experimental agents in the irradiated and traumatized host.

Infect Immun, 1988 Jul, 56(7), 1730 - 7
Interaction between human natural anti-alpha-galactosyl immunoglobulin G and bacteria of the human flora; Galili U et al.; Anti-alpha-galactosyl immunoglobulin G (anti-Gal) is a natural antibody present in unusually high amounts in human sera . It constitutes as much as 1% of circulating immunoglobulin G in humans and displays a distinct specificity for the carbohydrate epitope galactosyl alpha(1----3) galactosyl (Gal alpha 1----3Gal) . Recently, it has been suggested by various investigators that anti-Gal may be related to some autoimmune phenomena, since marked elevation of its titer was found in sera of patients with autoimmune thyroid disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, glomerulonephritis, and Chagas' disease . In view of the ubiquitous presence of anti-Gal in high titers in humans, throughout life, we hypothesized that, analogous with synthesis of anti-blood group antibodies against bacterial antigens, bacteria within normal intestinal flora may provide constant antigenic stimulation for the synthesis of anti-Gal . This hypothesis would imply that anti-Gal may bind to a variety of bacterial strains of human flora . In the present study, the interaction between affinity chromatography-purified anti-Gal and various bacterial strains was studied . By the use of a direct immunostaining assay and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, anti-Gal was found to interact with a variety of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, and Salmonella strains, some of which were isolates from normal stool . Furthermore, the anti-Gal-binding sites in some strains were found to be present on the carbohydrate portion of bacterial lipopolysaccharides . It is thus suggested that Gal alpha 1----3Gal epitopes in the outer membranes of normal flora enterobacteria may provide a continuous source for antigenic stimulation . Since there is no immune tolerance to the Gal alpha 1----3Gal carbohydrate structure in humans, anti-Gal seems to be constantly produced in response to these enterobacteria . In addition, bacteria which express Gal alpha----3Gal epitopes and which may adhere to various cells mediated binding of anti-Gal to human cell lines . These findings raise the possibility that anti-Gal may damage normal human tissues via inflammatory processes facilitated by bacterial Gal alpha 1----3Gal epitopes.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1988 Jul, 32(7), 1040 - 5
Simple assay of beta-lactamase with agar medium containing a chromogenic cephalosporin, pyridinium-2-azo-p-dimethylaniline chromophore (PADAC); Kobayashi S et al.; A new beta-lactamase assay method with agar plates containing pyridinium-2-azo-p-dimethylaniline chromophore (PADAC) (50 microM), a beta-lactamase-labile, chromogenic cephalosporin, was examined . On the PADAC plates inoculated with beta-lactamase-producing gram-negative bacteria (10(4) CFU per spot) and incubated at 37 degrees C, a yellow zone showing hydrolysis of PADAC by beta-lactamase was formed around the colony . The zone diameter increased with incubation time . Examination with Enterobacter cloacae GN7471 revealed that beta-lactamase activity was present in the agar around the colony, decreasing exponentially with increasing distance from the colonial margin; this suggests that the PADAC hydrolysis zone is formed by an extracellular enzyme . At 18 h, significant correlations were obtained between the zone diameters of the 10 species (clinical isolates) examined and their periplasmic beta-lactamase activities determined spectrophotometrically . The addition of clavulanic acid (0.5 to 10 micrograms/ml) inhibited zone formation on the PADAC plates inoculated with type IIIa, Va, Vb, PSE-1, and Ic beta-lactamase producers . When the clinical isolates were tested on plates with clavulanic acid (2 micrograms/ml), inhibition was observed in 41 to 58% of the Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates and in all isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, and Proteus vulgaris . Thus, the use of the inhibitor made it possible to detect penicillinase or type Ic cephalosporinase producers . These results proved that the PADAC plate might be a useful tool permitting easy, semiquantitative determination of beta-lactamase activity.

Rev Infect Dis, 1988 Jul-Aug, 10(4), 867 - 78
Extended broad-spectrum beta-lactamases conferring transferable resistance to newer beta-lactam agents in Enterobacteriaceae: hospital prevalence and susceptibility patterns; Jarlier V et al.; Before 1985 at the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris (2,400 beds), resistance to cefotaxime in clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae involved only species producing inducible class 1 beta-lactamase . Between November 1985 and April 1987, however, 62 isolates (57 of Klebsiella pneumoniae and five of Escherichia coli) showed decreased susceptibility to cefotaxime (mean MIC, 8-16 micrograms/mL) . The transferability of cefotaxime resistance in E . coli K12 was demonstrated for 15 of 16 selected isolates . By isoelectric focusing using iodometric detection with 20 mg of ceftriaxone/100 mL and determination of substrate and inhibition profiles, three beta-lactamases mediating cefotaxime resistance were identified as SHV-2 (isoelectric point {pI} 7.6), CTX-1 (pI 6.3), and "SHV-2-type" or SHV-3 (pI 6.98) . The three beta-lactamases hydrolyzed penicillins and cephalosporins (including cefotaxime and ceftriaxone) and were therefore designated "extended broad-spectrum beta-lactamases" (EBS-Bla) . The enzymes conferred to derivatives a high level of resistance to amoxicillin, ticarcillin, piperacillin, and cephalothin and a decreased degree of susceptibility (i.e., MICs increased by 10- to 800-fold) to cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, and aztreonam . These beta-lactamases did not affect the activity of cephamycins (cefoxitin, cefotetan, moxalactam) or imipenem . Synergy between clavulanate or sulbactam (2 micrograms/mL) and amoxicillin was greater against derivatives producing EBS-Bla than against those producing TEM-1, TEM-2, or SHV-1; this synergy was greater with clavulanate than with sulbactam against derivatives producing SHV-2 and the SHV-2-type enzyme but was similar with clavulanate and sulbactam against those producing CTX-1 . A double-disk synergy test performed with cefotaxime and Augmentin disks (placed 30 mm apart, center to center) seemed a useful and specific test for the detection of strains producing EBS-Bla.

Rev Infect Dis, 1988 Jul-Aug, 10(4), 800 - 5
Impact of the ampD gene and its product on beta-lactamase production in Enterobacter cloacae; Peter K et al.; In an investigation of the influence of the ampD gene on beta-lactamase production and induction in Enterobacter cloacae, the ampR-ampC gene region cloned into a plasmid and the ampD gene cloned into another vector were transferred to a strain of Escherichia coli . The genetically manipulated E . coli strains served as a model for study of the inducibility of beta-lactamases in E . cloacae . In addition, beta-lactamase induction in E . cloacae bearing the previously mentioned plasmids was studied . After induction of the beta-lactamase with cefoxitin, the specific hydrolytic activity, the viable cell count, and the degradation of cefoxitin were determined . beta-Lactamase expression decreased with an increasing amount of the ampD gene product . The cefoxitin concentration decreased in proportion to the amount of enzyme, but the induction of beta-lactamase seemed not to be an important factor influencing the viable cell count of E . cloacae as long as cefoxitin concentrations exceeded the MIC . Despite different beta-lactamase concentrations, the decrease in the viable cell count was nearly identical in all experiments.

Rev Infect Dis, 1988 Jul-Aug, 10(4), 793 - 9
Genetic control of beta-lactamase production in Enterobacter cloacae; Korfmann G et al.; In Enterobacter cloacae, mutations in favor of overproduction of beta-lactamase--leading to resistance to third-generation cephalosporins--occur at frequencies of 10(-4)-10(-7) . Cloning experiments reveal that at least three genes are involved in the regulation of chromosomal beta-lactamase expression . The structural gene, ampC, is located adjacent to the regulatory gene, ampR, coding for a protein that can serve as an activator in the presence of an inducer . An example of an ampR mutant that is independent of an inducer has been studied . More important for the development of cefotaxime resistance in E . cloacae are mutations in the ampD gene and other proposed regulatory genes . Inactivation of the ampD gene leads to elevated beta-lactamase production . Thus, ampD negatively controls ampC expression . Evidence for the existence of a third regulatory gene, ampE, has been found.

Rev Infect Dis, 1988 Jul-Aug, 10(4), 786 - 92
Heterogeneity in ampR-ampC gene interaction in Enterobacter cloacae; Goering RV et al.; The ampR gene and its regulation of AmpC beta-lactamase synthesis were investigated for Enterobacter cloacae 1194E, a wild-type strain producing a group A (pI 8.7) enzyme . Expression of the cloned E . cloacae 1194E ampR-ampC region was examined initially in Escherichia coli HB101 . However, transformants showed only constitutive beta-lactamase expression . For study of enzyme expression in a more closely related host, the cloned E . cloacae 1194E ampR-ampC region was transformed into E . cloacae 55, a wild-type strain producing a group B (pI 7.8) enzyme . Results indicated a functional E . cloacae 1194E ampR gene that could not be transcomplemented by E . cloacae 55 . A comparative analysis of ampR nucleotide and amino acid-sequence data from E . cloacae 1194E and E . cloacae MHN1 revealed related but divergent genes . Thermal induction studies of AmpC beta-lactamase also indicated a difference between E . cloacae 1194E and E . cloacae 55 in ampR-ampC interaction . Thus, it appears that, in at least some strains of Enterobacter, significant intraspecies divergence of ampR has occurred . This heterogeneity in ampR would not have been detected with beta-lactamase expression studies conducted exclusively in E . coli.

Rev Infect Dis, 1988 Jul-Aug, 10(4), 714 - 20
Biochemical characterization of type A and type B beta-lactamase from Enterobacter cloacae; Then RL et al.; Different types of chromosomally coded beta-lactamases are found in Enterobacter cloacae . E . cloacae M6300 produces beta-lactamase type A, which has an isoelectric point of 8.8, whereas E . cloacae 908 R produces beta-lactamase type B, which has an isoelectric point of 7.9 . Both enzymes were purified to homogeneity by a procedure that included affinity chromatography on amino phenylboronic acid-modified Sepharose . The two enzymes were closely related as shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, kinetic constants with several substrates, amino acid composition, NH2-terminal amino acid sequence, and reaction with antisera . In addition to having different isoelectric points, the two enzymes migrated to slightly different positions on polyacrylamide gels and differed significantly in rate of catalysis for cephalothin, imipenem, and the penem Sch 34343 . One of three antisera seemed to recognize an epitope that differs in the two enzymes . The diversity of cephalosporinases found in E . cloacae with respect to the evolution of novel beta-lactamases was considered.

J Gen Microbiol, 1988 Jul, 134 ( Pt 7), 1835 - 45
A numerical taxonomic study of the genus Xenorhabdus (Enterobacteriaceae) and proposed elevation of the subspecies of X . nematophilus to species; Akhurst RJ et al.; Data from a study of both phases of 21 strains of Xenorhabdus examined for 240 characters were subjected to numerical analysis . Only 60 characters were used for the analyses, since 169 characters were common to all isolates, and the acidification data essentially duplicated the assimilation tests . The data were arranged in seven ways to determine the significance of characters affected by phase change and of weak responses . Most of the analyses involved calculation of similarities by the Jaccard coefficient and clustering by single linkage, complete linkage and centroid sorting algorithms . The resultant dendrograms emphasized the importance of recognizing phase-related characteristics in examining the taxonomy of Xenorhabdus . They also demonstrated a close correspondence between the taxonomic groupings of Xenorhabdus and those of their nematode associates . It is proposed that the subspecies of X . nematophilus be elevated to species, X . nematophilus, X . bovienii, X . poinarii and X . beddingii.

Vopr Pitan, 1988 Jul-Aug, (4), 60 - 3
{Microbiological characteristics and detection of capsular forms of bacteria of the intestinal group in confectionery produced at the candy-chocolate factories}; Kuvaeva IB et al.; Five types of confectionery and its semifinished products were investigated for contamination with Klebsiella, mesophilic aerobic and elective anaerobic, coliform bacteria, E . coli, etc . after a long-term storage . E . coli and St . aureus were not detected after inoculation on 1 g of the product; mold fungi were identified only in singular samples, their level did not exceed 20 CFU/g; the level of mesophilic aerobic and elective anaerobic bacteria varied from several hundreds to 3000-5500 CFU/g; coliform bacteria were identified in the amounts from 11 to 100 CFU/g . The identification of coliform bacteria has evidenced the presence of Enterobacter aerogenes and Kl . pneumoniae in the products investigated . Klebsiella were detected in 28-30% of the samples analyzed, their level did not exceed 100 CFU/g . The authors have proved the necessity of microbiological control of starting material, semifinished and finished confectionery products for the above bacteria.

Mikrobiologiia, 1988 Jul-Aug, 57(4), 680 - 5
{Bacteria reducing chromium in nature and in effluents of industrial plants}; Kvasnikov EI et al.; Bacteria capable of hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) reduction can be found in Cr6+-containing sewage and sediments of purification tanks of industrial plants . They cannot be detected in water and soil samples containing no chromium compounds . Bacteria reducing chromium belong to the genera Aeromonas, Escherichia, Pseudomonas and Enterobacter . Their activity of Cr6+ reduction correlates with the high resistance to the elevated content of this ion in the medium . The fine cell structure of these bacteria is described.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1988 Jul, 32(7), 1005 - 11
Antibacterial properties of (2,3)-alpha- and (2,3)-beta-methylene analogs of penicillin G; Christenson JG et al.; The penam nucleus can assume two conformations; these are designated open and closed . The synthetic (2,3)-alpha- and (2,3)-beta-methylenepenams can be regarded as analogs of the open and closed conformations, respectively . It has been shown that the beta-methylenepenams are essentially inactive, suggesting that the closed conformation of penams is also inactive . In this study, we investigated a series of beta-lactams, all of which contained phenylacetamido side chains: penicillin G, the (2,3)-alpha- and (2,3)-beta-methylenepenams, and the 3-acetoxymethyl- and 3-methylcephalosporins . The alpha-methylenepenam and penicillin G were the most active compounds, while the beta-methylene isomer was only poorly active . Results with permeability mutants suggested that the alpha-methylene compound penetrated the outer membrane somewhat more readily than penicillin G did . The intrinsic potency of the alpha-methylenepenam appeared to be similar to that of penicillin G, on the basis of their affinities for penicillin-binding proteins and their abilities to inhibit peptidoglycan synthesis in ether-permeabilized Escherichia coli, while the beta-methylene analog had very poor intrinsic potency . The alpha-methylene analog was about 10-fold more efficient (Vmax/Km) than penicillin G as a substrate for the cephalosporinases from Enterobacter cloacae and Proteus vulgaris, but it was about 40-fold less efficient with penicillinase from Staphylococcus aureus . These results strongly support the hypothesis that the active conformation of penams is the open conformation and suggest that the position in space of the carboxyl group relative to the beta-lactam carbonyl is an important determinant of cephalosporinlike character, as distinct from penicillinlike character.

Ann Inst Pasteur Microbiol, 1988 Jul-Aug, 139(4), 461 - 71
Rapid serotyping of enteropathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica strains by co-agglutination; Fernandez-Lago L et al.; A rapid co-agglutination test using monospecific antisera was developed for the serological typing of enteropathogenic strains of Yersinia enterocolitica . A total of 70 bacterial strains (17 reference strains and 53 clinical isolates) were examined . Absorption of immune sera against serotypes O:3, O:8 and O:9 with their heterologous antigens (S-LPS) was necessary to avoid the appearance of different cross-reactions, as observed by co-agglutination . The proteins present in the S-LPS preparations obtained from each serotype seemed to be responsible for such cross-reactions . Results obtained with a total of 57 clinical isolates belonging to other members of the family Enterobacteriaceae indicate a high specificity of the assay.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {A}, 1988 Jul, 269(1), 64 - 77
Histological changes and some in vitro biological activities induced by lipopolysaccharide from Bacteroides gingivalis; Isogai H et al.; The biological activities of lipopolysaccharide from Bacteroides gingivalis 381 (B-LPS) were examined in vivo and in vitro . Intra-oral mucosal injection of B-LPS induced an acute inflammation at the injection site . Intravenous injection of B-LPS induced necrotic lesions with many thrombi in the liver and lymphocytic reduction in the spleen . By immunohistochemical examination, B-LPS was detected in macrophages in the liver, spleen and lymph nodes . In vitro analysis showed that B-LPS was a potent activator of both neutrophils and macrophages in luminol-dependent response and IL-1 secretion from macrophages and was mitogenic to the spleen cells not only from BALB/c mice but also from LPS-non-responder C3H/HeJ mice . Interferon production from human peripheral mononuclear leucocytes was induced, in vitro, by stimulation with B-LPS but not with the other enterobacterial LPS . These findings clarified the various biological activities of B-LPS affecting various cells and tissues, especially neutrophils, macrophages and lymphocytes . The potent inflammability of B-LPS shown in the present study indicates that it is one of the effective agents to induce periodontitis.

Rev Infect Dis, 1988 Jul-Aug, 10(4), 899 - 904
Some properties of Serratia marcescens, Salmonella paratyphi A, and Enterobacter cloacae with non-enzyme-dependent multiple resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, aminoglycosides, and quinolones; Dang P et al.; Non-enzyme-dependent multiple-drug resistance occurs preferentially in some genera of Enterobacteriaceae, such as Serratia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Salmonella . Susceptibility to beta-lactam antibiotics, aminoglycosides, quinolones, trimethoprim, and chloramphenicol may be affected in various combinations in different mutants . Proteins from the outer and inner membranes and lipopolysaccharides may be altered concomitantly . Although porin alterations have been observed in all resistant mutants studied, these modifications alone do not seem sufficient to explain the various cross-resistance phenotypes.

Rev Infect Dis, 1988 Jul-Aug, 10(4), 850 - 9
Klebsiella pneumoniae and other Enterobacteriaceae producing novel plasmid-mediated beta-lactamases markedly active against third-generation cephalosporins: epidemiologic studies; Sirot J et al.; Analysis of the enzymes produced by clinical isolates of multiresistant Klebsiella pneumoniae from hospitals in France revealed two novel broad-spectrum beta-lactamases . The first, characterized by an isoelectric point of 6.3 and a high hydrolytic activity on cefotaxime, is designated CTX-1 . This beta-lactamase was encoded by a 95-kilobase plasmid (incompatibility group 7M) and cotransferred with resistance to tetracyclines, sulfonamides, and aminoglycosides (AAC {6'}-IV) . From 1984 to June 1987, 490 CTX-1-producing strains of Enterobacteriaceae were isolated . The second plasmid-mediated beta-lactamase (CAZ-1) was isolated in 1987 from three K . pneumoniae strains more resistant to ceftazidime than to other third-generation cephalosporins . This broad-spectrum beta-lactamase differed from CTX-1 by its isoelectric point--close to 5.6--and its high hydrolytic activity on ceftazidime and was encoded by a 150-kilobase plasmid . It was demonstrated that these expanded-spectrum beta-lactamases are TEM derivatives.

Rev Infect Dis, 1988 Jul-Aug, 10(4), 782 - 5
Genetic basis of induction and overproduction of chromosomal class I beta-lactamase in nonfastidious gram-negative bacilli; Lindberg F et al.; Pseudomonas and several species of gram-negative enterobacteria produce low levels of chromosomally encoded class I beta-lactamase . The level of synthesis can be greatly increased by the addition of beta-lactam antibiotics into the growth medium . Moreover, mutants overproducing the enzyme arise at a high frequency in these species . The beta-lactamase is encoded by the chromosomal ampC gene, and its induction is governed by the ampR regulatory gene, which encodes an activator of ampC transcription . The ampD gene acts, probably indirectly, as a repressor of beta-lactamase synthesis, and it is in this gene that mutations leading to enzyme overproduction are located.

Microbiologica, 1988 Jul, 11(3), 173 - 8
Multiple typing of Salmonella typhimurium isolates: an epidemiological study; Nastasi A et al.; An epidemiological study was carried out on sixty-four Salmonella typhimurium strains isolated in Palermo during the period January-July 1987 and identified at the Southern Italy Center of Enterobacteriaceae . These included 5 isolates from a small food-poisoning outbreak, which resulted antibiotic susceptible, not colicinogenic and untypable by the phage-type scheme of Anderson . Plasmid profile analysis was not a reliable method to differentiate them from non epidemic strains . The 5 epidemic isolates, belonging to biotype 25a, were assigned into NT 2 phage-type by an accessory set of phages developed in this laboratory . Such biotype/phage-type association was never detected in the remaining Salmonella typhimurium strains isolated during the first 7 months of 1987 . Chromosomal DNA analysis provided additional information on the relationships among Salmonella typhimurium isolates.

APMIS, 1988 Jul, 96(7), 611 - 7
Contaminating coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated in a lysis-centrifugation (Isolator) blood culture system . Application of different epidemiological markers for deduction of mode of contamination; Arpi M et al.; The lysis-centrifugation blood culture system, Isolator, is a promising system with respect to detection of many significant microorganisms, e.g . Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacteriaceae, as compared with conventional systems . A drawback of the Isolator system is a disturbingly high rate of clinically insignificant, supposedly contaminating coagulase-negative staphylococci, which leads to considerable waste of time and materials in the laboratory . Several sources of these isolates have been proposed (viz . the patient, the ward environment, the laboratory handling, and the plate media) . The aim of this study was to pinpoint the origin of these clinically doubtful coagulase-negative staphylococci, using different epidemiological markers, such as species identification, antibiotic susceptibility patterns, phage-types, and plasmid profiles . Plasmid profile analysis proved to be more discriminating than the other techniques and made it possible to conclude that the laboratory handling of the Isolator system was a major source of coagulase-negative staphylococci in this system.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 1988 Jul, 9(7), 317 - 9
Introduction of a plasmid encoding the OHIO-1 beta-lactamase to an intermediate care ward by patient transfer; Shlaes DM et al.; A prospective study of 147 intermediate care ward (ICW) patients for acquisition of gentamicin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (GRE) was carried out . Fifty (34%) were colonized or infected with one or more strains of GRE . Fifteen of these patients and one nurse were colonized with 22 strains (including ten species) of GRE bearing identical 60 kb plasmids encoding a novel beta-lactamase determinant, OHIO-1 and ANT(2") . Analysis of the time course of colonized patients on the ICW revealed one probable episode of cross-transmission . Five colonized patients had been residing in the ICW from one to four months prior to study initiation . Eight patients were admitted to the ICW from other hospital areas already colonized and one additional patient acquired colonization on the ICW from an unknown source . Thus, eight of ten patients admitted to the ICW during the prospective study were already colonized on admission to the ICW . To control this level of colonization it would therefore be necessary to direct efforts at limiting admission of colonized patients or attempting to eliminate the strain from persistently colonized patients, rather than trying to limit transmission within the ward.

Virologie, 1988 Jul-Sep, 39(3), 161 - 6
{Presence of the rotavirus antigen in newborn infants at maternity hospitals in Moldavia}; Avram G et al.; Studies conducted on 417 feces samples collected from newborn infants from seven maternity homes revealed the presence of rotavirus in 1.2 to 9.5% of the subjects . The infants get infection during the first 24 to 48 hours of life (1.8%) and the positivity rate reaches a peak the 7th day (9.7%) . Enteroviruses were found in 3.4% and enterobacteria in 11.8% of the samples.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1988 Jun, 32(6), 873 - 6
Susceptibilities to antibiotics and antiseptics of new species of the family Enterobacteriaceae; Freney J et al.; One hundred and sixty-nine strains of new species of the family Enterobacteriaceae, isolated mainly from the environment, were tested to determine their susceptibilities to 13 antibiotics and 4 antiseptics or disinfectants . All the species were susceptible to aminoglycosides, doxycycline, and trimethoprim but were resistant to chloramphenicol . Susceptibility to beta-lactams varied more among the strains . However, all the strains were cefotaxime susceptible, apart from some Buttiauxella agrestis strains for which MICs were greater than 256 micrograms/ml . The antiseptic MBCs were similar to those published elsewhere for species of the Enterobacteriaceae of clinical origin . No resistance to chlorhexidine was observed . On the other hand, the environmental strains presented a greater resistance to active chlorine than did the reference strains.

J Clin Microbiol, 1988 Jun, 26(6), 1079 - 84
Rapid and overnight microdilution antibiotic susceptibility testing with the Sensititre Breakpoint Autoreader system; Nolte FS et al.; The Sensititre Breakpoint Autoreader system (SBAS) is a broth microdilution method with one to three concentrations of each antibiotic and innovative fluorescence technology to define inhibitory endpoints . We tested 248 gram-negative bacilli and 80 gram-positive cocci using both the rapid (5 h) and overnight (18 h) SBAS procedures . Inhibitory endpoints were also determined by visual inspection of the microdilution trays after 18 h of incubation . SBAS results were compared with those obtained by a standardized disk diffusion (SDD) procedure . Agreement between the rapid SBAS and SDD results for all antibiotic-organism combinations was found in 3,730 of 4,571 (81.6%) tests, with 3.9% very major, 6.5% major, and 7.9% minor discrepancies noted . Data analysis by organism group revealed 86.8, 57.3, 71.4, and 62.3% agreement for members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., staphylococci, and enterococci, respectively . The results of the overnight SBAS and SDD agreed in 4,154 of 4,654 (89.2%) tests, with 2.3% very major, 1.3% major, and 7.1% minor discrepancies recorded . Concordance was noted in 90.4, 78.1, 90.6, and 83.3% of the comparisons for the members of the Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., staphylococci, and enterococci, respectively . The inhibitory endpoints determined with the Autoreader were as reliable as those determined by visual inspection after 18 h of incubation.

J Reprod Med, 1988 Jun, 33(6 Suppl), 571 - 3
Evolution of beta-lactamase inhibitors; Rolinson GN; Beta-lactamase, the bacterial enzyme that can inactivate penicillins, cephalosporins and related antibiotics, can function outside the cell or in the periplasmic space . This resistance can be transferred between bacteria of the same or different species . Most strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacteroides species are beta-lactamase producers . Clavulanic acid is a beta-lactamase inhibitor that works by blocking the enzyme center . When it is combined with amoxicillin and ticarcillin, it expands those drugs' spectrum of activity to bacteria that are resistant to the single antibiotics as well as to anaerobic bacteria.

Ann Emerg Med, 1988 Jun, 17(6), 626 - 32
Management of infection following intra-abdominal trauma; Brook I; Intra-abdominal infections following abdominal trauma often involve the gastrointestinal aerobic and anaerobic bacterial flora . These organisms possess various virulence factors and exhibit potential synergy between them . The intra-abdominal infection is biphasic, with the Enterobacteriaceae as the major pathogens in the peritonitis stage, and the Bacteroides fragilis group predominant in the abscess stage . Experiments with animals and experience in human beings support the need to use single or combined antimicrobial agent therapy that is effective against both Enterobacteriaceae and the B fragilis group.

Urology, 1988 Jun, 31(6 Suppl), 9 - 13
Microbiology and pharmacology of aztreonam; Duma RJ; Aztreonam, the first monobactam antibiotic, represents a significant evolutionary advance in antimicrobial therapy . Aztreonam is stable in the presence of the hydrolytic beta-lactamase enzymes; as such, it is effective against most Gram-negative aerobes, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, and Enterobacter . Due to its specific spectrum of activity, aztreonam does not disturb the normal Gram-positive and anaerobic intestinal flora . The safety profile of aztreonam is superior: unlike the aminoglycosides, aztreonam does not cause nephrotoxicity or ototoxicity, and no routine monitoring of serum levels is required with its use . The pharmacokinetics of aztreonam after intravenous infusion or intramuscular dosing are presented as well as the dosage adjustments for hemodialysis and chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1988 Jun, 21(6), 795 - 9
Pefloxacin in the treatment of nosocomial lower respiratory tract infections in intensive care patients; Martin C et al.; Pefloxacin was used to treat nosocomial pulmonary infections in 46 mechanically ventilated patients . All patients had one or more underlying diseases and were given pefloxacin at a dose of 800 mg or 1200 mg daily in two or three divided doses . The commonest bacterial isolates were Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and enterobacteria . Of these patients, 33 (72%) showed a favourable response, one patient relapsed and 12 (26%) were considered failures . Superinfections occurred in 10 (22%) . Of the 62 isolated potential pathogens, 53 (85%) were completely eradicated . Side effects were mild and treatment was withdrawn in only three patients . Pefloxacin can be considered as a possible therapeutic agent for the treatment of nosocomial pulmonary infections.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 Jun, 36(5 Pt 2), 690 - 3
{Bacteriology of the bile ducts and antibiotic prophylaxis}; Allouch P et al.; The gallbladder wall, gallbladder lumen and bile duct intraoperative sampling materials had been examined in 52 patients with an operation on the biliary tract . All patients were treated by only one infusion before operation: 1 g ceftriaxone was given to 26 patients and 2 g ceftriaxone to the 26 others . Bacterial species were isolated on twenty patients . There was no significant difference in infection rate and organism identity between bacterial flora isolated from patients receiving 1 g ceftriaxone and patients receiving 2 g . Isolated germs were enterobacteriaceae (15) streptococci (14) and anaerobic bacteria (8) . The mean count of bacteria in bile is 10(4) germs/ml . Half positive sampling materials contains more than one bacterial strain . The bacterial flora isolated from bile has characteristics of mixed flora infection . Ceftriaxone had a good efficacy in antibiotic prophylaxis.

J Med Microbiol, 1988 Jun, 26(2), 121 - 3
Evaluation of a fluorescent monoclonal antibody reagent for identification of cultured Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Ison CA et al.; We evaluated a new fluorescent monoclonal antibody reagent for confirmation of identity of Neisseria gonorrhoeae . The reagent correctly identified all 161 fresh clinical isolates of N . gonorrhoeae, which included 11 penicillinase producing strains (PPNG) . The reagent also correctly identified 21 stored PPNG strains . No cross reactions were seen with 58 fresh clinical isolates of N . meningitidis, 12 stored strains of N . lactamica, or with strains of Gardnerella vaginalis, lactobacilli, Candida spp., Staphylococcus epidermidis or Enterobacteriaceae . Some cross reaction was noted with strains of S . aureus, probably related to cell-wall protein . A . However, this reagent was highly sensitive and specific for use against oxidase positive, gram-negative cocci isolated in London.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 Jun, 36(5 Pt 2), 750 - 3
{Clinical and bacteriological evaluation of cefmenoxime in the newborn infant}; Sarlangue J et al.; Cefmenoxime (CMX) has been administered under parenteral injection to 39 neonates delivered at term, nearly always by monotherapy in an average dosage of 86.8 mg/kg/day . CMX has been used 31 times in first line therapy and 8 times after failure of association Ampicillin-Gentamicin . 25 strains have been identified: 16 E . coli (9 Ampicillin resistant), 7 P . mirabilis (1 Ampicillin resistant), 1 K . oxytoca and 1 Streptococcus B . The neonates group with septicaemia (1 with arthritis) has been cured without after-effects as urinary tract infections and systemic infections . 2 respiratory tract infections have been improved, the others have been cured . Bacterial samples have always been sterilized within 2 days . Local tolerance (IV or/and IM injection) has been very good . No clinical or biological abnormality has been imputed to treatment . Cefmenoxime appears very effective on enterobacteriaceae (MIC range 0.05-0.5 mg/l) and can be used in newborn infections.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 Jun, 36(5 Pt 2), 738 - 41
{Comparison of in vitro activity of 4 oral beta-lactams on microorganisms responsible for broncho-pulmonary infections in children}; Lambert-Zechovsky N et al.; MIC 90 and MBC 90 of amoxicillin, cefaclor, cefadroxil and cefuroxime axetil have been determined by the microdilution method against 48 organisms responsible of acute respiratory tract infections in children: 17 E . coli, 15 K . pneumoniae, 16 H . influenzae . An inoculum effect and an inhibitory index in blood and bronchial secretions were determined . An inoculum effect was more important for amoxicillin and cefadroxil than for cefuroxime axetil and cefaclor . Against H . influenzae, cefuroxime axetil and cefaclor have a similar activity . Against Enterobacteria, cefuroxime axetil has the lowest MIC 90 and MBC 90 and the highest inhibitory index.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 Jun, 36(5 Pt 2), 724 - 7
{Intraocular penetration of ciprofloxacin after infusion and oral administration}; Mounier M et al.; Thirty five patients (mean age: 70 years) undergoing cataract surgery or vitrectomy were perfused with ciprofloxacin (400 mg IV/for 1 hour) or received either a single, 2, 6 or 8 preoperative orale doses (750 mg each) . The samples of serum, aqueous humor or vitreous fluid were taken simultaneously at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9 or 12 hours after the last administration of antibiotic . The antibiotic concentrations were determined by microbiological techniques (using Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633) . Aqueous humor levels, after perfusion of 400 mg, were stable during 3 hours (mean: 0.22 mg/l); after a single oral dose of 750 mg were stable during 12 hours (mean: 0.18 mg/l) but were significantly lower than after multiple doses (up to 0.8 mg/l) which suggest accumulation in anterior chamber . In vitreous fluid, levels were elevated from one to six hours after the end of the perfusion (up to 0.4 mg/l) . The levels are above the MIC 90 of enterobacteriaceae, and around the MIC 50 of Staphylococcus or Pseudomonas.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 Jun, 36(5 Pt 2), 651 - 4
{Comparative study of a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid and a combination of ticarcillin and clavulanic acid on 249 enterobacteria}; Aubert G et al.; A comparison between the MIC of amoxicillin (AMX) and ticarcillin (TIC) in the presence of clavulanic acid (Augmentin: AUG and Claventin: CLV) was made on 168 strains of Escherichia coli resistant to amoxicillin (MIC greater than 16 mg/l) and yet sensitive to ceftriaxone (MIC less than or equal to 4 mg/l) and 81 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae sensitive to Ceftriaxone . All those strains have been isolated between 1986-87 in Bellevue Hospital in Saint-Etienne . On 168 Escherichia coli, 142 have a MIC greater than 128 mg/l of TIC . Those 142 Escherichia coli are sensitive or of an intermediary sensitivity to Cephalothin (MIC less than or equal to 32 mg/l) in 57% cases . Those 142 strains are sensitive to AUG (MIC less than or equal to 4 mg/l) in 13.4% cases, intermediary sensitive to AUG (4 less than MIC less than or equal to 16) in 30.3% cases, sensitive to CLV (CMI less than or equal to 16 mg/l) in 23.3% cases and intermediary sensitive to Claventin (16 less than MIC less than or equal to 64) in 47.2% cases . The 26 Escherichia coli of MIC less than or equal to 64 mg/l of TIC and resistant to Cephalothin (MIC greater than 32 mg/l) have MIC less than or equal to 4 mg/l of AUG In 3.8% cases and MIC less than or equal to 16 mg/l of Claventin in 79.6% cases . The 81 Klebsiella pneumoniae

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 Jun, 36(5 Pt 2), 603 - 7
{Determination of antibiotype by a computer program . Epidemiological significance and antibiogram-identification correlates}; Fosse T et al.; By means of a computer program disk diffusion diameter were analysed and an antibiotic susceptibility code (antibiotype) was determined for enterobacteriaceae . This code was a 6 figure-number . Each figure summarised susceptibility (susceptible or resistant) to 3 antibiotics . Thus a 18 serial antibiotics was necessary to calculate the 6 figure-code . At least following antibiotics were chosen for their characteristic behavior: amoxycillin, ticarcillin, amoxycillin + clavulanic acid, cephalothin, ticarcillin + clavulanic acid, cefotaxime, gentamycin, tobramycin, amikacin, nalidixic acid, pefloxacin, ciprofloxacin, fosfomycin and colistin . This code allowed three kind of utilisation: epidemiology by comparing biochemical and susceptibility patterns of same isolated species; laboratory control: a data base with main antibiotic susceptibility patterns for each species allowed a rapid compatibility control of biochemical identification with antibiogram . An inconsistent result lead to a checking of biochemical and susceptibility tests or to record a new code in a file to a further enrichment of the data base . Impression of a message depending of the code for a therapeutic purpose.

EMBO J, 1988 Jun, 7(6), 1853 - 62
The export of the DNA replication inhibitor Microcin B17 provides immunity for the host cell; Garrido MC et al.; Microcin B17 (MccB17) is a peptide antibiotic which inhibits DNA replication in Enterobacteriaceae . Microcin-producing strains are immune to the action of the microcin . Physical and genetic studies showed that immunity is mediated by three genes: mcbE, mcbF and mcbG . We sequenced these genes and identified polypeptide products for mcbF and mcbG . By studying the contribution of each gene to the expression of immunity we found that immunity is determined by two different mechanisms . One of these, encoded by mcbE and mcbF, is also involved in the production of extracellular MccB17 . To reconcile these observations we propose that McbE and McbF serve as a 'pump' for the export of active MccB17 from the cytoplasm . This model is supported by the predicted properties of the McbE and McbF proteins, which are thought to be, respectively, an integral membrane protein and an ATP-binding protein with homology to other transport proteins.

Int J Food Microbiol, 1988 Jun, 6(4), 269 - 80
The influence of extrinsic factors on the microbiological spoilage pattern of ground beef; von Holy A et al.; Two hundred and thirty four samples of raw minced beef were subjected to storage at 0 and 7 degrees C over a period of 17 days . The samples were subjected to four different treatments where the controls (Treat 1) were aerobically packed . The vacuum-packed samples (Treats 2 and 3) differed only by the addition of 0.5% L-(+)-ascorbic acid to the Treat 3 samples . Treat 4 represented aerobically packed samples to which a commercial 'colour retainer' was added . The microbiological results showed clearly that temperature control around 0 degree C was the central element in achieving shelf life extension of raw minced beef . Vacuum packaging and additive treatments enhanced the effect of low storage temperatures . Identification of 128 psychrotrophic spoilage isolates revealed a predominance of Gram-negative bacteria (63%), most of which were classified as Pseudomonas spp . (72%), the rest being Enterobacteriaceae . Among Gram-positive isolates, lactobacilli and yeasts predominated (45% and 28%, respectively) . Commonly observed oxygen relationships were not found in this study . Pseudomonads proliferated even in vacuum packaged samples throughout the entire storage period, whilst lactic acid bacteria were also found in high numbers in aerobically packaged samples . Identification of 71 isolates of lactic acid bacteria revealed a strong predominance of Lactobacillus sake (34%), followed by L . curvatus (23%), L . bavaricus (21%) and L . alimentarius (10%) . Significant numbers of lactobacilli were isolated from samples in all treatment groups, including the aerobically packed categories.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1988 Jun, 32(6), 827 - 33
In vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities of T-3262, a new fluoroquinolone; Fujimaki K et al.; T-3262, a new fluoroquinolone, showed a broad spectrum of activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria . T-3262 had most potent activity against gram-positive cocci, such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Enterococcus spp . The MICs of T-3262 for 90% of strains tested were between 0.05 and 1.56 micrograms/ml . Against members of the family Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the activities of T-3262 were almost equal to those of ciprofloxacin . Obligate anaerobes were also susceptible to T-3262 . T-3262 was bactericidal for one strain each of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and P . aeruginosa at concentrations near its MIC; and fluoroquinolones, including T-3262, inhibited DNA gyrase activity at low concentrations . The 50% effective dose of T-3262 after oral administration against systemic infections with S . aureus in mice was about 6 times lower than that of ofloxacin and about 20 times lower than that of norfloxacin.

Eur J Biochem, 1988 May 16, 174(1), 199 - 205
Pore formation by pho-controlled outer-membrane proteins of various Enterobacteriaceae in lipid bilayers; Bauer K et al.; The structural genes of the PhoE porins of Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterobacter cloacae and Escherichia coli C, cloned in multicopy plasmids, were transfered into a porin-deficient E . coli K-12 strain, which was constitutive for the pho regulon, and the PhoE porins were isolated and purified . PhoE of Salmonella typhimurium could not be cloned but was isolated from a pho-constitutive strain . Reconstitution experiments with artificial lipid bilayer membranes showed that the different PhoE proteins formed pores exhibiting a single-channel conductance of about 200 pS at 0.1 M KCl . All PhoE porins formed anion-selective channels in KCl at neutral pH . The degree of the selectivity was dependent on the PhoE species . The different PhoE porins formed general diffusion pores similar to the general porins but exhibited a considerable advantage for the permeation of phosphate through the outer membrane as compared to the constitutive OmpC and OmpF porins of E . coli K-12.

Biochem J, 1988 May 15, 252(1), 173 - 9
Nucleotide sequence analysis and overexpression of the gene encoding a type III chloramphenicol acetyltransferase; Murray IA et al.; The gene catIII, encoding a type III enterobacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, was cloned from the transmissible plasmid R387 into pBR322 and bacteriophage M13 mp8 . Nucleotide sequence analysis of 1160 bp of DNA identified an open reading frame encoding a protein of 213 amino acid residues and a calculated molecular mass of 24965 Da . The predicted N-terminal sequence is identical with that determined by Edman degradation of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase purified from Escherichia coli harbouring R387 . Sequences equivalent to the consensus motifs for initiation and rho-factor-independent termination of transcription in E . coli occur 5' and 3' to the catIII open reading frame . In contrast with the catI gene, present on transposon Tn9 and many enterobacterial plasmids, expression of catIII is not subject to cyclic AMP-mediated catabolite repression in vivo and there is no sequence in the 5' non-coding DNA that resembles that deduced as the consensus for the binding of cyclic AMP receptor protein . Unique restriction-endonuclease cleavage sites were introduced adjacent to the catIII reading frame by using oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis to facilitate insertion into E . coli expression vectors . Fully active chloramphenicol acetyltransferase represents 30-50% of the soluble protein component of cell-free extracts of E . coli containing the appropriate plasmids.

Antibiot Khimioter, 1988 May, 33(5), 346 - 51
{Comparative evaluation of commercial test systems for the identification of gram-negative bacteria}; Zubkov MN et al.; Diagnostic efficiency of 5 test-systems i.e . Enterotube 11, Oxi-Ferm Tube, API 20E, API 20NE and MS-2 BID was estimated comparatively with using collection and clinical strains of enteric bacteria and nonfermenting organisms . The accuracy of the enteric bacteria identification as compared to that with the use of the routine methods was more than 90 per cent . The diagnostic mistakes were more frequent with species differentiation of Klebsiella and Enterobacter . In the studies with nonfermenting bacteria the results were less stable and statistically significant differences in identification of separate strains were stated . Advantages and disadvantages of various test-systems are discussed.

J Clin Microbiol, 1988 May, 26(5), 857 - 62
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for immunoglobulin G subclass antibodies specific for enterobacterial Re core glycolipid in healthy individuals and in patients infected by gram-negative bacteria; Nys M et al.; An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed to study the subclass distribution of immunoglobulin G (IgG) specific to the core glycolipid (CGL) of the Re mutant of Salmonella minnesota R595 in serum samples from individuals with an IgG response toward these antigens . In a group of healthy blood donors, we detected predominantly the IgG2 and IgG1 subclasses . In a group of patients in an intensive care unit who developed infectious complications due to gram-negative bacteria, the anti-CGL IgG activity was due mainly to the IgG2 and IgG3 subclasses . In all serum samples found to be IgG positive, the assay for anti-CGL IgG2 was positive . This subclass was revealed to play a predominant role in patients displaying a seroconversion or a significant rise in their antibody response toward CGL . IgG4 was found or appeared only in patients with confirmed bacteremia . In addition, we observed a drop in anti-CGL IgG2 before the death of patients undergoing a septic shock or an irreversible organ failure, suggesting that the anti-CGL IgG2 activity could be used as a marker of the evolution of the illness in this group of patients.

Tijdschr Diergeneeskd, 1988 May 1, 113(9), 484 - 90
{Hygienic aspects of pig's head meat . 2 . Mechanical separation of pigs' heads}; Bijker PG et al.; Deboning pigs' heads is a labour-intensive process . According to information supplied by the industry, mechanical separation of pigs' heads offers good prospects . Data on the hygienic implications of this process were not known . These were studied more closely in an experimental design . The bacteriological and sensory qualities as well as the chemical and histological composition of the product were compared with those of manually obtained pig's head meat . In addition, the yield of the process of separation was determined . Three groups of heads were mechanically separated, viz . untreated heads and heads which had previously been dipped in water having an initial temperature of 100 degrees C for one minute and five minutes respectively . These studies served to verify the fact that mechanical separation of pigs' heads is technically possible . Previous dipping of the heads in water at a temperature of 100 degrees C produced a considerable improvement of the yield in meat, which was due to setting of the rind . The chemical composition of the product was roughly identical with that of manually obtained head meat . However, tissue composition and structure of the tissues differed markedly . An important drawback is the higher count of Enterobacteriaceae in the product . These bacteria are probably released on compression from sites which are difficult of access such as the nose, the pharyngeal cavity and the alveoli . In addition, they may be possibly protected by a covering layer of mucus . Therefore, mechanical separation is not regarded as acceptable from the point of view of hygiene.

Eur J Pediatr, 1988 May, 147(4), 405 - 7
Comparison of serum concentrations of ceftazidime and tobramycin in newborn infants; Tessin I et al.; Peak and trough serum concentrations of ceftazidime and tobramycin were determined in neonates with suspected septicaemia in an open randomized study . Mean peak serum levels were 85 (+/- 4.4 SE) mg/l for ceftazidime and 5.8 (+/- 0.3 SE) mg/l for tobramycin . The peak serum levels of ceftazidime were well above the reported minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC)90 values of pathogenic bacteria encountered in neonates, while peak serum levels of tobramycin were lower than reported MIC90 values for Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter and Serratia species . Nine of 33 tobramycin-treated patients had potentially toxic trough serum levels (greater than 2 mg/l) and nine had subtherapeutic peak serum levels (less than 4 mg/l) . The dosage of this antibiotic had to be changed frequently . In comparison only 2 of 29 ceftazidime-treated patients had subtherapeutic peak levels (less than 40 mg/l) and none had potentially toxic trough levels (greater than 40 mg/l) . Ceftazidime, in comparison with tobramycin, has a more favourable antibacterial spectrum and routine determinations of peak and trough serum levels should not be necessary.

Clin Radiol, 1988 May, 39(3), 245 - 6
Ultrasound scanning of post-operative wounds--the risks of cross-infection; Spencer P et al.; Ultrasound scanning of surgical wounds is an established procedure for the detection of abscesses . The possible risks of cross-infection resulting from this technique were examined by testing the sterility of the ultrasound probes, the coupling gel and the stand-off medium Kitecko (3 M) . The coupling gel was also assessed for any bactericidal properties . Sixty-six per cent of swabs taken from machines in constant use and 33% of the total number of swabs taken were contaminated with skin flora including Staphylococcus aureus . Sterility was achieved using a 70% alcohol wipe . The coupling gel was inherently sterile but had no bactericidal action . The solid stand-off medium Kitecko grew Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas species . The implications of these findings in relation to scanning post-operative wounds are discussed.

APMIS, 1988 May, 96(5), 455 - 63
Comparative analysis of two blood culture systems (Isolator and a 12-tube system) by cumulative differences in detection power at different times during incubation; Arpi M et al.; A lysis-centrifugation blood culture system (Isolator) and a conventional system (4 tubes of nutrient broth, 4 tubes of semisolid agar, and 4 tubes of thioglycollate agar) were compared after different lengths of incubation by cumulative scoring of differences in detection power . After the first half day of incubation, the Isolator system was already significantly faster in detecting isolates of clinical significance (15 vs . 4, P = 0.02) . Maximum difference in first or only detection system was seen after two days of incubation and was based on an overall superior detection of Staphylococcus aureus (11 vs . 0, P = 0.001), and an earlier detection of Enterobacteriaceae (30 vs . 13, P = 0.01) in the Isolator system . On the contrary, the detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae was significantly inferior in the Isolator system (0 vs . 10, P = 0.002) . The earlier finding of clinically significant microorganisms in the Isolator system certainly contributes to good patient-care . A drawback of the Isolator system was the finding of clinically insignificant coagulase-negative staphylococci in 11%, compared with 1% in the conventional system . This led to a considerable waste of time and materials in the laboratory . The comparison of the two blood culture systems, based on statistical analysis of cumulative differences in detection power, expressed as the earliest or only findings, gives the optimal information, and is in our opinion the clinically most relevant comparison.

Tijdschr Diergeneeskd, 1988 May 1, 113(9), 475 - 83
{Hygienic aspects of pig's head meat . 1 . Obtaining and processing pigs' heads}; Bijker PG et al.; Pigs's head meat is mainly obtained in specialised deboning plants and provides raw materials for the manufacture of meat products and snacks . Few data on hygiene in processing and production of pig's heads or on the bacteriological quality and tissue composition of pig's head meat have so far been published . The object of the present investigation was to supplement these data and to examine the extent to which this quality could be improved by Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP's) . A total number of 11 slaughter-houses and 14 deboning plants were studied . Hygiene was assessed by two investigators on the basis of a check list . Temperatures of rooms, heads and head meat were measured . Twenty-one samples (7 x 3) were taken in each of nine deboning plants for bacteriological and histological examination . The investigations carried out in slaughter-houses showed that pig's heads were only washed in five out of eleven slaughter-houses . Cleansing and disinfection of the apparatus used in splitting the carcasses were omitted or merely carried out incidentally during slaughter . Assessment of hygiene in the deboning plants ranged from adequate to satisfactory in 13 out of 14 plants . The average aerobic colony count in Log N g-1 of pig's head meat was 6.7 +/- 0.7; this was 4.4 +/- 0.9 for counts of colony-forming units (CFU) of Enterobacteriaceae . Tonsils, mucous membranes, bone, hair and dirt were found to be present in 8, 13, 21, 39 and 9 per cent of the samples respectively . As a result of the manual cleavage of heads, relatively large bone particles (greater than 8 mm) were detected in the head meat . It is concluded that an improvement of the hygienic quality of pig's head meat can mainly be achieved by taking more care in obtaining pig's heads.

Cutis, 1988 May, 41(5), 361 - 3
Neonatal and childhood purpura fulminans: review of seven cases; Gurses N et al.; The cases of seven patients between the ages of seven days and three years with purpura fulminans have been reviewed . Causative agents in these new-borns were Escherichia coli, Enterobacter, and Staphylococcus; in older children they were varicella and E . coli . The clinical findings, medical and surgical interventions, and outcomes of the cases are presented here.

J Infect Dis, 1988 May, 157(5), 1032 - 8
Comparison of translocation rates of various indigenous bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract to the mesenteric lymph node; Steffen EK et al.; Bacterial translocation is defined as the passage of indigenous bacteria from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract through the lamina propria to the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and other organs . We compared the relative abilities of various aerobic, facultatively anaerobic, and obligately anaerobic bacteria to translocate from the GI tract to the MLN in gnotobiotic mice colonized with single strains of bacteria . Indigenous gram-negative enteric bacilli translocated in large numbers to the MLN, whereas gram-positive bacteria translocated at intermediate levels and obligately anaerobic bacteria at only very low levels . Our results suggest that enteric bacilli such as Escherichia coli, Proteus, and Enterobacter are associated with a higher incidence of bacteremia in debilitated patients, because these bacteria translocate more efficiently from the GI tract than do other bacteria, especially obligate anaerobes.

Int J Radiat Biol Relat Stud Phys Chem Med, 1988 May, 53(5), 709 - 16
Effect of antimicrobial therapy on bowel flora and bacterial infection in irradiated mice; Brook I et al.; Mice exposed to 10 Gy cobalt-60 radiation were given intramuscular antimicrobial therapy of gentamicin, or metronidazole, or a combination of the two . Mortality in the mice treated with metronidazole alone or in combination with gentamicin occurred earlier than in the controls (P less than 0.001) . Microorganisms were recovered from the blood, spleen, and liver of the metronidazole-treated mice earlier than from other groups . The predominant organisms recovered from these animals were Enterobacteriaceae . Quantitative cultures of the ileal flora showed a decrease in the number of aerobic, facultative anaerobic and strict anaerobic bacteria after irradiation, and a subsequent increase only in the number of strict aerobic bacteria . As compared to untreated mice, a rapid decrease (by 8.8 logs) in the number of anaerobic flora occurred in the mice treated with metronidazole 5 days after irradiation . This was followed by a rapid increase in the number of aerobic organisms which coincided with the earlier mortality in this group . These data suggest that antimicrobial agents that decrease the number of the strict anaerobic component of the gut flora enhance systemic infection by aerobic or facultative anaerobic bacteria, and this facilitates mortality after irradiation.

Med Clin North Am, 1988 May, 72(3), 555 - 66
Aztreonam: the first monobactam; Neu HC; There are several areas in which the use of aztreonam seems logical . Infections caused by organisms sensitive to aztreonam that are known to be multiresistant to other agents can be treated directly with aztreonam in single, directed therapy, thus making the use of more toxic agents unnecessary . In types of infection in which both gram positive and gram negative bacteria are present, aztreonam can replace the usual aminoglycoside component of the therapeutic regimen . In settings of mixed infections suspected of being caused by drug-resistant strains of Enterobacteriaceae and/or P . aeruginosa, aztreonam can be combined with an agent active against gram positive organisms or with one active against anaerobes . Aztreonam has proven to be effective, safe therapy for serious and life-threatening infections caused by multiresistant aerobic gram negative bacteria . It should be used in combination with drugs that inhibit gram positive species if the etiology of the infection is not known, particularly in the immunocompromised, neutropenic patient . Doses of 1 g every 8 to 12 hours will be adequate for treatment of infections caused by most Enterobacteriaceae . Whether 2 g doses every 8 hours would be preferred for treatment of systemic Pseudomonas infections remains to be determined . Urinary infections caused by gram negative bacteria can be treated with 500 mg administered IM once or twice daily . The dosage of aztreonam should be adjusted in patients with renal failure . Clearly, aztreonam is a useful addition to the antimicrobial agents available to the physician.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1988 May, 41(5), 530 - 7
{Antibacterial activity of gentamicin against clinical isolates in pediatrics}; Deguchi K et al.; Antibacterial activity of gentamicin (GM), along with activities of other aminoglycosides and beta-lactams, was studied against clinical isolates collected from pediatric patients during a period of May 1986-April 1987 . 1 . GM-resistance was noted in 22% of Staphylococcus aureus, 6% of Proteus vulgaris, 8% of Morganella morganii, 40% of Providencia spp., 6% of Enterobacter spp., 14% of Serratia marcescens, and 14% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates . No GM-resistance was observed with isolates of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis . 2 . The antibacterial activity of GM against clinical isolates from pediatric patients was found to be comparable to its activity against clinical isolates from adults studied at the same time . 3 . The majority of GM-resistant strains of S . aureus were MCRSA, and the GM-resistant strains of S . marcescens and P . aeruginosa were found also to be resistant to multiple drugs . 4 . GM-resistant strains were found at relatively high rates (14-22%) in S . aureus, S . marcescens and P . aeruginosa . These rates did not increase compared to the rates observed in the first half of the 1980's . 5 . GM was considered to have poor antibacterial activity against genus Providencia . It is concluded from above results that GM still maintains effective antibacterial activity against many of causative organisms of infections in both adults and children.

Ann Inst Pasteur Microbiol, 1988 May-Jun, 139(3), 307 - 14
Immunological relationship among glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases in the genera Enterobacter and Escherichia; Trinel PA et al.; The comparative immunological study of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-3-PDH) among Enterobacteriaceae carried out with an anti-Enterobacter cloacae G-3-PDH serum pointed out the large heterogeneity of the genera Enterobacter and Escherichia . The use of two-dimensional maps integrating our new data and previously acquired quantitative data confirmed these results.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {A}, 1988 May, 268(3), 362 - 9
"Slimy eyes phenomenon" in mice intraperitoneally injected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells or cell products; Sourek J et al.; Mice intraperitoneally treated with various Pseudomonas aeruginosa products or lipopolysaccharides of some selected Enterobacteriaceae representatives were found also to react by an increased slime secretion of the eye conjunctivae . The condition, tentatively designated as "Slimy Eyes Phenomenon", started to develop shortly post-treatment, culminated within 24-48 h when the eyes became fully glued up with slime, and receded 48-72 h later, leaving no sequelae for the eye or the general condition of the animal . No such phenomenon has to date been observed in other laboratory animal species.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 May, 36(5), 439 - 41
{Evolution from 1976 to 1986 of bacterial prevalence and sensitivity to urinary antibiotics of bacteria isolated from urine cultures at a city microbiology laboratory}; Chouteau J; The evolution of the prevalence of the bacterial strains isolated from UTI cases (bacteriuria greater than or equal to 10(5)/ml has been studied over a 11 year-period from 1976 to 1986, in a clinical practice microbiological laboratory from a rural area . E . coli was the overall most frequently isolated species, followed by P . mirabilis (74.4% and 11.2% respectively), by the Klebsiella-Enterobacter group (4.8%), and staphylococci (represented by coagulase negative staphylococci) (4.9%) . The relative frequency of the different species has been relatively stable year after year during the considered period . The evolution of the resistance to 4 antibiotics has been studied species by species and year after year for the Gram negative bacilli: a definite evolution towards resistance has been noted for ampicillin until 1985, followed by a decrease in 1986 . The same tendency, although less pronounced, has been noted for cotrimoxazole . The frequency of the resistance to nalidixic acid has slightly increased from 1976 to 1986 (1.9% to 6.5%), as well as to pipemidic acid from (0% to 4%) . The quinolones stand in 1987 as a good first line treatment of UTI in community, and especially in rural areas, and the role of the clinical practice microbiological laboratory for the epidemiological surveillance has to be stressed.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1988 May, 32(5), 617 - 22
In vitro activity of lomefloxacin, a new quinolone antimicrobial agent, in comparison with those of other agents; Wise R et al.; The in vitro activity of lomefloxacin (SC-47111; NY-198), a new difluorinated quinolone, was compared with those of ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, fleroxacin, amoxicillin, cefuroxime, and trimethoprim against 585 recent clinical isolates and other strains with known mechanisms of resistance . The MICs of lomefloxacin against 90% of the members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and staphylococci were between 0.25 and 4 micrograms/ml . Ninety percent of Neisseria sp . and Haemophilus influenzae were susceptible to less than or equal to 0.06 micrograms/ml, and streptococci (including Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and enterococci) and Bacteroides fragilis were susceptible to 8 micrograms/ml . Lomefloxacin was comparable in activity to fleroxacin and ofloxacin, but it was less active than ciprofloxacin . There was cross-resistance between the quinolone group of antimicrobial agents . The protein binding of lomefloxacin was 15.4%, and serum had little effect on the activity of the compound . However, urine at pH 5.0 decreased the activity by two- to eightfold compared with that at pH 7.0

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1988 May, 21(5), 525 - 33
The differential expression of genes for the PSE-4 beta-lactamase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the Enterobacteriaceae; Reid AJ et al.; The PSE-4 beta-lactamase has been identified, for the first time, in two non-pseudomonal strains . The gene in Klebsiella pneumoniae 241 (dal1) was located on a plasmid (pUK700) and was freely transferable to other enterobacterial strains and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . On the other hand, the gene in Enterobacter cloacae A113 (dal2) could only be transferred in the presence of a mobilizing plasmid . When both these genes were transferred within the Enterobacteriaceae, the beta-lactamase produced was slightly different from the prototype 'Dalgleish' PSE-4 enzyme . However, when dal1 and dal2 were transferred to P . aeruginosa the enzyme expressed was identical to this prototype enzyme . In addition, both these genes expressed higher levels of PSE-4 beta-lactamase production in P . aeruginosa than found in the Enterobacteriaceae . Thus it appears that the biochemical properties of the PSE-4 gene products from dal1 and dal2 are host-modified.

Can J Microbiol, 1988 May, 34(5), 690 - 3
Indoxyl-beta-D-glucuronide, a novel chromogenic reagent for the specific detection and enumeration of Escherichia coli in environmental samples; Ley AN et al.; About 97% of Escherichia coli strains produce beta-glucuronidase, but almost all other Enterobacteriaceae lack this enzyme . A D-glucopyranosiduronic acid (glucuronide) possessing a readily detectable beta-linked aglycone should, therefore, constitute a specific reagent for the detection of this organism . For this purpose, the title compound has been synthesized for the first time . The synthesis proceeds in eight steps from readily available D-glucuronolactone, anthranilic acid, and chloroacetic acid and can be carried out on a large scale . The compound has the predicted properties: when included in the standard membrane filter test for the analysis of water, indoxyl-beta-D-glucuronide allows specific detection of E . coli through the formation of blue colonies that are the result of rapid conversion of the liberated aglycone to indigo . The recovery of E . coli is easily measured and almost quantitative.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {A}, 1988 May, 268(3), 295 - 305
Improved computer-assisted reading of identification and shortened MIC data for reporting on urine specimens at a Berlin university hospital; Xander LU et al.; Results of bacteriological analyses of urine specimens from patients of Steglitz University Hospital at Berlin Free University are transmitted directly from the laboratory reading station to a mini-computer by means of an input tablet and a menu-driven programme . First, an identification of each specimen is entered on reception and printed out to form a working list . After culturing, the microorganisms are inoculated into microdilution plates for susceptibility testing and differentiation of Enterobacteriaceae . At the reading station, the urine data acquisition programme stores the observed CFU/ml values as well as up to 6 pathogens for each specimen . For each pathogen susceptibilities to 30 antibiotics are tested and reported for up to 4 levels of sensitivity . Enterobacteriaceae are speciated largely according to the results of 17 biochemical tests . User-programme interaction can be monitored on an LCD . Two correction facilities are provided: (1) within the current specimen, or (2) by recalling earlier specimens . Antibiotic usage patterns and species coding may be modified without reprogramming by editing the configuration files for (1) usage of the menu, (2) species coding, and (3) substrate-species combinations . The results are printed on self-adhesive labels, which are returned to the senders of specimens on the conventional request forms.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 May, 36(5), 536 - 9
{Experimental Enterobacter cloacae endocarditis treated with gentamicin . Predictive value of the in vitro bactericidal rate}; Potel G et al.; The predictive value of in vitro time-kill curve was tested on an Enterobacter cloacae endocarditis experimental model . The antibiotic studied was gentamicin . Despite a similar MIC, 2 Enterobacter cloacae strains exhibited very different time-kill curves in vitro . This difference was found being predictive of efficacy on the in vivo model, 24 hours after a single injection of gentamicin.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 May, 36(5), 521 - 4
{Use of imipenem-cilastatin in neonatal septicemias caused by gram-negative bacilli multiresistant to beta-lactam antibiotics}; Bompard Y et al.; Seven neonates with septicemia due to Gram negative bacteria resistant to beta-lactam received imipenem-cilastatin therapy . Bacteria isolated were Enterobacter cloacae {3}, Enterobacter aerogenes {1}, Klebsiella pneumoniae {1}, Serratia marcescens {1}, Pseudomonas fluorescens {1} . The MICs of imipenem were lower 1 microgram/ml . In 3 children septicemia occurred during previous antimicrobial chemotherapy . 3 IV 60 mg/kg doses of imipenem with amikacin (15 mg kg/d) were administered every day . For five children blood cultures were negative after 48 hours of treatment . E . aerogenes septicemia required pefloxacin because blood cultures remained positive (d5) despite an increased dosage (90 mg/kg/d) . All children were cured and imipenem-cilastatin was not responsible for any complication . Those results demonstrate the efficacy of imipenem in the treatment of septicemia in newborns due to multiresistant Gram negative bacteria.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 May, 36(5), 456 - 9
{Action of imipenem on Enterobacter cloacae}; Donnio PY et al.; Most of Enterobacter cloacae strains produce chromosomally determined class I beta-lactamases when they are exposed to beta-lactams . Imipenem is a strong inducer of these enzymes but is poorly affected by them . We compared the effect of imipenem on inducible, non-inducible and stably derepressed strains of E . cloacae using the killing curve system . With antibiotic concentrations of 0.5 mg/l or more, an intense dose-dependent bactericidal effect was observed within 4 to 6 hours . However the bactericidal activity was incomplete . With an inoculum as low as 10(5) bacteria/ml a regrowth was observed after 24 hours . Among the surviving bacteria imipenem had the same bactericidal kinetic than on the parental strain . Similar results were observed with inducible, non-inducible and stably derepressed strains.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 May, 36(5), 430 - 4
{Current status of aminoglycoside resistance in hospital Enterobacteriaceae}; Ronco E et al.; We studied the susceptibility of Enterobacteriaceae to four aminoglycosides (gentamicin, tobramycin, netilmicin et amikacin) . We determined their phenotypes of resistance by taking into account both the critic concentrations of the CFA (french committee for antibiogram) and the MIC of the main susceptible population of each species . The most frequent phenotypes were GTNt, TNtA and GTNtA . Amikacin resistance including phenotypes were essentially found in Klebsiella and Serratia (35% and 53% of the strains, respectively); with respect to amikacin, the phenotype expression may be insufficient to exceed the sensitive critic concentration of the CFA . Amikacin resistant strains were isolated from chronically infected patients with devices, such as urinary catheters or tracheal cannula . These results suggest a strains or plasmids outbreak.

Immunobiology, 1988 May, 177(2), 158 - 70
Stimulation of human and murine adherent cells by bacterial lipoprotein and synthetic lipopeptide analogues; Hoffmann P et al.; Lipoprotein from the outer membrane of Escherichia coli and its synthetically prepared N-terminal lipopeptide segments Pam3Cys-Ser-Ser-Asn-Ala and Pam3Cys-Ser, as well as lipoprotein from other Enterobacteriaceae, constitute potent polyclonal B lymphocyte activators . Here, we demonstrate that these compounds were also able to stimulate human and murine leukocytes: in murine macrophages, we could show the induction of interleukin 1 release by the mitogens, as measured in the thymocyte proliferation assay . Moreover, murine peritoneal exudate cells were stimulated to secrete prostaglandins E2 (PGE2) and F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) . The effect of Pam3Cys-Ser on the murine macrophage cell line P388D1 was also tested: the compound induced an increase in proliferation, as measured by a thymidine incorporation assay . In addition, the cell line could be induced to release IL 1 into the supernatant . Correspondingly, induction of IL 1 release could also be demonstrated in human mononuclear cells . Our results demonstrate that the two novel synthetic lipopeptides are potent stimulators for human monocytes and murine macrophages . These findings may be important for the elucidation of the role of these bacterial surface components in the course of bacterial infections.

APMIS, 1988 Apr, 96(4), 315 - 24
Cross-reactions between Yersinia enterocolitica serogroup 0:3 and other serogroups of the same species, as well as thirty-four other bacterial species; Paerregaard A et al.; Cross-reactions between antigens from Yersinia enterocolitica serogroup 0:3 and 5 other members of the same species as well as 34 other bacterial species were studied by means of quantitative immunoelectrophoretic methods . A sonicated Y . enterocolitica antigen preparation and corresponding purified rabbit antibodies were used in a reference system that presented 58 regularly visible immunoprecipitates . One antigen was identified as specific for the Y . enterocolitica 0:3 serogroup and two antigens for the species Y . enterocolitica . Y . enterocolitica antigens cross-reacted widely with antigens from other Enterobacteriaceae, but only a few cross-reactions were registered with Gram-negative bacteria outside the Enterobacteriaceae . A partial cross-reaction between all Gram-positive bacteria included in our study and two Y . enterocolitica antigens was demonstrated.

J Clin Microbiol, 1988 Apr, 26(4), 778 - 80
Enterobacter agglomerans lipopolysaccharide-induced changes in pulmonary surfactant as a factor in the pathogenesis of byssinosis; DeLucca AJ 2nd et al.; Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Enterobacter agglomerans and pulmonary surfactant mixtures were centrifuged in discontinuous sucrose gradients to determine whether LPS bound to surfactant and examined in a Langmuir trough with a Wilhelmy balance to determine whether LPS altered the surface activity of surfactant . The LPS was found to bind to the surfactant and altered its surface tension properties . The binding of LPS to surfactant in the lung may change the physiological properties of surfactant and be a possible mechanism for the pathogenesis of byssinosis.

J Clin Microbiol, 1988 Apr, 26(4), 743 - 6
Quality of powdered substitutes for breast milk with regard to members of the family Enterobacteriaceae; Muytjens HL et al.; Members of the family Enterobacteriaceae were cultured from 52.5% of 141 milk substitute infant formulas which were obtained in 35 countries . The concentration did not exceed a level of 1 CFU/g in any product . The species which were isolated most frequently were Enterobacter agglomerans, cloacae, Enterobacter sakazakii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae . If infections due to these organisms occur, it can be useful to include a check of the hygienic precautions which are taken during the preparation and storage of the formula . Milk powders without members of the Enterobacteriaceae might offer extra protection to the newborn if some multiplication does occur in the formula.

Ann Thorac Surg, 1988 Apr, 45(4), 409 - 14
The artificial heart: infection-related morbidity and its effect on transplantation; Griffith BP et al.; Between October, 1985, and September, 1987, a total of 195 patients received cardiac allografts and 15 candidates required mechanical support with the Jarvik-7 total artificial heart . Seven of the 15 died within 60 days of total artificial heart implant . There have been no late deaths, and survivors are unrestricted . Six of 7 deaths were related to infection (mediastinitis, 5; pneumonia and sepsis, 1), and the remaining 1 was due to failure of the transplanted heart . Respiratory tract infection occurred in each of the recipients who died with infection, and the same organisms appeared to be related to subsequent mediastinitis in 3 patients (Serratia marcescens, 2; Pseudomonas, 1) and caused fatal sepsis in another (Enterobacter aerogenes, Candida albicans) . One patient died with pneumonia and sepsis prior to transplantation, and another succumbed with mediastinal infection known to be present before transplantation.

J Clin Microbiol, 1988 Apr, 26(4), 770 - 3
Disk diffusion susceptibility testing for LY163892 (KT-3777), a new orally administered 1-carbacephem; Jones RN et al.; LY163892, a new orally administered 1-carbacephem, was found to have a spectrum of antimicrobial activity very similar to that of cefaclor . Diffusion tests with 30-micrograms LY163892 disks produced acceptable interpretive error rates with greater than or equal to 22 mm as the susceptibility zone diameter . This was required to reduce potential false-susceptibility results, particularly among Enterobacter spp . and Providencia stuartii: both species included strains that produce beta-lactamases capable of hydrolyzing Ly163892 . Preliminary recommendations for LY163892 disk tests are presented, but the continued use of the 30-micrograms cephalothin "class representative" disk might be the best procedure to minimize LY163892 interpretive errors for clinical trials . A separate LY163892 disk for testing Haemophilus influenzae strains should be seriously considered.

Ann Trop Med Parasitol, 1988 Apr, 82(2), 185 - 8
A preliminary investigation of antibiotic resistance in Enterobacteriaceae isolated from children with diarrhoea from four developing countries; Shears P et al.; The prevalence of resistance to commonly used antibiotics was investigated in groups of children from four developing countries, Peru, Belize, Zaire and Sudan . Enterobacteriaceae spp . isolated from faeces of children with diarrhoea were tested for sensitivity to ampicillin, tetracycline, sulphonamide, trimethoprim, streptomycin and chloramphenicol . Overall, the highest prevalence of resistance was to sulphonamide (56% of children) and the lowest was to chloramphenicol (19% of children) . For individual locations, isolates from Sudan had the highest prevalence of antibiotic resistance, 65% of the isolates being resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, trimethoprim and streptomycin . Transfer of resistance was studied for some isolates using Escherichia coli Hb101 as recipient.

Rev Argent Microbiol, 1988 Apr-Jun, 20(2), 103 - 6
{Non-pigmented Serratia: utility of hydrolysis of Tween 80 in its identification}; Riesco O et al.; The ability of Serratia sp . to hydrolyze Tween 80 and the usefulness of this test for differentiating it from other Gram negative bacilli was studied, comparing it with the capacity of production of DNAsa by the same strains using the O-Toluidine blue method . The total number of strains assayed was 88 . The sensitivity obtained was 83.9% and specificity 91.3%, with a positive predictive value of 83.9% and a negative predictive value of 91.2% . Using this method to differentiate only non-pigmented Serratia from Klebsiella sp . and Enterobacter sp . the sensitivity and specificity obtained was 100% . Concerning the cost, this method proved to be 3.86 times cheaper than the DNAsa one.

Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol, 1988 Apr, 65(4), 411 - 7
Changes in the oral microflora in patients with acute leukemia and related disorders during the period of induction therapy; Wahlin YB et al.; The present study reports changes occurring within the oral microflora in 20 patients with leukemia during and after the period of high-dose cytotoxic therapy . The relationship between the presence of enterobacteria, yeast cells, and staphylococci and the occurrence of oral ulcers/angular cheilitis was also studied . To make a comparison, three groups of patients without malignant disorders (acute disorders, long-term hospitalization, antibiotic treatment) were also studied . The total number of salivary microorganisms remained unchanged during the period . Fourteen of twenty patients with leukemia harbored enterobacteria on at least one occasion . No differences were found in the number of enterobacteria before, during, and after treatment with cytotoxic or antimicrobial drugs . Enterobacteria were also found in the reference group with long-term hospitalization, but seldom in the other reference groups . Staphylococci and lactobacilli were present in all patients in the leukemia group and in the majority in the reference groups . Yeast cells were found in 80% of the patients with leukemia . Patients with ulcers and/or angular cheilitis had higher numbers of yeast cells than the other patients . There was no relationship between enterobacteria or staphylococci and oral lesions.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1988 Apr, (4), 58 - 62
{Preventive and therapeutic action of sera to the Re mutant of Salmonella minnesota in experimental generalized meningococcal infection}; Mironova TK et al.; The preparations of the blood plasma of humans and the sera of animals immunized with enterobacterial vaccine proved to have elevated titers of antibodies to deep determinants of the core of the gram-negative bacterial endotoxin molecule (to glycolipid of chemotype Re) and protected animals from infection with live cultures or serogroup A, B, or C meningococcal endotoxins . Sera from nonimmunized animals and normal donor blood plasma showed no protective activity . In experiments carried out on different models immune plasma possessed both a pronounced protective activity and a curative effect . The efficacy of protection depended not on the serogroup of the infective agent, but on the virulence of the strain used in the experiment, being statistically significant in all cases.

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 1988 Apr, 7(2), 306 - 7
Serotyping and phage typing to identify Enterobacter cloacae contaminating total parenteral nutrition; Verschraegen G et al.; The origin of an outbreak of Enterobacter cloacae septicemia in six surgery patients was traced down to the total parenteral nutrition production line . While the endproduct of the production line was sterile, Enterobacter cloacae and other bacteria were detected on different tabs and tubings of the line . It is believed that the bacteria were transferred from the tabs to a few bags of the total parenteral nutrition in one batch by touch contamination . Serotyping and phage-typing of the clinical isolates revealed that five of the patients' strains were identical.

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 1988 Apr, 7(2), 199 - 201
Cobas-IDA system for identification of Enterobacteriaceae within four hours; Isenrich H et al.; One hundred ninety-eight (89.2%) of 222 isolates of Enterobacteriaceae were correctly identified by the manual Cobas-IDA system; 19 (8.5%) could not be identified within 4 h and required additional testing . Five strains (2.3%) were misidentified.

J Clin Microbiol, 1988 Apr, 26(4), 750 - 4
Proposed changes in interpretive criteria and potency of ampicillin and ampicillin-sulbactam disks for susceptibility tests; Barry AL et al.; The accuracy of disk susceptibility tests with ampicillin and ampicillin-sulbactam was not improved when the amount of ampicillin was increased from 10 to 20 or 30 micrograms per disk . For testing members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, ampicillin disk tests correlated better with broth microdilution tests when the zone size standards were altered from greater than or equal to 14 greater than or equal to 17 mm for susceptible and from less than or equal to 11 to less than or equal to 13 mm for resistant . The same zone size breakpoints apply to tests with ampicillin-sulbactam disks (10/10 micrograms) . When Staphylococcus, Branhamella, and Haemophilus species are tested against ampicillin, interpretive breakpoints are those separating beta-lactamase-producing strains from nonproducing strains . However, when ampicillin-sulbactam is tested, beta-lactamase enzymes are efficiently inhibited by the sulbactam component, and thus zone size standards for ampicillin do not apply: zone size standards for the Enterobacteriaceae can be used for testing the combination against Staphylococcus, Branhamella, and Haemophilus species . For Streptococcus, Enterococcus, and Listeria species, only ampicillin disks need be tested, since ampicillin-sulbactam disks give essentially identical results.

Mikrobiyol Bul, 1988 Apr, 22(2), 105 - 12
{Biochemical typing of Enterobacter isolated from several clinical materials}; Tuncer I et al.; A total of 74 Enterobacter species have been isolated from the patients applying to the department of Microbiology, University of Ankara, Studying several biochemical test systems their strains have been found . 37 of these Enterobacter species have been found to be Enterobacter cloacae, 10 Enterobacter agglomerans, 13 Enterobacter aerogenes, 3 Enterobacter hafniae (Hafnia alvei), 1 Enterobacter sakazakii . 2 of the strains couldn't be classified . In conclusion most of the strains were found to be Enterobacter cloacae.

J Gen Microbiol, 1988 Apr, 134 ( Pt 4), 1009 - 16
Role of lipopolysaccharide and complement in susceptibility of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium to non-immune serum; Tomas JM et al.; The role of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the susceptibility of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium to non-immune human serum was investigated using serum-sensitive strains of both enterobacteria . LPS from serum-resistant strains of E . coli and S . typhimurium could activate and completely remove the serum bactericidal activity, and also showed dose-dependent anti-complement activity . These properties were mainly due to the high-molecular-mass LPS: the low-molecular-mass LPS from serum-resistant strains of E . coli and S . typhimurium had only a slight effect on the serum bactericidal activity, and showed only low anti-complement activity, even at high concentration . The results suggest that LPS composition, especially the O-antigen polysaccharide chains, contributes to the susceptibility of E . coli and S . typhimurium strains to complement-mediated serum bactericidal activity.

Z Urol Nephrol, 1988 Apr, 81(4), 247 - 55
{Effect of immunization with Escherichia coli J5 on the course of experimental pyelonephritis in rats}; Straube E et al.; Among the germs of urinary tract infections is a great heterogenicity . Therefore, in search of vaccine candidates of pyelonephritis such germs must be checked the antigens of which to be occurred as much in other pyelonephritis germs as possible . E . coli J5 as a re-mutante of E . coli O111 has a core-antigen which is found in the most enterobacteria . We have examined whether a pyelonephritis in rats was prevented by prophylactic use of a E . coli J5 vaccine and if the course of the disease was influenced by vaccine treatment of animals with pyelonephritis, respectively . Neither a pyelonephritis was prevented nor an existing infection was influenced favourable by the vaccine of E . coli J5.

Cell, 1988 Mar 11, 52(5), 743 - 55
Duplex opening by dnaA protein at novel sequences in initiation of replication at the origin of the E . coli chromosome; Bramhill D et al.; Three tandem repeats of a 13-mer in the AT-rich region are essential to the unique replication origin of E . coli and of remotely related Enterobacteriaceae . These iterated sequences are identified by deletion analysis and sensitivities to endonucleases as the site for initial duplex opening by the initiator dnaA protein . This "open complex" requires ATP and 38 degrees C for optimum formation and stability . The subsequent dnaC-dependent entry of dnaB helicase to form a "prepriming complex" stabilizes the open structure, blocks cleavages by a restriction endonuclease in the 13-mer region, and broadens the endonuclease cutting pattern . We propose that dnaA protein recognizes and successively opens the 13-mer sequences, thereby guiding the entry of dnaB helicase into the duplex preparatory to priming of replication.

Biochemistry, 1988 Mar 8, 27(5), 1549 - 56
Trehalose-containing lipooligosaccharide antigens of Mycobacterium sp.: presence of a mono-O-methyltri-O-acyltrehalose "core"; Hunter SW et al.; We have described the surface antigens of Mycobacterium kansasii as trehalose-containing lipooligosaccharides (LOS) which at the nonreducing "epitope" end bear a unique amino sugar containing diglycosyl unit, whereas the putative reducing end consists of an acylated alpha, alpha-trehalose-containing tetraglucosyl "core" {Hunter, S . W., Jardine, I., Yanagihara, D . L., & Brennan, P . J . (1985) Biochemistry 24, 2798-2805} . The presence of a new variation on this core, in Mycobacterium szulgai, is now reported, ----3)beta-D-Glcp-(1----6)alpha-D-Glcp(1----1)3,4,6-tri-O-acyl-2-O- Me-alpha-D-Glcp, representing the first example of an O-methyltrehalose unit in nature . The simplest of the LOS class of glycolipids in M . szulgai was defined as alpha-L-2-O-Me-Fucp(1----3)alpha-L-Rhap(1----3)alpha-L-Rh ap(1----3) beta-D-Glcp(1----6)alpha-D-Glcp(1----1)3,4,6-tri-O-acyl-2-O-Me-alpha-D-G lcp . Further glycosylation of this nonantigen, by an incompletely defined 6-deoxyhexosyl residue, confers specific antigenicity on the organism . Thus, these extraordinary structures, in a manner analogous to the better known lipopolysaccharides from rough variants of Enterobactericiae, are highly amphipathic and display variability not only in the immunogenic, distal region but also in the "invariant" lipophilic core . The contribution of these glycolipids to the hydrophobic barrier, the pseudo outer membrane of mycobacteria, is discussed.

No To Shinkei, 1988 Mar, 40(3), 247 - 52
{Non-clostridial gas-producing brain abscess in a brain death patient--report of a case}; Gando S et al.; A 46 year old female was admitted to our emergency room because of cardiopulmonary arrest by hanging . After ten minutes cardiopulmonary resuscitation, she was resuscitated but her consciousness did'nt recover . CT-scans on the day of admission showed no abnormalities but on the second hospital day it showed symmetrical low density areas within the basal ganglia, the thalamus, the hippocampus, and the occipital lobe . There were marked enhanced effect in cerebral sulci due to cytotoxic edema of hypoxic encephalopathy . She was comatose for a week, her pupils were dilated, light reflex and other brain stem reflex were absent . CT-scans on the sixth hospital day showed marked brain swelling with disappearance of the ventricular systems (so called brain tamponade) . Brain death was confirmed on the basis of Japanese Criteria on the seventh and tenth day of admission . She had been suffering from pneumonia and urinary tract infection with an elevation of temperature since the fourth hospital day . We detected Enterobacter Cloacae (E . Cloacae), Klebsiella Oxytoca from the cultures of sputum and urine . On the tenth hospital day her temperature was running up to 39.4 degrees C and blood count revealed a peripheral blood leucocytosis of 40,300/mm3 with a shift to the left . E . Cloacae was also detected from the cultures of blood . Skull roentgenogram showed multiple gas collections in the ventricular systems . CT-scans on the fourteenth hospital day showed multiple gas-containing brain abscess . The etiology of this infection was considered due to septicemia of E . Cloacae . She died from acute renal failure on the fifteenth hospital day . Consent for autopsy was not accepted.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

J Assoc Off Anal Chem, 1988 Mar-Apr, 71(2), 299 - 301
Method to determine effect of antibiotics at residue levels on R-factor transfer; Brady MS et al.; An analytical system was developed which can assess the ability of antibiotic/antimicrobial residues (0.01-1.00 ppm) to affect the conjugal transfer of resistance among the Enterobacteriaceae . The donor strain, Escherichia coli RP-4 (Amr Tcr Nmr Kmr Lac+), and recipient strain, E . coli Sc-8632 (Smr Lac-), were incubated together in a 1:9 donor:recipient ratio for 18 h with gentle shaking (50 rpm) in brain heart infusion broth in the presence of residue levels of antibiotics . The mating cultures were serially diluted and spread-plated onto MacConkey agar containing 25 micrograms streptomycin/mL to select the total recipient population of sensitive E . coli Sc-8632 and transconjugants . After an 18 h incubation at 37 degrees C, the plates were replicated onto MacConkey agar containing 25 micrograms ampicillin/mL to select the ampicillin-resistant transconjugant population . Repeatability was good; the average transfer was 51.8%, with a coefficient of variation of 9.3% . Residue levels of tylosin (0.10 and 1.00 ppm) increased the transfer of the ampicillin marker beyond the 95% confidence limits . Oxytetracycline, bacitracin, streptomycin, penicillin, and virginiamycin did not increase the percent transfer . Oxytetracycline at 0.01 ppm decreased the percent transfer . In general, residue levels of antibiotics (0.01-1.00 ppm) did not affect the conjugal transfer of antibiotic resistance.

J Assoc Off Anal Chem, 1988 Mar-Apr, 71(2), 295 - 8
In vitro analytical system for determining the ability of antibiotics at residue levels to select for resistance in bacteria; Brady MS et al.; An analytical procedure, based on the concept that exposure of bacteria to antibiotics will result in the selection of a resistant population, was developed . Two strains of enteric bacteria, Escherichia coli CS-1 and Enterobacter cloacae B520, which are sensitive to a wide variety of antibiotics, were used as the test organisms . E . coli CS-1 were exposed to 1.00 micrograms antibiotic or antimicrobial/mL; E . cloacae B520 were exposed to 0.01, 0.10, 0.50, 1.00, and 5.00 micrograms/mL . Both organisms developed increased resistance to other antibiotics after exposure to chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline, as measured by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) . E . cloacae B520 showed increased resistance to ampicillin, oxytetracycline, and chloramphenicol after exposure to levels as low as 0.10 microgram/mL . Exposure to streptomycin, sulfamethazine, tylosin, bacitracin, flavomycin, virginiamycin, and monensin at levels of 1.00 microgram/mL did not increase the MIC . Exposure to 5.00 micrograms streptomycin, sulfamethazine, tylosin, and monensin/mL increased the MIC of E . cloacae to one of the antibiotic markers . These increased MICs exceeded the 95% confidence limits of the MIC values of the unexposed organisms.

Urologe A, 1988 Mar, 27(2), 123 - 31
{Urethro-adnexitis of the male and sexually transmissible pathogens . A report of experiences of the Giessen study group}; Weidner W et al.; In recent years, the improvement in microbiological diagnostic methods has caused the spectrum of infectious agents causing male urethroadnexitis to expand considerably . In addition to the well-known urinogenic enterobacteriae and enterococci and the sexually transmitted gonococci and trichomonads, Chlamydia trachomatis and Ureaplasma urealyticum must now be considered particularly important etiologic agents that are sexually transmitted . Their cell biology and epidemiology, our diagnostic procedures, and the criteria of etiologic classification of male urethroadnexitis are described in detail . The recently developed quinolone derivates offer new and promising therapeutic perspectives.

J Med Microbiol, 1988 Mar, 25(3), 227 - 33
Chromosomal beta-lactamase expression and antibiotic resistance in Enterobacter cloacae; Yang YJ et al.; The activities of beta-lactam antibiotics were compared against Enterobacter cloacae clinical isolates and mutants which had inducible, stably-derepressed, and basal expression of a pI 8.4 subtype of the Ia chromosomal beta-lactamase . These activities were correlated with the results of studies of the beta-lactamase-lability and beta-lactamase-inducer-power of the antibiotics . Cefoxitin and ampicillin were labile, and induced beta-lactamase production strongly at concentrations below their MIC values . Consequently, beta-lactamase-inducible and beta-lactamase-stably-derepressed organisms were highly resistant (MIC greater than 256 mg/L) to these antibiotics, whereas enzyme-basal strains and mutants were much more susceptible (MIC 1-16 mg/L) . Imipenem also induced beta-lactamase production strongly at concentrations below its MIC, but was more stable than ampicillin and cefoxitin . It was active against enzyme-inducible and stably-derepressed organisms at 0.25-0.5 mg/L and against beta-lactamase-basal organisms at 0.06-0.25 mg/L . Thus the beta-lactamase afforded only very low-level protection against imipenem; this appeared to be by a non-hydrolytic mechanism, with the enzyme binding to the antibiotic in a relatively stable complex . This complex, which probably was an intermediate in a hydrolytic pathway, was isolated by gelfiltration chromatography and shown to have a breakdown half-life of 47 +/- 2 min . Cefotaxime, ceftriaxone and mezlocillin were labile to the pI 8.4 beta-lactamase but induced beta-lactamase production weakly at concentrations below their MIC values . Consequently, beta-lactamase-inducible and beta-lactamase-basal organisms remained equally susceptible (MIC 0.06-4 mg/L), but stably-derepressed organisms were considerably more resistant (MIC greater than 64 mg/L) to these antibiotics.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {B}, 1988 Mar, 186(1), 45 - 54
Some aspects of bacterial contamination of hands of workers in food service establishments; de Wit JC et al.; In 28 kitchens of restaurants and 10 kitchens of institutions, the hands of 280 persons were sampled in order to determine the role which hands play in contaminating food during preparation . The presence of salmonellae and the number of Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus aureus in these samples was examined . No salmonellae could be isolated . However, large numbers (greater than 10(5)/hand) of Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus aureus occurred on about 8% of the hands . "Normal" washing of the hands resulted in a lower number of transient micro-organisms . Since washing did not influence the number of Staphylococcus aureus on the hands, this organism seems to behave more as a resident organism . Prepared foods such as salads, fried meat and bread were often handled with relatively highly contaminated hands.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1988 Mar, (3), 28 - 32
{Characteristics of Klebsiella pneumoniae plasmid bearing the markers of drug resistance and antilysozyme activity}; Bondarenko VM et al.; Electrophoretic study of the profile of plasmid DNA in agarose gel has shown the presence of a plasmid with a molecular weight of 55-60 MD in K . pneumoniae strains possessing antilysozyme activity . Plasmid pAlz60 of K . pneumoniae 22-110, isolated from the blood of a septicemia patient, is a fi- type conjugative plasmid . This plasmid is transferred to recipient strains of different species of enterobacteria with a frequency of 1 X 10(-5) to 1 X 10(-7) . Simultaneously with the transfer of the plasmid, recipient cells inherit the antilysozyme markers and resistance to a number of drugs . The discovered plasmid has one restriction site for each of endonucleases EcoRI and XhoI and 16-20 sites for restrictases KpNI, BglII and Hind III.

Am J Infect Control, 1988 Feb, 16(1), 7 - 13
Hospital-acquired infections among surgical patients in Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Habte-Gabr E et al.; One thousand six surgical patients admitted between April 1983 and January 1984 to a hospital in Addis Ababa were studied for incidence of nosocomial infections . On admission, they were carefully examined clinically to exclude community-acquired infections and to determine any underlying risk factors . All patients were closely followed up for detection of developing nosocomial infections . Specimens collected from patients with clinically diagnosed bacterial infections were processed for culture; isolates were identified and tested for susceptibility to the locally used antimicrobial agents . Nosocomial infections were detected in 165 (16.4%) patients . Wound (59%), urinary tract (26%), and respiratory tract (6%) infections accounted for more than 90% of the infections . Fourteen of 18 deaths were attributed to nosocomial infections . About 72% of the patients were given prophylaxis, which was associated with infection (p less than 0.0005) . Operations and other procedures were also associated with infection (p less than 0.0005) . Anemia was found as a host risk factor (p less than 0.0005) . Approximately 90% of the nosocomial pathogens were gram-negative bacteria, of which 84% were Enterobacteriaceae . They were mostly resistant to the commonly used antibiotics . Our findings should create awareness of the problem in this hospital and possibly in others in Addis Ababa and hence prompt measures for effective control.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1988 Feb, (2), 17 - 20
{Interrelations between Klebsiella ozaenae and other members of a microbial association in a pathological ozenous focus}; Krylov IA; The study of relationships between individual representatives of the microeubiosis at a pathological ozenous focus has shown that Gram-positive microorganisms and opportunistic enterobacteria are not antagonistic to K . ozaenae which, in their turn, do not affect the growth of opportunistic enterobacteria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The overwhelming majority of P . aeruginosa strains (92.9%) grown on a solid culture medium are characterized by a varying antagonistic activity with respect to K . ozaenae; this activity does not manifest if these organisms have been grown together in a liquid medium . P . aeruginosa culture fluid diluted 1:10 and 1:20 has not inhibited the multiplication of K . ozaenae . The data indicate the possibility of a prolonged coexistence of K . ozaenae with Proteus and P . aeruginosa, which is confirmed by many cases of simultaneous isolation of associations of these microbes from ozena patients . Thus the possibility appears of a combined pathogenic action of these bacteria on human body.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1988 Feb, (2), 13 - 7
{Etiological structure of acute intestinal infections caused by opportunistic bacteria in young children}; Gizatulina SS et al.; Altogether 587 children with diagnosed acute enteric infections were examined . In 26.4% of them pathogenic enterobacteria were detected, and in 59%, opportunistic enterobacteria . In 38.2% of children these bacteria were found to be the etiological factor of the disease . A reverse relationship between the contamination of feces with pathogenic enterobacteria and the age of children was established.

Arch Surg, 1988 Feb, 123(2), 176 - 9
The microbiology of neonatal peritonitis; Mollitt DL et al.; To review the bacteriology of neonatal intra-abdominal sepsis, we reviewed peritoneal cultures from 86 newborns undergoing operation for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) for the type and incidence of microorganism recovered . As a control, we conducted a similar review in 59 children with perforated appendicitis during the same period . Necrotizing enterocolitis was characterized by a lower incidence of polymicrobial contamination (1.7 organisms per patient vs 2.4 organisms per patient, NEC vs appendicitis) and an uncharacteristic pattern of isolates . Although enteric gram-negative bacilli were recovered in 80% of newborns, the incidence of Escherichia coli was only 21% in the NEC group vs 69% in the appendicitis group, while Klebsiella and Enterobacter species represented the most common gram-negative isolates recovered (63% vs 17%) . More than 50% of neonatal cultures yielded gram-positive cocci, most frequently coagulase-negative staphylococci (30% vs 0%) and enterococci (17% vs 5%), as compared with more frequent streptococcal isolates in the appendicitis group (50% vs 10%) . Anaerobes were seldom recovered in NEC cases (6%), but they were present in 50% of appendicitis cases . Additionally, Candida isolates were recovered in 10% of NEC cases (0% of appendicitis group) . These results indicate the unique bacteriology of peritonitis in the critically ill newborn and probably reflect abnormal colonization in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Scand J Immunol, 1988 Feb, 27(2), 157 - 64
Aging-associated changes in murine intestinal immunoglobulin A and M secretions; Senda S et al.; The aging effect on the quantity of intestinal IgA and IgM class-specific immunoglobulins secreted and the quality of intraluminal intestinal IgA was studied in 5- to 6-month-old and 24- to 28-month-old male BALB/c mice . The level of IgA increased in the intestinal juice from the aged mice, while the IgM level remained unchanged . These alterations were similar to those found in serum, but the effect of age on serum IgA was profound, almost a threefold increase, in contrast to an increase of just under 35% in intestinal secretions . The ratio of dimeric to total IgA in the small intestine decreased in the older mice, though that of serum was unchanged . In contrast, the total amounts of dimeric IgA in the small intestinal lavage fluid did not change between the two age groups, while the dimeric IgA in serum in older mice were 4.5 times as high as those of young mice . The binding of purified intestinal dimeric IgA to antigens from normal habitant enteric bacteria (gamma streptococci and Enterobacter agglomerans) declined in the old mice . In the immunochemical studies, using SDS-PAGE and isoelectric focusing, the purified intestinal IgA from the young and old mice showed no major differences . Thus, the findings in aged small intestinal perfusates that the increased content of intraluminal IgA is due to an increased monomeric IgA, but not to a reduced dimeric IgA, which remains unchanged, and that the binding capacity of the dimeric IgA to the bacterial antigens is diminished, suggest that the level of the natural secretory IgA antibody is decreased . These altered quantitative and functional features of intraluminal intestinal IgA observed in the aged mice appear to be due to the complex heterogeneous effects of senescence on gut-associated lymphoid tissues, and may contribute to age-related impairment in gut humoral immune function.

J Appl Bacteriol, 1988 Feb, 64(2), 151 - 61
Identification of Enterobacteriaceae with the Minitek system; Holmes B et al.; A total of 417 strains (361 Enterobacteriaceae, 56 Vibrionaceae) was examined in all the available Minitek system tests . The results were processed through four successive identification schemes devised by the manufacturer and the proportion of strains correctly identified, not identified or incorrectly identified determined for each scheme . From the results, a probability matrix was constructed incorporating all 35 Minitek tests . Test results for each strain were then processed through this matrix to determine its success in identification . From the matrix the order of separating value of the tests was determined . Forty-three of the strains were each tested three times to assess the level of test reproducibility; the corrected error rate was 0.85%.

Clin Pharmacokinet, 1988 Feb, 14(2), 96 - 121
Clinical pharmacokinetics of the newer antibacterial 4-quinolones; Neuman M; Structural modification of the so-called 'first-generation' or 'urinary' quinolones has led to a considerable increase in their intrinsic antibacterial activity, together with marked changes in the pharmacokinetic properties . Tissue penetration is the most notable change, and the newer quinolones are comparable with the newer broad spectrum beta-lactams in their clinical spectrum of activity . Marketed compounds in the 4-quinolones group include pefloxacin, ofloxacin, enoxacin, ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin; many more compounds are in various stages of research and development . The 4-quinolones act by inhibition of bacterial DNA gyrase, a process which is pH and concentration dependent . The bactericidal activity can be partly abolished if protein synthesis is inhibited by chloramphenicol, or if RNA synthesis is inhibited by rifampicin (rifampin) . The antibacterial spectrum of activity includes methicillin- and gentamicin-resistant staphylococci, multiresistant non-fermenters, all Enterobacteriaceae, Legionella, Neisseria species, Branhamella and Haemophilus influenzae . With the exception of norfloxacin, which is only 30 to 40% bioavailable from the oral route, the 4-quinolones are 80 to 100% bioavailable, absorption occurring within 1 to 3 hours . Food does not significantly alter Cmax, AUC or elimination half-life, although tmax, may be increased . The 4-quinolones are widely distributed throughout the body, with volumes of distribution greater than 1.5 L/kg . Protein binding is less than 30% in most cases . Penetration into most tissues is good . With the exception of ofloxacin and lomefloxacin (NY 198), which are metabolically stable, metabolism of the 4-quinolones occurs primarily at the C7 position in the piperazinyl ring . Biotransformation is extensive (85%) with pefloxacin, medium (25 to 40%) with ciprofloxacin and enoxacin, and low (less than 20%) with norfloxacin . Elimination half-lives vary between 3 and 5 hours (ciprofloxacin) and 8 to 14 hours (pefloxacin) . Biliary concentrations of the 4-quinolones are 2 to 10 times greater than those in serum or plasma, with several compounds undergoing enterohepatic circulation . There is some evidence that ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin and enoxacin have an active renal tubular excretion pathway . In impaired renal function, reduction of the glomerular filtration rate below 30 ml/min (1.8 L/h) is associated with an increase in elimination half-life and AUC, and a decrease in renal and total clearance of the 4-quinolones, and a decrease in 24-hour urinary recovery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1988 Feb, 36(2), 159 - 62
{Elimination of various virulence plasmids by antibiotics}; Michel-Briand Y et al.; The pathogenicity of some enterobacteria is due to a plasmid encoding for outer membrane proteins or for toxins . The elimination of the plasmid gives a non-virulent strain . We have tried to eliminate plasmids encoding for the thermostable toxin of Escherichia coli (plasmid pCSltl) or for the enteroinvasive property of Shigella (plasmids pWR24, pHW401, pWR110), of Salmonella (plasmid pSD6) and of Yersinia (plasmids pYL4 and P4) . The loss of plasmid was confirmed by agarose gel electrophoresis of a crude lysate . Fourteen antibiotics belonging to different chemical families were used at subinhibitory concentration . A control experiment without antibiotic was carried out to detect spontaneous loss of plasmids . No antibiotic was able to eliminate plasmids pCSltl, pHW401, pSD6, pYL4 . Novobiocin eliminated pWR24 and pWR110, rifampicin eliminated pWR110 and P4 . Three other antibiotics gave a cure of bacteria harbouring plasmids pWR110 and P4 but the percentage of cure was too low for a therapeutical interest.

Dan Med Bull, 1988 Feb, 35(1), 84 - 91
Assessment of risks in connection with use of a recombinant E . coli strain for production of human growth hormone; Dalboge H et al.; A number of studies were performed with the aim of elucidating possible risks in connection with the use of a recombinant E . coli strain for the production of human growth hormone (hGH) . The survival of recombinant E . coli in the gastrointestinal tract in rats was studied . The results showed that the recombinants were only detectable in the faeces one to two days after the administration of 10(11) bacteria . Since the recombinants are resistant to ampicillin, survival in the gastrointestinal tract was improved in rats treated with ampicillin . However, no recombinants could be detected a few days after the discontinuation of ampicillin treatment . Studies of transfer of plasmid DNA from recombinant E . coli to other bacteria strongly indicated that the possibility of transfer of the recombinant plasmid pHD117 used in the production of hGH to enterobacteria in rats is minimal . In vitro experiments have shown that transfer by conjugation, presumably after recombination between a non mobilizable plasmid such as pHD117 and a conjugative plasmid, can be calculated to be 4 X 10(-6) . An uptake of free plasmid DNA in bacteria was only observed when the bacteria were treated with CaCl2 . The evaluation of risks in connection with inadvertent consumption of the hGH producing bacteria has included studies of the absorption of hGH after peroral administration to rats . Approximately 0.005% was found to be absorbed . A prerequisite for absorption of hGH after consumption of recombinants is a lysis of the bacteria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

J Med Microbiol, 1988 Feb, 25(2), 95 - 9
Rapid antibiotic susceptibility tests on Enterobacteriaceae by ATP bioluminescence; Wheat PF et al.; The susceptibility of 76 clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae to ampicillin, piperacillin and gentamicin was assessed by ATP bioluminescence in a 4-h test . For most organisms tested (Escherichia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter and Serratia), there was good correlation with traditional MIC values estimated on 18-h cultures . However strains of Proteus mirabilis showed false resistance to the beta-lactam agents with the ATP method; and concordance was achieved only after manipulation of the growth conditions . Our method is simpler than those described previously, though currently it is still labour-intensive and expensive.

Int J Food Microbiol, 1988 Feb, 6(1), 43 - 9
The effect of pH on the initiation of growth of cottage cheese spoilage bacteria; Brocklehurst TF et al.; The influence of pH on strains of Pseudomonas spp . and Enterobacter agglomerans that cause spoilage of cottage cheese varieties during storage at 7 degrees C has been investigated . In a culture medium adjusted to the required pH with HCl, 57 of 64 strains of Pseudomonas spp . grew at pH 4.8 when incubated at 7 degrees C but a very low proportion of strains grew at pH 4.7 or pH 4.6 and none at pH 4.5 . At 20 degrees C some of the pseudomonads grew at pH 4.4 . Three out of nine strains of E . agglomerans grew at pH 3.8 when incubated at 7 degrees C and at pH 3.6 when incubated at 20 degrees C . In cultures of E . agglomerans at controlled pH and 20 degrees C, after a lag phase the doubling time at pH 4.1 was 2 h, and at pH 7.0 was 1.4 h.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1988 Feb, 21(2), 163 - 70
Comparison of glycine enhancement with cefoxitin induction of class 1 beta-lactamase production in Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047; Gatus BJ et al.; The presence of either glycine or cefoxitin in the growth medium resulted in an increase in the beta-lactamase activity of cultures of Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047 . Although the beta-lactamases produced as a result of either glycine enhancement or cefoxitin induction were identical there were striking differences in the kinetics of beta-lactamase production . The increased production of beta-lactamase which resulted from enhancement by glycine occurred late in the growth cycle whereas, with cefoxitin induction, the maximum production of beta-lactamase occurred early in logarithmic-phase growth . After the peak activity was reached the beta-lactamase activity appeared to decline with both processes . However, the mechanism of the apparent fall in the intracellular beta-lactamase activity was different with glycine enhancement and cefoxitin induction . In glycine enhanced cultures the fall presumably was due to leakage of intracellular beta-lactamase into the culture medium whereas with cefoxitin induced cultures there was dilution of beta-lactamase activity by bacterial protein derived from an increase in cell numbers after the cessation of induction . High extra-cellular levels of beta-lactamase activity were observed in cultures enhanced by glycine, whereas little beta-lactamase activity was detected in the medium when the cultures were induced by cefoxitin . The findings demonstrate that there are considerable differences between glycine enhancement and cefoxitin induction, but a final mechanism common to both processes exists which results in the production of identical beta-lactamases by E . cloacae ATCC 13047.

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 1988 Feb, 9(2), 105 - 13
Comparative in vitro beta-lactam activity against aerobic and anaerobic surgical isolates; Edmiston CE Jr et al.; The comparative in vitro activity of cefoxitin, piperacillin, cefotetan, and ceftizoxime was compared against 843 surgical microbial isolates . All compounds exhibited excellent activity against the streptococcal isolates . Antimicrobial activity was poor for Staphylococcus aureus and S . epidermidis . Cefotetan activity against the Enterobacteriaceae was comparable to ceftizoxime (greater than 95% susceptible) . Resistance rates of 0, 1, 5, and 2% were observed with cefoxitin, piperacillin, cefotetan, and ceftizoxime against the anaerobic cocci and anaerobic gram-positive non-spore-forming rods . Ninety-six and ninety-nine percent of the clostridial strains were susceptible to cefotetan and piperacillin, respectively . Piperacillin, cefotetan, and ceftizoxime exhibited similar activity against Bacteroides fragilis (resistance less than 10%) . Cefotetan and cefoxitin exhibited poor activity against Bacteroides distasonis, B . ovatus, and B . thetaiotaomicron . Antimicrobial activities were comparable for the four drugs against other Bacteroides and Fusobacterium species . The results demonstrate that all four compounds exhibited broad antimicrobial activity against facultative and obligate anaerobic surgical isolates from intraabdominal and soft tissue infections.

J Appl Bacteriol, 1988 Feb, 64(2), 103 - 5
High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of demethylmenaquinone and menaquinone mixtures from bacteria; Hiraishi A; Demethylmenaquinone and menaquinone mixtures from some species of enterobacteria were analysed by reverse-phase partition high-performance liquid chromatography . This method allowed clear separation and quantitative determination of these quinone components.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1988 Feb, 21 Suppl B, 29 - 42
Enoxacin: in-vitro and animal evaluation as a parenteral and oral agent against hospital bacterial isolates; Heifetz CL et al.; Enoxacin was evaluated in in-vitro tests and in studies of effectiveness and blood concentrations in the mouse . Enoxacin was active against both susceptible and multiresistant hospital isolates of Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and staphylococci . Less susceptible were streptococci and anaerobes . Of nine quinolones tested, only norfloxacin was equivalent in vitro . The MBCs of enoxacin were one- to twofold greater than the MICs, and enoxacin was rapidly bactericidal . No single-step resistant mutants could be detected at 10 mg/l against large inocula and six to 11 steps were required for selection of resistant clones . In systemic mouse infections, enoxacin was effective in a single oral or subcutaneous dose against one strain each of Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Providencia rettgeri and Ps . aeruginosa, and two Staphylococcus aureus strains . Single oral and subcutaneous enoxacin doses (50 mg/kg) gave peak mouse blood levels of 4.9 and 9.5 mg/l and an elimination half-life of 1.8 h.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1988 Feb, 21(2), 177 - 81
In-vitro activity of cefpirome compared with that of other agents; Raizes EG et al.; The in-vitro activity of cefpirome, cefotaxime, ticarcillin, piperacillin, and three aminoglycosides was compared by the broth dilution method against 248 consecutive clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 35 aminoglycoside-resistant isolates of the Enterobacteriaceae . Cefpirome was more active against Ps . aeruginosa than cefotaxime and gentamicin, and as active as piperacillin, ticarcillin, tobramycin and amikacin . Ps . aeruginosa isolates resistant to a given aminoglycoside were significantly more resistant to cefpirome than isolates susceptible to that aminoglycoside . Other beta-lactam antibiotics were also less active against aminoglycoside-resistant strains of Ps . aeruginosa . Cefpirome was more potent than cefotaxime and the penicillins against aminoglycoside-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

Infect Immun, 1988 Feb, 56(2), 499 - 504
Selection and immunochemical analysis of lipooligosaccharide mutants of Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Dudas KC et al.; The identification of enterobacterial mutants that contain alterations in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) oligosaccharide core structure facilitated the development of the model of the physicochemical and immunochemical structures of enteric LPS . Results of recent immunochemical studies have suggested that the structural model of the lipooligosaccharides (LOSs) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae may differ from the enteric LPS model . The difficulties in the analysis of the wild-type gonococcal LOS have precluded understanding of the precise nature of the LOS structure . This study was undertaken to isolate a series of mutants of N . gonorrhoeae 1291 that had sequential saccharide deletions in the LOS . Results of preliminary studies suggested that the pyocin, designated pyocin C, allowed selection of gonococci with such mutant LOS structures . Results also indicated that the receptor for pyocin C binding was an LOS component . Pyocin C selection led to the isolation of five strains with LOS patterns on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels which differed from the LOS of parent strain 1291 . In this system, the Mr of the parent LOS was 4,715, while the LOSs from the mutant strains demonstrated progressive saccharide deletions, with Mrs of 4,230, 4,089, 3,627, 3,262, and 3,197 . Protein patterns of these mutants on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels were qualitatively similar to those of the parent strains . Results of studies with five monoclonal antibodies specific for neisserial LOS indicated that shared as well as unique epitopes were present on the mutant LOSs . Results of ketodeoxyoctonate analysis of the mutant LOSs indicated that the majority of the ketodeoxyoctonate residues may be substituted on C-4 or C-5 . Chemical and immunological analysis of such LOS mutants should expedite the development of the model for the structure of gonococcal LOS.

Int J Food Microbiol, 1988 Feb, 6(1), 31 - 42
Bacteriological quality of broiler carcasses as affected by in-plant lactic acid decontamination; van der Marel GM et al.; In an attempt to improve the bacteriological quality of broiler carcasses the bactericidal effect of treatments with 1% and 2% lactic acid was investigated . Bacterial colonisation was determined immediately after treatment, after the carcasses had been chilled and during storage at 0 degrees C . Examination included numbers of mesophilic aerobic and psychrotrophic aerobic colony-forming units (CFU), CFU of Enterobacteriaceae at 37 degrees C and CFU of Staphylococcus aureus . Immediately after treatment colonisation per gram skin was generally reduced by about 1 log . Initially 2% lactic acid was not found significantly more effective in reducing colony counts than 1% . However, treatment with 2% lactic acid suppressed post-decontamination colonisation with Enterobacteriaceae more effectively than 1% lactic acid, as determined after 15-18 days storage at about 0 degrees C . Lactic acid treatment was most effective when applied shortly before chilling . Successive treatment at three different stages during slaughtering did not increase reduction of colony counts . It is concluded that decontamination with 1-2% lactic acid at pH 2, when applied shortly before chilling, will markedly improve the bacterial safety and increase the refrigerated shelf life of broiler carcasses.

J Hosp Infect, 1988 Feb, 11(2), 127 - 35
Predictors of intraoperative bacterial contamination and postoperative infection in elective colorectal surgery; Claesson BE et al.; This prospective study of 238 patients undergoing colorectal operations attempted to identify the risk factors for intraoperative bacterial contamination and postoperative infection . The degree of contamination was assessed by the recovery of Enterobacteriaceae spp . or Staphylococcus aureus in peritoneal irrigation fluid using dip-slides . Uni- and multivariate analyses comprised 17 parameters . Intraoperative contamination was strongly associated with postoperative infection (P less than 0.001) . Abdominal drains were correlated with contamination (P = 0.019), but not with infection . Decompressive colostomy was over-represented in patients with contamination (P less than 0.001) but contributed to infection independent of its association with contamination (P less than 0.05), as did advanced age (P less than 0.05).

J Reprod Med, 1988 Jan, 33(1 Suppl), 149 - 53
Efficacy and safety of single-dose ceftizoxime vs . multiple-dose cefoxitin in preventing infection after vaginal hysterectomy; Roy S et al.; The efficacy, safety and effect of a single, 1-g dose of ceftizoxime on the return of vaginal flora were compared to those of the standard regimen of three 2-g doses of cefoxitin for prophylaxis in 99 randomized women undergoing vaginal hysterectomy . Thirty-four were studied in Dallas and 65 in Los Angeles . Surgical procedures were comparable for all the antibiotic groups, although proportionately more simple hysterectomies were performed in Dallas . The patients received a povidone-iodine vaginal preparation immediately before surgery; vaginal packs, when used, contained no antimicrobial agents . Primary prophylactic failure (operative site infection) occurred in 1 of 52 (1.9%) and 4 of 47 (8.5%) of the ceftizoxime- and cefoxitin-treated patients, respectively, for a nonsignificant difference . All five primary prophylactic failures occurred in the Los Angeles patients . One patient in each antibiotic group developed a urinary tract infection and was classified as a secondary prophylactic failure . Febrile morbidity, length of hospital stay and incidence of adverse effects did not differ by antibiotic . The enterococcus was commonly found in the postoperative vaginal flora and was of no value in predicting operative-site infection . Enterobacter species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated more commonly in patients who received cefoxitin . Diphtheroids, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Peptostreptococcus species were isolated more commonly in patients treated with ceftizoxime.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Chemotherapy, 1988, 34(3), 216 - 28
In vitro activity of A-56619 and A-56620 against multi-resistant and routine clinical isolates; Fernandes CJ et al.; A-56619 and A-56620 are two new quinolone compounds that are currently being studied . They were found to be active against multi-resistant and routine isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, enterobacteria, aminoglycoside-sensitive and resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Most of the enterobacteria were inhibited by 0.5-1 mg/l of A-56620 . A-56619 was less active, concentrations of 1-4 mg/l being needed for 90% inhibition . Both the compounds were active at concentrations of 0.5-1 mg/l against staphylococci, including multi-resistant S . aureus . The MIC90 for P . aeruginosa was 1-2 mg/l for A-56620 and 8 mg/l for A-56619.

J Hyg Epidemiol Microbiol Immunol, 1988, 32(1), 31 - 8
On the epidemiology and etiology of pneumonia in adults; Stanek J et al.; In a group of 74 hospitalized patients with the diagnosis of acute infectious pneumonia, the etiological contribution of viral and bacterial agents is analyzed in cases of clarified etiology and an assessment is made of the relationship between the explained etiology and the overall epidemiological situation . Etiology was clarified in 36 patients (48.6%) . Viral and bacterial etiology was confirmed in 13.3% and 39.8% of the entire group respectively . In three cases, mixed viral and bacterial infection was reported . Most prominent among the viral agents were herpes simplex, parainfluenza, respiratory syncytial and influenza type B viruses . As far as the bacterial agents were concerned, the species most frequently isolated were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae and a variety of Enterobacteriaceae . The relationship between the overall epidemiological situation and pneumonia etiology is discussed as well as the relevance of the diagnostic methods employed.

Drugs, 1988, 35 Suppl 2, 72 - 7
Serum and tissue concentrations of cefoxitin and cefotaxime in women undergoing hysterectomy; White RL et al.; In a comparative study of serum and uterine tissue concentrations of cefoxitin and cefotaxime in patients undergoing hysterectomy, 40 patients were randomised to receive either cefoxitin 2g or cefotaxime 2g by intravenous administration . Serum samples were obtained before drug administration, at the ligation of the uterine arteries and at the end of surgery . Cefoxitin, cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime concentrations were determined by high performance liquid chromatography . The composite serum half-lives (determined by linear regression) for cefoxitin, cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime were 0.8, 0.7 and 2.1 hours, respectively . Although serum concentrations were higher for cefotaxime than for cefoxitin after a 2g dose, the uterine concentrations (at 40 mins) of cefoxitin were higher (51 micrograms/g vs 16 micrograms/g) than those of cefotaxime . After a 2g dose of cefotaxime the desacetylcefotaxime peak uterine concentration was 8 micrograms/g . Both drugs achieved adequate concentrations in serum and uterine tissue to prevent and treat infections caused by common Enterobacteriaceae such as Escherichia coli, with cefotaxime having a longer apparent duration of activity . However, cefoxitin provided serum and uterine concentrations above the minimum inhibitory concentration of Bacteroides fragilis for a longer period than did cefotaxime.

Dev Comp Immunol, 1988 Spring, 12(2), 255 - 68
The humoral defense system in tsetse: differences in response due to age, sex and antigen types; Kaaya GP et al.; Inoculation of live Escherichia coli into tsetse flies, Glossina morsitans morsitans, stimulated a higher antibacterial immune response in females than in males . It increased with age in females from emergence to approximately 2 weeks and thereafter declined . In males, there was also a significant decrease in immune response with aging . Inoculation of killed bacteria failed to stimulate antibacterial activity but stimulated a lysozyme response which was weaker than that stimulated by live bacteria . No antibacterial activity was present in the hemolymph of larvae from immunized pregnant tsetse . Inoculation of live Trypanosoma brucei brucei and T . congolense failed to induce production of antibacterial activity and lysozyme . Furthermore, tsetse inoculated with or naturally infected with T . b . brucei and T . congolense failed to show any evidence of immunosuppression when challenged with live E . coli . Various species of live bacteria stimulated different levels of antibacterial factors, with Enterobacter cloacae stimulating the highest level of antibacterial activity and E . coli the highest level of lysozyme . Saline in which certain species of bacteria and T . b . brucei were incubated inactivated tsetse immune hemolymph.

Ann Inst Pasteur Microbiol, 1988 Jan-Feb, 139(1), 59 - 77
Extracellular oxidation of D-glucose by some members of the Enterobacteriaceae; Bouvet OM et al.; Extracellular D-glucose oxidation by 5 enterobacterial species was studied with the purpose of selecting conditions useful for taxonomic studies . Extracellular production of gluconate from 14C-glucose by bacterial cells was evidenced by DEAE-cellulose paper chromatography . Escherichia coli oxidized glucose only when pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) was added, whereas Serratia marcescens, Yersinia frederiksenii, Erwinia cypripedii and Cedecea lapagei oxidized D-glucose without added PQQ . 2-Deoxyglucose was found to be an excellent non-metabolized analogue of D-glucose in oxidation experiments . D-glucose oxidation was inhibited by KCN, p-chloromercuribenzoic acid and carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone; and activated by p-benzoquinone . Iodoacetate had no action . Comparative cellulose thin-layer chromatography including 2-ketogluconate and 2,5-diketogluconate (produced by Janthinobacterium lividum) as standards, showed that gluconate was oxidized to 2-ketogluconate by S . marcescens and E . cypripedii, and 2-ketogluconate was oxidized to 2,5-diketogluconate by E . cypripedii . The diversity of D-glucose oxidation products in the Enterobacteriaceae could have some taxonomic applications.

Ann Otolaryngol Chir Cervicofac, 1988, 105(2), 143 - 6
{Sensitivity to an amoxicillin-clavulanic acid combination, of deep tonsillar flora isolated in chronic tonsillitis}; Weber M et al.; Deep tonsillar flora were identified in tonsils removed from 48 patients, children and adults, with chronic tonsillitis and recurrent sore throats or obstructive hypertrophy . Most specimens (38/48) cultured multiple germs (2 to 5 different species) with aerobic and anaerobic Gram+ and Gram-forms, some being beta-lactamase producers . Of the total of 135 strains isolated, 104 were aerobic and 31 anaerobic . The species of aerobic germs most frequently isolated were: Apart from alpha-hemolytic streptococci of undertermined group (38 strains), Haemophilus sp . : 14 (including 3 beta-lactamase + strains), Staphylococcus aureus: 15 (including 11 beta-lactamase + strains), Streptococcus A : 10, Enterobacteriaceae : 6, Neisseria sp . : 8 (including 1 beta-lactamase + strain) . And among the anaerobic germs: Peptococcus : 3, Veillonella alc : 10, Fusobacterium nucleatum : 9, Bacteroides melaninogenicus : 6, Other Bacteroides : 2 . Of the 127 strains tested, 102 were sensitive to amoxicillin and 121 to amoxicillin and clavulanic acid combination . The presence of a beta-lactamase producing bacterium in 1 of 3 specimens suggests the risk of failure of treatment with penicillin, prescribed classically for this type of affection.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1988 Jan, 41(1), 1 - 9
{Laboratory and clinical studies of norfloxacin in respiratory tract infections}; Kuwabara M et al.; Norfloxacin (NFLX), a new quinolone antibacterial agent, was investigated for its antibacterial activity and clinical efficacy on respiratory tract infections . The results obtained are summarized as follows: 1 . Antibacterial activities were evaluated against 127 strains of various bacteria isolated from clinical sources . MIC80's of this drug were: against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes 1.56 micrograms/ml; Haemophilus influenzae 0.05 microgram/ml or less; and Klebsiella sp . and Enterobacter sp . 0.10 microgram/ml . These antibacterial activities were superior to these of ampicillin and cephalexin, except against S . pyogenes . 2 . Clinical responses to NFLX in a total of 32 cases with respiratory tract infections were excellent in 9 cases, good in 12, fair in 9, poor in 2, with an efficacy rate of 65.6% . Neither adverse reactions nor abnormalities of laboratory test results were observed.

APMIS, 1988 Jan, 96(1), 30 - 6
Invasiveness of enterobacteria related to the presence of high molecular weight plasmids; Bukholm G et al.; A study of 41 strains of Shigella, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella was performed . The presence of high-molecular-weight plasmids, invasiveness in HEp-2 cells and the ability to produce a positive Sereny test were tested . Five of the seven strains of Salmonella typhimurium harboured a 62 Md plasmid and invaded HEp-2 cells . Two strains of S . typhimurium and a S . paratyphi-B strain lacked plasmids but were still invasive . Among the 27 strains of Shigella and enteroinvasive E . coli (EIEC) 25 strains harboured a high molecular weight plasmid . 27 of the Shigella/EIEC strains invaded HEp-2 cells and 25 produced a positive Sereny test . One strain of Shigella sonnei was invasive in HEp-2 cells and gave a positive Sereny test, but plasmids were not demonstrated . Of the eight non-enteropathogenic E . coli 5 strains harboured plasmids of 100 to 140 Md size; only one of the strains invaded HEp-2 cells; none of the strains produced a positive Sereny test . The study shows that tests for pathogenicity (Sereny test, HEp-2 cell test) are usually positive in the Shigella and EIEC group of bacteria; these bacteria also usually carry a high molecular weight plasmid . However, among non-enteropathogenic bacteria plasmids of 100 to 140 Md size can be observed without any correlation to invasive properties . Genetic information from gene loci located to plasmids and chromosomes is required to give a positive Sereny test . The presence of high molecular weight plasmids does not seem to be necessary for expression of in vitro invasiveness of S . typhimurium.

J Laryngol Otol, 1988 Jan, 102(1), 33 - 6
Meningitis after trans-sphenoidal excision of pituitary tumours; Gransden WR et al.; Between 1974 and 1986, eleven of 114 patients undergoing trans-sphenoidal removal of pituitary tumours developed meningitis despite prophylaxis, usually with chloramphenicol . Nine patients had cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhoea and one died . A variety of pathogens was isolated, including enterobacteria, and four of the eleven were resistant to the antibiotics given as prophylaxis . Enterobacterial meningitis was always associated with infection of the sphenoidal sinus involving the muscle graft or nasal pack (five cases), and removal of the muscle graft was necessary in three cases despite the use of appropriate antibiotics.

J Clin Microbiol, 1988 Jan, 26(1), 136 - 8
Survival of bacteria in Difco CultureSwab and Marion Culturette II transport systems; Appelbaum PC et al.; The effects of the CultureSwab (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Mich.) and Culturette II (Marion Scientific, Div . Marion Laboratories, Inc., Kansas City, Mo.) transport systems on the viability of 95 clinically significant bacteria were studied . Organisms included staphylococci (8 isolates), streptococci (22 isolates), Haemophilus spp . (16 isolates), members of the family Neisseriaceae (14 isolates), Bordetella spp . (5 isolates), members of the family Enterobacteriaceae (16 isolates) and pseudomonads (14 isolates) . Viability counts with both methods usually dropped by greater than or equal to 90% after incubation at room temperature for periods ranging from 4 to 48 h, and statistically significant differences between the two methods were not observed . However, counts were generally higher with the Difco method, and this difference may be clinically important.

J Clin Microbiol, 1988 Jan, 26(1), 1 - 7
Rapid MIC testing with the sensititre autoreader; Staneck JL et al.; Automated microdilution MIC results, obtained with the Autoreader (Sensititre, Inc., Salem, N.H.) following 5 h of incubation, were compared with manually read, concurrent control MICs following 18 h of incubation in a three-laboratory comparative study . A total of 704 members of the family Enterobacteriaceae or similar gram-negative organisms were tested against 17 antimicrobial agents . Autoreader MICs were within 1 doubling dilution of control values in 92.9% of instances . Discrepancies of +/- 2 doubling dilutions and +/- 3 or greater doubling dilutions were noted in 4.5 and 2.6%, respectively, of the 7,687 drug-organism combinations analyzed . The majority of errors occurred when beta-lactam antimicrobial agents were tested with a variety of different species . MICs at 5 h, when Pseudomonas aeruginosa was used, were possible in only half the isolates tested and yielded data on only a limited number of drugs in the remaining instances . Excluding results obtained with penicillin and ampicillin, which were uniformly poor, Staphylococcus aureus Autoreader values were within +/- 1 doubling dilution of control values in 93.6% of instances, 5.4% varied by +/- 2 dilutions, and only 1% of test values by +/- 3 or more dilutions from control values for 82 isolates tested against nine antimicrobial agents . Of eight additional S . aureus isolates tested that were resistant to methicillin, only one was read correctly by the Autoreader, with results on the remaining seven appearing as either insufficient growth or as total resistance to all drugs tested . Interlaboratory reproducibility was excellent for selected isolates of S . aureus and gram-negative bacilli . The accuracy of the Sensititre Autoreader MIC results was comparable to that of other same-day quantitative systems for members of the family Enterobacteriaceae and S . aureus, while the economic and procedural advantages of the broth microdilution method was maintained.

J Fam Pract, 1988 Jan, 26(1), 45 - 8
Microbiology of adult cellulitis; Lutomski DM et al.; Needle aspiration of cellulitis sites is commonly advocated to assist in the identification of causative organisms . Twenty-five nondiabetic, adult patients with a clinical diagnosis of cellulitis had site aspirations and blood cultures obtained before antibiotic therapy was initiated . Site cultures were positive in 6 of 25 patients . Blood cultures were positive in 4 of 25 patients . All organisms except one (Enterobacter agglomerans) were staphylococci or streptococci . The gram-negative bacilli were not believed to be a pathogen based on the patient's prompt response to nafcillin . In adult patients who do not have complications, the use of needle aspiration was not supported . Empiric treatment of cellulitis aimed at gram-positive cocci appears to be sufficient.

Infect Immun, 1988 Jan, 56(1), 40 - 4
Lipopolysaccharide phase variation determines the complement-mediated serum susceptibility of Coxiella burnetii; Vishwanath S et al.; Phase variation of Coxiella burnetii is due to variation of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a phenomenon analogous to smooth-to-rough LPS variation of gram-negative enteric bacteria . Virulent enterobacteria usually have a smooth LPS and resist serum killing, whereas avirulent rough LPS mutants are sensitive to complement-mediated serum killing . Like gram-negative enterobacteria, smooth LPS phase variants of C . burnetii are virulent, whereas the rough LPS variants are avirulent . We therefore studied the effects of human serum on the LPS variants of the Nine Mile strain of C . burnetii . Analogous to gram-negative enterobacteria, the smooth and intermediate LPS C . burnetii phase variants were resistant to complement-mediated serum killing, whereas the rough LPS variants were killed by serum complement . Although the smooth and intermediate LPS variants were serum resistant, they differed in their interactions with the complement system . The smooth LPS variant activated complement poorly and did not bind C3b; however, the intermediate LPS variant activated complement and bound C3b . The rough LPS variant activated complement via the alternative pathway, whereas the intermediate LPS variant activated the classical pathway . These results provide an explanation for the avirulent nature of the rough LPS variant of C . burnetii and suggest that differences in C . burnetii LPS structure influence the interactions of the LPS phase variants with the complement system.

CRC Crit Rev Biochem, 1988, 23 Suppl 1, S1 - 42
Methionine biosynthesis in Enterobacteriaceae: biochemical, regulatory, and evolutionary aspects; Saint-Girons I et al.; The genes coding for the enzymes involved in methionine biosynthesis and regulation are scattered on the Escherichia coli chromosome . All of them have been cloned and most have been sequenced . From the information gathered, one can establish the existence (upstream of the structural genes coding for the biosynthetic genes and the regulatory gene) of "methionine boxes" consisting of two or more repeats of an octanucleotide sequence pattern . The comparison of these sequences allows the extraction of a consensus operator sequence . Mutations in these sequences lead to the constitutivity of the vicinal structural gene . The operator sequence is the target of a DNA-binding protein--the methionine aporepressor--which has been obtained in the pure state, for which S-adenosylmethionine acts as the corepressor . Mutations in the corresponding gene lead to the constitutive expression of all the methionine structural genes . The physicochemical properties of the methionine aporepressor are being investigated.

Med Microbiol Immunol (Berl), 1988, 177(3), 133 - 44
Effect of selective decontamination of the digestive tract of donor and recipient on the occurrence of murine delayed-type graft-versus-host disease; Veenendaal D et al.; In the present study we investigated the occurrence of delayed-type graft-versus-host disease (DT-GvHD) after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) between two H-2 incompatible mouse strains . BMT was performed on mice with a conventional intestinal microflora as well as on mice in which the Enterobacteriaceae were selectively eliminated from the intestinal microflora by oral antibiotic treatment . None of the conventional or the selectively decontaminated (SD) chimaeric mice suffering from DT-GvHD died of bacteraemia . While DT-GvHD was mitigated when C3H/He recipient mice were SD-treated, this was not the case when C57B1/6J recipient mice were SD-treated . SD-treatment of the digestive tract of donor mice only mitigated DT-GvHD when the recipients were also SD-treated . We conclude that Enterobacteriaceae in the digestive tract may only play a minor role, if any, in the occurrence of DT-GvHD . Instead, we postulate that in this study DT-GvHD was determined by differences in the composition of the resident intestinal microflora (IM) of both mouse strains together with the cellular composition of the bone marrow graft . The interaction between antigenic components of the recipient's IM and the developing donor immune system in the recipient as a possible cause for DT-GvHD is discussed.

Avian Dis, 1988 Jan-Mar, 32(1), 79 - 83
Species-related differences in the incidence of gram-negative bacteria isolated from the cloaca of clinically normal psittacine birds; Flammer K et al.; Cloacal swabs from 506 clinically normal psittacine birds of 22 species were aerobically cultured for bacteria and yeasts . In 45 (9%) samples, no microbial organisms were recovered . Gram-positive bacteria were recovered from 474 (91%) samples . The incidences of gram-negative bacteria and yeasts were: Escherichia coli 157 (31%), Enterobacter sp . 21 (4%), Klebsiella sp . 3 (0.6%), Pseudomonas sp . 4 (0.8%), and yeasts 26 (5%) . Differences were noted in the recovery rate of E . coli among the various species of birds cultured . Escherichia coli was recovered from 101 of 168 cockatoos (60%) of the genus Cacatua but from only 18% of 338 non-Cacatua species . As all birds were housed in the same facility under similar conditions, this difference in the incidence rate of E . coli cannot be explained on the basis of differences in husbandry or diet alone.

Neurochirurgie, 1988, 34(1), 72 - 82
{Bases of antibiotherapy in neuromeningeal infections}; Dureux J et al.; An early treatment and an adequate antimicrobial chemotherapy are major prognostic factors for bacterial meningitis, brain abscesses and related infections . The necessity of an early therapy requires to begin an empiric antibiotic treatment prior to obtain microbiological results . The principles that apply to empiric therapy of other types of infections are equally applicable to the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) infections and include: the capacity of achieving adequate levels of antibiotic in the CNS and for the brain (pharmacokinetic criteria), the knowledge of the most likely etiologic agents for central nervous system infections and their antibiotic susceptibility (bacteriological criteria) . The main clinical types of CNS infection are reviewed for their usual etiologic agents, with a definition of an optimal "bacteriological deal" for each situation . Most studies emphasize the striking differences in the clinical features, etiologic agents and prognosis of spontaneously occurring (primary) meningitis, as opposed to post-traumatic or post-surgical, frequently Gram negative bacillary (secondary) meningitis and other CNS infections (brain abscesses and related infections) . These studies, as our experience, suggest that the selection of an empiric therapy must be adapted for each clinical situation . Ampicillin still appears to be an ideal agent for empiric therapy for primary meningitis in older children and adults, in whom meningitis are usually caused by N . meningitidis and S . pneumoniae . In younger children (before 6 years), H . influenzae is more often implicated and the occurrence of beta lactamase mediated resistance to ampicillin in as high as 15% of isolates led to use a third generation cephalosporin as an empiric therapy . Neonatal meningitis, meningitis following trauma or surgery, brain abscess, subdural empyema, epidural abscess are caused by various etiologic agents including Streptococcus sp, Staphylococcus sp, Enterobacteriaceae, and for brain infections, anaerobic bacteria . Each situation led to specific recommendations by authors . Finally, miscellaneous aspects of therapy as the usefulness of intrathecal or intraventricular therapy, duration of treatment and place of the neuro-surgery during CNS infections are briefly reviewed.

Rev Infect Dis, 1988 Jan-Feb, 10 Suppl 1, S179 - 83
New quinolones in the treatment of joint and bone infections; Desplaces N et al.; New quinolones are promising agents for use in the treatment of bone and joint infections because of their broad spectrum of activity against staphylococcal strains as well as gram-negative bacteria . Their pharmacologic properties and their availability for oral administration make them the drugs of choice in the treatment of such chronic infections . Pefloxacin and ciprofloxacin are the principal quinolones that have been evaluated with respect to the treatment of bone and joint infections . In the literature cited the mean rates of bacteriologic and clinical response among patients treated with pefloxacin and ciprofloxacin were 87.6% and 73%, respectively, whereas failure of therapy were due to the persistence of the causative organisms (5% and 15% of the cases, respectively) or to the emergence of resistant mutant strains (15% and 12% of the cases, respectively) . Development of resistance to the quinolones--especially in staphylococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia, Enterobacter species, and Klebsiella pneumoniae--is a problem that can be reduced by the intelligent use of these potent agents in spite of the ease of their administration . Therapy that combines new quinolones with other antibiotics should prevent the emergence of resistant mutants, but this hypothesis has to be assessed in large studies.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1988 Jan, 54(1), 38 - 42
Nucleotide sequence and expression of the Enterobacter aerogenes alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase gene in brewer's yeast; Sone H et al.; The nucleotide sequence of a 1.4-kilobase DNA fragment containing the alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase gene of Enterobacter aerogenes was determined . The sequence contains an entire protein-coding region of 780 nucleotides which encodes an alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase of 260 amino acids . The DNA sequence coding for alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase was placed under the control of the alcohol dehydrogenase I promoter of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a plasmid capable of autonomous replication in both S . cerevisiae and Escherichia coli . Brewer's yeast cells transformed by this plasmid showed alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase activity and were used in laboratory-scale fermentation experiments . These experiments revealed that the diacetyl concentration in wort fermented by the plasmid-containing yeast strain was significantly lower than that in wort fermented by the parental strain . These results indicated that the alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase activity produced by brewer's yeast cells degraded alpha-acetolactate and that this degradation caused a decrease in diacetyl production.

J Bacteriol, 1988 Jan, 170(1), 468 - 70
Rapid identification of bacterial genes that are lethal when cloned on multicopy plasmids; Berg CM et al.; A procedure to identify genes that are lethal when cloned on multicopy plasmids was developed . It depends on the ability of mini-Mu plasmid elements to be used for both in vivo cloning and generalized transduction of enterobacterial genes . The feasibility of this procedure was demonstrated by using the tetA gene of Tn10, which is lethal when in multiple copies in the presence of 25 micrograms of tetracycline per ml.

J Bacteriol, 1988 Jan, 170(1), 228 - 33
Characterization of an Escherichia coli rff mutant defective in transfer of N-acetylmannosaminuronic acid (ManNAcA) from UDP-ManNAcA to a lipid-linked intermediate involved in enterobacterial common antigen synthesis; Barr K et al.; The rff genes of Salmonella typhimurium include structural genes for enzymes involved in the conversion of UDP N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) to UDP N-acetyl-D-mannosaminuronic acid (UDP-ManNAcA), the donor of ManNAcA residues in enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) synthesis . An rff mutation (rff-726) of Escherichia coli has been described (U . Meier and H . Mayer, J . Bacteriol . 163:756-762, 1985) that abolished ECA synthesis but which did not affect the synthesis of UDP-ManNAcA or any other components of ECA . The nature of the enzymatic defect resulting from the rff-726 lesion was investigated in the present study . The in vitro synthesis of GlcNAc-pyrophosphorylundecaprenol (lipid I), an early intermediate in ECA synthesis, was demonstrated by using membranes prepared from a mutant of E . coli possessing the rff-726 lesion . However, in vitro synthesis of the next lipid-linked intermediate in the biosynthetic sequence, ManNAcA-GlcNAc-pyrophosphorylundecaprenol (lipid II), was severely impaired . Transduction of wild-type rff genes into the mutant restored the ability to synthesize both lipid II and ECA as determined by in vitro assay and Western blot (immunoblot) analyses done with anti-ECA monoclonal antibody, respectively . Our results are consistent with the conclusion that the rff-726 mutation is located in the structural gene for the transferase that catalyzes the transfer of ManNAcA from UDP-ManNAcA to lipid I.

J Bacteriol, 1988 Jan, 170(1), 190 - 6
Nucleotide sequence of the hexA gene for DNA mismatch repair in Streptococcus pneumoniae and homology of hexA to mutS of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium; Priebe SD et al.; The Hex system of heteroduplex DNA base mismatch repair operates in Streptococcus pneumoniae after transformation and replication to correct donor and nascent DNA strands, respectively . A functionally similar system, called Mut, operates in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium . The nucleotide sequence of a 3.8-kilobase segment from the S . pneumoniae chromosome that includes the 2.7-kilobase hexA gene was determined . An open reading frame that could encode a 17-kilodalton polypeptide (OrfC) was located just upstream of the gene encoding a polypeptide of 95 kilodaltons corresponding to HexA . Shine-Dalgarno sequences and putative promoters were identified upstream of each protein start site . Insertion mutations showed that only HexA functioned in mismatch repair and that the promoter for hexA transcription was located within the OrfC-coding region . The HexA polypeptide contains a consensus sequence for ATP- or GTP-binding sites in proteins . Comparison of the entire HexA protein sequence to that of MutS of S . typhimurium, which was determined by Haber et al . in the accompanying paper (L . T . Haber, P . P . Pang, D . I . Sobell, J . A . Mankovitch, and G . C . Walker, J . Bacteriol . 170:197-202, 1988), showed the proteins to be homologous, inasmuch as 36% of their amino acid residues were identical . This homology indicates that the Hex and Mut systems of mismatch repair evolved from an ancestor common to the gram-positive streptococci and the gram-negative enterobacteria . It is the first direct evidence linking the two systems.

Drugs Exp Clin Res, 1988, 14(8), 529 - 31
In vitro and clinical evaluation of ofloxacin in urinary tract infection and enteric fever; Tanphaichitra D et al.; During 1984 to 1988, 35 patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) and 37 patients with enteric fever were treated successfully with 400 mg ofloxacin twice a day for 7 to 10 days . Clinical cure or improvement was observed in 31 of the 35 patients with UTI; 32 patients were bacteriologically assessed and eradication was achieved in all of them . Ofloxacin was particularly effective in the treatment of enteric fever in 35 patients; eradication was achieved in all of them; 34 patients were clinically cured within 4 days, however, one patient with bacteraemia due to Salmonella paratyphi A subsequently died, due to his underlying disorder . The MIC90 of the Enterobacteriaceae including Salmonella was less than 0.12 micrograms/ml . Interestingly, beta-lactamase-producing strains of Salmonella and other Enterobacteriaceae in the present study were 28% and 29%, respectively . Ofloxacin therefore offers an effective b.i.d . dosage schedule for enteric fever and UTI due to beta-lactamase-producing bacteria.

Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol, 1988, 87(1), 14 - 8
Cotton bract tannin: a novel human T-lymphocyte mitogen and a possible causative agent of byssinosis; Vuk-Pavlovic Z et al.; Cotton bract tannin, a major organic component of cotton dust, was tested for mitogenic activity upon human T lymphocytes . Tannin caused polyclonal activation of human T lymphocytes in vitro . The pattern of T-cell response to tannin was similar to the pattern seen in lymphocytes stimulated with the well-known plant lectin T-cell mitogens, PHA and ConA . The response to tannin was shown to be dependent upon tannin dose and presence of monocytes . The maximum response occurred after 3-4 days in culture with the magnitude comparable to the one achieved by ConA . Lipopolysaccharide from Enterobacter agglomerans, a major contaminant of cotton dust, was shown not to be a mediator of tannin mitogenicity in vitro . A role for tannin as a polyclonal cell activator and, therefore, a possible etiologic agent of byssinosis is suggested by these observations.

Br J Rheumatol, 1988, 27 Suppl 2, 58 - 60
Rabbit antisera to enterobacteriaceae isolated from HLA-B27 positive patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are lytic for the mononuclear cells of AS patients; Beukelman CJ et al.; Vaccines prepared from Gram-negative bacteria isolated from the stools of HLA-B27 positive AS patients were used to immunize rabbits . Three of the sera obtained were lytic in vitro for the mononuclear cells of HLA-B27 positive AS patients . One of these sera discriminated between AS patients and healthy HLA-B27 positive individuals . Cytolysis was determined in an automated, non-radioactive assay based on the release of carboxyfluorescein diacetate and the incorporation of propidium iodide.

Chemotherapy, 1988, 34(1), 18 - 26
Amdinocillin: interaction with other beta-lactam antibiotics for gram-negative bacteria; Eng RH et al.; Amdinocillin was studied alone and in combination with three other beta-lactam antibiotics (aztreonam, cefoperazone, and ceftriaxone) for activity against gram-negative bacilli . These antibiotic combinations failed to show synergy by the checker-board double-dilution test or by killing kinetic studies . However, amdinocillin did show additive killing action when combined with the other beta-lactam antibiotics studied . Amdinocillin failed to induce or inhibit beta-lactamase production in species of Enterobacteriaceae, but with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, beta-lactamase production was induced . It is concluded that the activity of amdinocillin alone or in combination with another beta-lactam antibiotic should not be more effective in the treatment of infections by gram-negative bacilli than just using the beta-lactam antibiotic alone at a higher dose.

Mikrobiyol Bul, 1988, 22(4), 303 - 7
{Antimicrobial activity of antiseptics}; Durmaz R et al.; In the study, the antimicrobial activities of 7.5% povidone-iodine, 4% chlorhexidine gluconate, 1.5% chlorhexidine gluconate, 1.5% chlorhexidine gluconate with cetrimide mixture, 10% benzalconium chloride, dust detergent and soap as well as changes in activity in due course of time have been investigated . It has been observed that the effect of germicides on Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter cloacae and Candida strains increased in time . Soap had no germicidal effect . The difference between the of antiseptics on the residuent flora of the hands immediately and those two hours later was found to be statistically insignificant.

Mikrobiyol Bul, 1988, 22(4), 296 - 302
{Antibiotic-resistant microorganisms isolated from the urine of patients with suspected urinary tract infections}; Tuncer I et al.; In our study 5331 urine specimen have been examined . In 22 of the total 2 types of bacteria have been isolated and in the cultures of 1167 patients colony counts over than 100.000/ml . have been determined . These are 599 Escherichia coli, 161 Hemolytic Escherichia coli, 104 Klebsiella, 93 Proteus, 81 Pseudomonas, 65 Staphylococcus epidermidis, 44 Staphylococcus aureus, 24 Enterobacter, 18 Enterococcus . 602 of the infected patients were women and 565 were men . According to antibiogram results microorganisms were mostly resistant to Tetracycline (97.7%), subsequently to Ampicillin (87.5%) and to Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (72.8%) . Ofloxacin (97.7%), Ceftriaxone (86.4%) and Cefotaxime (86.1%) were found effective on these organisms.

Mikrobiyol Bul, 1988, 22(3), 238 - 44
{A new rapid antibiotic susceptibility test for enteric bacteria using a color change method}; Kocagoz T et al.; The rapid antibiotic susceptibility tests that have been developed so far cannot be used in daily work, because of their many difficulties and disadvantages . We have developed a new antibiotic susceptibility test for enteric bacteria which gives the result in 4 hours, easy to perform and inexpensive . This method depends upon the mechanism which detects the acid formed by the bacteria, by the change of the color of the pH indicator in the medium . The susceptibility of 110 different isolates of enteric bacteria (E . coli, Klebsiella, Salmonella, Shigella, Proteus, Enterobacter) to ampicillin, amikacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, cephradine, cefazolin, erythromycin, gentamicin, and ofloxacin is examined by this new "Rapid Color Change Test" and disc diffusion method . For most organisms tested, there was a good correlation between the results of the two methods . The overall agreement is found to be 91.43%.

Mikrobiyol Bul, 1988, 22(3), 215 - 21
{Causative agents of urinary tract infections and sensitivity to antibiotics}; Ayhan N et al.; Our study was done on the outpatients and inpatients of Ankara Numune Hospital who were diagnosed as having urinary tract infections . When 301 cultures with positive results were evaluated . Gram-negative bacteria were found most frequently (E . coli 45.2%, Klebsiella 23.2%, Enterobacter 16.6%, Proteus 11.5%, S . aureus 2.2%, Pseudomonas 1.3%) . By using the disc diffusion method, the effectiveness of antibiotic discs of amikacin, tobramycin, netilmycin, cephoperazone, cephotoxime, cephtizoxime, cephradine, cephuroxime, carbenicillin, piperacillin, ofloxacin, nalidixic acid and sulbactam/ampicillin on the isolated strains were investigated . Ofloxacin (92.35%), cephotaxime (72.6%) and nalidixic acid (62.10%) were found to be the most effective while cephradine (7.96%), carbenicillin (11.8%) and piperacillin (14.96%) were found to be the least effective antibiotics.

Mikrobiyol Bul, 1988, 22(3), 187 - 92
{The in vitro activity of ofloxacin, pefloxacin and ciprofloxacin against various gram negative bacteria isolated from urinary tract infections}; Tunckanat F et al.; In this study the in vitro activity of ofloxacin, pefloxacin and ciprofloxacin against various gram negative bacteria isolated from urinary tract infections was examined . Of 80 isolates (24 E . coli, 10 Enterobacter, 10 Klebsiella, 23 Proteus, 10 Pseudomonas, 2 Morganella and 1 Serratia) 49 were from inpatients, and 31 were from outpatients . Ciprofloxacin was the most potent compound and no resistant strain was found against ciprofloxacin, while 1 Enterobacter strain and 1 Pseudomonas strain were found to be resistant to both ofloxacin and pefloxacin . Another Pseudomonas strain was resistant to pefloxacin only . All of the resistant bacteria were from nosocomial infections.

Chemotherapy, 1988, 34(6), 455 - 61
Activity of cefixime (FK 027) for resistant gram-negative bacilli; Smith SM et al.; Cefixime is an orally absorbable cephalosporin with an extended spectrum of in vitro activity for gram-negative bacteria especially members of the Enterobacteriaceae . Gram-negative rod isolates collected over a three month period were tested against cefixime . Greater than 99% of Escherichia coli isolates was susceptible to cefixime including those resistant to ampicillin . Similarly isolates of Klebsiella, Proteus and Providencia were also exquisitely susceptible to cefixime as were 91% of Enterobacter cloacae and 71% of Enterobacter aerogenes . Killing kinetics of cefixime did not differ from that of the intravenously administered third-generation cephalosporin, cefotaxime . The addition of magnesium and calcium divalent cations or the lowering of the pH to 5.0 did not affect the action of this antibiotic . The extended spectrum of this oral antibiotic may be useful in treatment of urinary tract and skin and soft tissue infections caused by the more resistant gram-negative rods.

Microbios, 1988, 56(228-229), 169 - 75
Isolation of multiple antibiotic resistant Enterobacteriaceae from river water; Rinker AG Jr et al.; Water samples from the Monocacy River in Frederick County, Maryland, yielded twenty-four isolates which were resistant to tetracycline (TeR, 25 micrograms/ml) . Although these organisms were not initially cultured on a coliform-selective medium, twenty-two of the isolates were Gram-negative and carriers of antibiotic resistance to five or more antibiotics; erythromycin, methicillin, novobiocin, penicillin and tetracycline . Of the isolates 45% were biochemically identified as Providencia stuartii; one isolate which contained a 29.4 kilobase plasmid carried the determinant for tetracycline resistance.

Bull Soc Pathol Exot Filiales, 1988, 81(5), 806 - 10
{The aerobic intestinal flora of the microchiropteran bat Chaerephon pumila in Madagascar}; Cassel-Beraud AM et al.; From stools of 88 malagasy insect eater bats Chaerephon pumila, a large amount of bacterial strains were isolated . Twenty different species were recognized, most of them belonged to Enterobacteriaceae family . Eight strains were identified as Salmonella enterica subsp . enterica O48: -; 1.5, despite many atypical characters . Strains of Salmonella enteritidis, Koserella trabulsii, Kluyvera sp., ODC negative Serratia marcescens, atypical Hafnia alvei.. . were also identified.

Microbios, 1988, 56(226), 57 - 62
The use of purine compounds as sole sources of carbon and nitrogen by Klebsiella species; Wong SH; Sixty-one strains of Enterobacteriaceae were tested for purine assimilation, including twenty-five Klebsiella pneumoniae, seventeen K . oxytoca and nineteen others . Only K . pneumoniae and K . oxytoca were able to use guanosine triphosphate, xanthine, hypoxanthine, or uric acid as sole sources of carbon and nitrogen . When guanosine triphosphate was used as sole source of nitrogen and carbon, the lag phase was prolonged . The addition of glucose did not affect the maximum number of viable cells for K . pneumoniae ATCC 29665, but produced an increase for strain K . oxytoca ATCC 13030 . In the case of uric acid, ATCC 29665 had a more distinct lag phase of growth than ATCC 13030 . Apart from this, they appeared to be very similar . On solid chemically defined GTP medium, some strains of Klebsiella were able to produce a water-soluble brown pigment.

Ann Biol Clin (Paris), 1988, 46(10), 781 - 5
{Enterobacteriaceae: genera and species in 1988}; Richard C; Numerical taxonomy, G + C content determination, DNA-DNA reassociation studies and divergence values delta tm) elicit considerable proliferation in the number of genera and species in recent years . Until 1988 Enterobacteriaceae contain 30 genera and 99 species which can be identified by biochemical tests . Only 20-25 species of Enterobacteriaceae family are of real importance in medical microbiology.

Arq Gastroenterol, 1988 Jan-Mar, 25(1), 8 - 22
{Digestive involvement in progressive systemic sclerosis}; Vidal Neira LF et al.; We studied 14 patients with PSS, 12 females and 2 males with a mean age of 43.6 and a medium of 8 years disease . All of the patients were selected for this study according to updated ARA criteria and were included in a prospective protocol to investigate digestive involvement . This protocol consists of a complete medical history, physical examination, radiologic and endoscopic studies, parasitological and microbial flora investigation . The symptoms more frequently seen were: pyrosis (78%), gastroesophageal regurgitation (50%), flatulence (50%), dysphagia (42%) and chronic diarrhea (21%) . The radiologic findings commonly seen were: distal esophageal aperistalsis (78%), gastroesophageal reflux (57%), dilatation of intestinal loops (35%), changes of the mucosal folds (35%) . A mild esophagitis was seen endoscopically in 64% of the patients, moderate and severe in 7% respectively . The study of the microbial flora showed contaminations with enterobacteria in 5 patients (35%) . After statistical analysis we concluded that the digestive compromise by PSS is frequent, being the esophagus more commonly affected (80%), at the beginning in the form of reflux esophagitis and later in esophageal stenosis, the compromise of the small intestine (40%) is manifested by chronic diarrhea or dyspeptic flatulence, which correlates well the radiologic findings and the bacterial overgrowth in this organ . The colonic compromise generally is asymptomatic, and the common finding is dilatation os the colonic loops . Finally, the bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine is a secondary involvement to the intestinal compromise of Progressive Systemic Sclerosis.

Scand J Infect Dis, 1988, 20(5), 503 - 9
Bacteremia and candidemia in hematological malignancies: microbiological findings and antibiotic susceptibilities; Bruun B et al.; The microorganisms isolated in 1981-1985 from 171 cases of septicemia in patients with hematological malignancies were on the whole the same as those found in 1970-1972 . The distribution between species was also quite similar for the two periods except within staphylococci, where the isolation rate of coagulase-negative staphylococci was higher in the latter period while that of Staphylococcus aureus was lower . Of 67 strains of Enterobacteriaceae tested for an aminoglycoside, 6% were found to be resistant, whereas 8% of 48 Enterobacteriaceae strains were found to be cefotaxime resistant . Methicillin- or aminoglycoside resistant S . aureus did not occur.

J Hyg Epidemiol Microbiol Immunol, 1988, 32(4), 433 - 6
A new member of the family Enterobacteriaceae--Pragia fontium; Aldova E et al.; Twenty isolates of the new genus and species Pragia fontium producing H2S were biochemically characterized: they gave positive gluconate oxidation, utilized Simmons citrate and 14 of them hydrolysed esculin . One of them did not produce hydrogen sulfide . Their biochemical activity was low: they did not ferment lactose, adonitol, arabinose, cellobiose, dextrin, dulcitol, erythritol, inulin, maltose, mannitol, mannose, melezitose, melibiose, raffinose, rhamnose, sorbitol, sorbose, starch, sucrose or trehalose . The habitat of Pragia fontium is drinking water, with an exception: the last strain was found in a stool specimen of a healthy woman . The type culture is the first isolate No . 20125-HG 16 . It is deposited in Prague (CNCTC) under the designation Eb 11/82.

Zentralbl Chir, 1988, 113(22), 1476 - 87
{Pathogenesis of cancer of the operated stomach}; Dittrich S et al.; Carcinoma in the postsurgical stomach has to be considered as a prognostically hopeless late complication in the wake of reflux-causing stomach operations . Morphological, autoradiographic, microbiological, and biochemical investigations of animal models and analyses of 19,595 postmortem records have supported the view that enterogastric reflux, bacterial colonisation, primarily by nitrate-reducing enterobacteria, alteration of the intragastric pH condition as well as consecutive morphological and functional changes to gastric mucosa are factors of pathogenetic relevance . Reflux-preventing surgical methods should be adopted to handle the problem, among them application of Roux-en-Y anastomosis or jejunal interposition following gastrectomy . Systematic postsurgical follow-up care is considered to be just as important.

Chemotherapy, 1988, 34(4), 308 - 14
Conditions affecting the results of susceptibility testing for the quinolone compounds; Smith SM et al.; The quinolone class of compounds was studied for conditions which might affect susceptibility results . These compounds included amifloxacin, ciprofloxacin, difloxacin, enoxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, and RO 23-6240 . Ciprofloxacin, a representative quinolone, was found to have rapid bactericidal activity, equivalent to that of gentamicin, in contrast to the slower activity of a cephalosporin, cefotaxime . Test conditions that might affect susceptibility test results included divalent magnesium and calcium cation concentrations and pH . For strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, and enterococcus, the effects were not large . A pH of 5.0 in general increased the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for the organisms against most carboxyquinolones, up to 8-fold, as compared to that at pH 7.4 . In comparison, a similar lowering of pH caused an increased in MIC of 32-fold for gentamicin and no change for cefotaxime . Increasing the concentrations of divalent cations increased the MICs on the average of only 4-fold . Of the quinolones, difloxacin was the least affected by change in concentration of divalent cations and by pH . Such changes are not expected to greatly affect the efficacy of therapy of those members of Enterobacteriaceae which have MICs much less than 0.1 micrograms/ml, but might diminish therapeutic efficacy for those organisms such as Streptococcus aureus with MICs of 1.0 microgram/ml or higher.

Chemotherapy, 1988, 34(4), 298 - 307
In vitro activities of A-56619 (difloxacin) and A-56620, two aryl fluoroquinolones; Digranes A et al.; The in vitro activities of A56619 (difloxacin) and A-56620, two newer quinolones, have been compared with the activities of ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, ceftazidime and netilmicin . A total of 782 clinical, bacterial isolates were employed . Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined under standard conditions with all isolates and, for 100 isolates against difloxacin and A-56620, with variation of agar pH and bacterial inoculum size . On a weight-for-weight basis, ciprofloxacin and A-56620 were the most active agents against Enterobacteriaceae (MIC90 = 0.03 and 0.12 mg/l, respectively) . Difloxacin was the least active quinolone, particularly against Proteus, Morganella and Providencia spp . Except for ceftazidime, all agents were highly active against staphylococci, but difloxacin and ofloxacin were somewhat less active against Staphylococcus saprophyticus . The streptococcal isolates were moderately sensitive to the quinolones, difloxacin being least active . Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae were extremely susceptible to all the quinolones; nearly all isolates were inhibited by the lowest concentrations of the agents that were employed in the study (0.03 mg/l) . The quinolones all showed moderate activity against Bacteroides fragilis . The activities of difloxacin and A-56620 were affected little by inoculum size . Difloxacin showed lower activity against most isolates at pH 8.0 as compared to the activity at pH 7.4 and 6.8 . A-56620 was minimally influenced by pH variation.

Scand J Infect Dis, 1988, 20(4), 439 - 42
Association of reactive arthropathy and Morganella morganii cross reacting with Yersinia enterocolitica; Cafferkey MT et al.; Two patients exhibited reactive arthropathy in association with chronic diarrhoea and abdominal pain . Rising titres of agglutinating antibody to Yersinia enterocolitica O3 were observed in association with arthropathy . Morganella morganii was isolated from faeces of one patient in heavy growth . In both patients, absorption of the sera with morganella antigen abolished yersinia reactivity . Morganella titres were more than 8 times the yersinia titres and were unaffected by absorption with Yersinia . Neither patient had detectable antibody to the predominant enterobacterial species present in faeces . One patient developed acute cystitis with Proteus mirabilis and had no serological response to the proteus isolate . We conclude that the elevated morganella titres were specific . The role of M . morganii in intestinal disorders remains to be established, but from our findings, it should be added to the list of organisms associated with reactive arthropathy.

Chemotherapy, 1988, 34(5), 393 - 400
Time-kill studies and synergy testing of broad-spectrum antibiotics against blood culture isolates; Arpi M; Time-kill studies and synergy testing were performed with blood culture isolates from 80 patients with septicemia . Ten isolates each of Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, indole-positive Proteus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and coagulase-negative staphylococci were included . The isolates were tested against netilmicin, piperacillin, cefoxitin, cefuroxime, and cefotaxime, alone and in different combinations . Cefotaxime was the most active agent against Enterobacteriaceae, whereas netilmicin was the most active agent against P . aeruginosa and staphylococci . The most active antibiotic combinations were netilmicin-cefotaxime and netilmicin-piperacillin, where a synergistic activity was observed in 68 and 61%, respectively . The highest synergistic activity was against Enterobacteriaceae, but the netilmicin-cefotaxime combination also acted synergistically against more than half of the S . aureus isolates . A relatively low synergistic activity was noted against P . aeruginosa . No case of antagonism was observed . Subinhibitory concentrations of netilmicin, in combination with a greater than or equal to MIC concentration of one of the tested beta-lactam antibiotics, significantly improved the killing of the isolates . Netilmicin exerted a more rapid and pronounced bacterial reduction than the beta-lactam antibiotics tested.

J Toxicol Environ Health, 1988, 25(2), 185 - 99
Serologic study of guinea pigs exposed for 12 months to cotton dust; Olaniran NS et al.; A guinea pig animal model of byssinosis has been described that demonstrates both acute and chronic effects of cotton dust inhalation (Ellakkani et al., 1984, 1987) . During the latter study in which guinea pigs were exposed to 21 mg/m3 cotton dust 5 d/wk, 6 h/d for 52 wk, blood samples were taken from animals (20 exposed, 20 sham-exposed) prior to exposure and monthly during the exposure period . Sera were evaluated for quantities of the major protein fractions, and for IgG antibodies to cotton dust components . At the completion of the study, blood was evaluated for total and differential leukocytes . At 6 mo of exposure, each of the five protein fractions was significantly different from the corresponding fraction in the control animals . Antibodies reactive with an aqueous cotton dust extract (ACDE) were prominent by 2 mo of exposure and the titer was increased with continued exposure . The extract was composed of 2.6% protein, 12.8% reducing sugar, and 4.1% nucleic acid, with the remainder being largely simply sugars and inorganic material . A fraction of the antibodies showed reactivity with gram-negative bacteria and specifically with Enterobacter agglomerans, the most prevalent gram-negative microorganism in the dust . Minimal antibody response was detected using lipopolysaccharide from this microorganism or gram-positive bacteria . These results indicate that exposure of guinea pigs to cotton dust resulted in hematologic changes and in specific antibody formation . The presence of antibodies in each of the animals suggests their possible use as an indicator of cotton dust exposure.

Chemotherapy, 1988, 34(2), 117 - 26
In vitro antibacterial activity of imipenem in combination with newer quinolone derivatives; Kern W et al.; The antibacterial activity of imipenem combined with norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, or ofloxacin against 43 gram-positive cocci and 53 aerobic gram-negative rods compared to results obtained with the combination of imipenem with amikacin . Synergistic antibacterial action (defined as FIC index less than or equal to 0.5) was found for 28% of strains with imipenem/amikacin and imipenem/norfloxacin, in 23% with imipenem/ofloxacin, and in 18% with imipenem/ciprofloxacin . Antagonistic activity (FIC index greater than 1.0) was found in 21, 21, 32, and 23% respectively . These rates were not statistically different for gram-positive and gram-negative isolates . Antagonistic activity seemed to occur more frequently with Pseudomonas spp . and enterococci than with staphylococci or Enterobacteriaceae . A tendency for increased rates of antagonism was noted in strains with higher MIC values . Clinically significant and meaningful positive interactions (defined as a decrease of imipenem MICs to below 2.0 micrograms/ml) were found with imipenem/amikacin against several Pseudomonas spp., with imipenem/ofloxacin or ciprofloxacin against Streptococcus faecium and with all combinations against Proteus spp . We conclude that continuous treatment with newer quinolone derivatives for selective decontamination in neutropenic patients receiving imipenem antibacterial therapy for treatment of infection should not be regarded as effective combination therapy.

Drugs Exp Clin Res, 1988, 14(8), 533 - 7
Antibacterial activity after a single-dose of norfloxacin, ofloxacin and pipemidic acid detected in urine of volunteers; Cruciani M et al.; Six healthy volunteers received in a triple-crossover design a single oral dose of norfloxacin, ofloxacin or pipemidic acid . Urine samples were collected during the 24 h following the administration and were tested for inhibitory and bactericidal activity against selected strains of Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Norfloxacin and ofloxacin inhibited the urinary growth of sensitive strains during the 24 h of sampling time at dilutions much higher than those generally considered satisfactory . Nalidixic acid was less effective and did not achieve bactericidal activity against Ps . aeruginosa over the interval of 12 to 24 h.

Infection, 1988, 16(6), 329 - 36
Impact of Lactobacillus acidophilus on the normal intestinal microflora after administration of two antimicrobial agents; Lidbeck A et al.; Twenty healthy volunteers participated in a comparative study concerning the influence of Lactobacillus acidophilus supplements on the normal intestinal microflora after the administration of two antimicrobial agents, enoxacin and clindamycin, respectively . L . acidophilus NCFB 1748 was given as a fermented milk product containing 5 x 10(8)-2 x 10(9) CFU/ml to ten of the volunteers immediately after the administration of the antimicrobial agents . On the seventh day of enoxacin administration enterobacteria were eliminated in nine of ten subjects . Enterococci disappeared or decreased significantly in five subjects . During the L . acidophilus supplementation, there was a significant increase in the number of Escherichia coli in one subject, while enterococci returned to the same level as before enoxacin administration in all subjects.

Soc Appl Bacteriol Symp Ser, 1988, 17, 71S - 85S
Enterobacteriaceae associated with animals in health and disease; Linton AH et al.; Members of at least eight of the 14 general of the Enterobacteriaceae are found associated with animals . A large number of these are present as members of the microbiota of the gut of many animals without causing harmful effects . Indeed, their presence as part of the stable flora contributes to the defences of the animal by excluding enteric pathogens by competitive exclusion which contributes to the phenomenon of {colonization resistance' (van der Waaij 1983) . some of these strains can cause disease if they contaminate a normally 'sterile' site such as the body cavities . In contrast, particular strains within each bacterial species are overt pathogens and are regularly associated with disease . Nevertheless, even these may colonize the animal without producing clinical illness . In this paper E . coli and Salmonella spp . have been used to illustrate the various aspect of host-parasite relationships.

Drugs, 1988, 35 Suppl 2, 62 - 4
Comparison of in vitro activity of cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime alone and in combination against 320 gram-negative clinical isolates; Piedrola G et al.; The antimicrobial activity of cefotaxime and its intermediate metabolite, desacetylcefotaxime, against 320 Gram-negative bacterial strains was analysed to investigate whether combination of the 2 substances led to increased bactericidal activity . The in vitro study of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) showed the combination to be more effective against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp . and Proteus mirabilis, requiring less than or equal to 50% of the concentration of cefotaxime alone to inhibit 90% of strains . For other micro-organisms the MIC90 for the combination was equal to or within 1 dilution of that for cefotaxime alone.

Drugs, 1988, 35 Suppl 2, 57 - 61
In vitro activity of desacetylcefotaxime and the interaction with its parent compound, cefotaxime; Oizumi K et al.; Antibacterial activities of cefotaxime and its major metabolite, desacetylcefotaxime, against 178 strains (of 10 species) were assessed in terms of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC50 and MIC80), and were compared with those of cefoperazone and ceftazidime . The activity of desacetylcefotaxime was several times less than that of cefotaxime against almost all of the species tested . Against Staphylococcus aureus, Morganella morganii, Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the MIC80 values of desacetylcefotaxime were higher than those of cefoperazone and ceftazidime . The antibacterial potency of desacetylcefotaxime against Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas cepacia was superior to that of cefoperazone and ceftazidime, and comparable with the activities of the latter compounds against the other 4 Gram-negative species . Partial synergy was demonstrated in the activity of cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime against most of the strains examined . Antagonism was observed in activity against 2 of 18 strains of M . morganii . In general, desacetylcefotaxime enhances the potency of its parent compound, cefotaxime, when they coexist . Intravenous infusion of cefotaxime 1 g over a period of 1 hour resulted in mean peak serum concentrations of 48.5 mg/L of cefotaxime and 6.5 mg/L of desacetylcefotaxime at the end of the infusion . The mean elimination half-life in beta-phase of cefotaxime was 0.8 hour and that of desacetylcefotaxime was 2 hours.

Drugs, 1988, 35 Suppl 2, 41 - 4
A regional survey of the resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics in clinical isolates of (facultative) aerobic micro-organisms; Stobberingh EE et al.; From 1980 to 1986 a regional survey was performed to investigate the susceptibility of beta-lactam antibiotics in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 6 hospitals located in the southern part of the Netherlands . Each year 300 to 400 strains were tested . The susceptibility to representatives of the older and the newer beta-lactam antibiotics was determined by a microbroth dilution assay using an inoculum size of 10(5) colony forming units (CFU)/ml in ISO-Sensitest broth (Oxoid) . No significant differences in antibiotic sensitivity of the micro-organisms from the different hospitals were found . There was no evidence for an increase in antibiotic resistance of the strains during the sampling period . In contrast, there was a general tendency to an increase in antibiotic sensitivity.

Ann Biol Clin (Paris), 1988, 46(2), 145 - 50
{Pseudomonas aeruginosa and surgical intensive care units}; Rousseaux D et al.; The prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in intensive care unit (ICU) is 19 per cent although its incidence in blood culture is only 3.5 per cent and remains the same even though the total prevalence of this bacterium increases . A review of the clinical results shows that this germ causes severe complications in only 3 per cent of patients . A study by epidemiological markers reveals the presence of 16 different IATS serotypes in the ICU, this distribution of the serotypes being similar to this observed in ambulatory patients . The serotype 12 of Ps . aeruginosa is multiresistant . In 1984, it represented 22 per cent of the isolated Ps . aeruginosa, its incidence decreases in 1985 and in 1986 (14.5%) . Ps . aeruginosa seems weakly pathogenic for the surgical patients in the ICU . On the other hand, the incidence of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens (014 imm . serotype resistant to tobramycin), Enterobacter aerogenes and Enterobacter cloacae increases in blood cultures proportionally to their total prevalence in ICU . These bacteria are probably responsible for hospital epidemics.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {B}, 1988 Jan, 185(4-5), 430 - 51
{Comparison of three miniaturized Limulus-amoebocyte-lysate methods}; Weber-Frick C et al.; Comparative examinations with three different micro-models for the LAL-test methods,--namely the capillary test, Endotoxin-test "Mini" and Coatest-Endotoxin-method-, tested with 11 Enterobacteriaceae- and 6 Pseudomonas-type-strains and isolates from foods gave only slight differences for the endotoxin content . Out of 250 single measurements per test method the capillary test as well as the Coatest-Endotoxin-method gave count limits between 2.8 X 10(1) and 7.4 X 10(3) CFU/ml . For the endotoxin-test method "Mini" the limits were one log unit higher-namely between 8.6 X 10(2) and 5.0 X 10(4) CFU/ml . The maximum values for count limits of all three methods correspond to approximately 1 ng Endotoxin . For the two gel test methods a relative error of +/- 15% has to be taken into account; for the chromogen method however, the relative error lies within +/- 25%, if the concentration is 0.0125 ng LPS/ml or lower . Between 0.025 and 0.1 ng LPS/ml or 0.075 and 0.1 ng LPS/ml the relative error is reduced to +/- 16% and +/- 5% respectively . The study has shown that the three micro tests in question as tested with pure cultures give comparable and reproducible results; inspite of the high relative error.

Microbiologica, 1988 Jan, 11(1), 37 - 45
Distribution of Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi B phage types in Italy from 1974 through 1985; Fantasia M; The temporal changes in occurrence and distribution in Salmonella typhi and paratyphi B phage types in Italy during a twelve year period are considered . From 1974 to 1985, 2.075 isolates of Salmonella typhi and 830 isolates of Salmonella paratyphi B were phage typed at the National Centre for Enterobacteria in Rome and the three Regional Centres for Enterobacteria in Milan, Palermo and Pisa . The most prevalent types of Salmonella typhi were A, C1, D1, Vi degraded strains E1, I+IV and C4 . Types A, C1 and D1 accounted for 59.1% of the total . The distribution of the phage types as A, B2, C1, D1, D4, D9, E1, F1, N, 28 and I+IV, Vi degraded and Vi negative strains in the three time periods (1974-77; 1978-81 and 1982-85) was quite similar; some types such as D8, E2, 0 and 43 were found sporadically and others like C9, D6, F4, H and 45 which were present in the first period, disappeared in the last . The most prevalent types of Salmonella paratyphi B were Tauton, Dundee, 1, and 3a . Type 2, frequently found in the 1974-77 period was however not seen during 1981-85.

JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr, 1988 Jan-Feb, 12(1), 25 - 8
Sterility testing of home and inpatient parenteral nutrition solutions; Bronson MH et al.; The microbial contamination rate was compared for parenteral nutrition solutions prepared by patients for home use and by pharmacy personnel for inpatient use . Phase I validated the Ivex 0.22-micron inline filter as a tool for microbiological testing by inoculating small numbers of organisms in 5% dextrose injection and testing for recovery . Phase II validated the same method for determining microbial contamination of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) solutions . Phase III compared inpatient and home TPN microbial contamination rates using the methodology validated in phase II . Test organism inocula used in phase I and II were Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Streptococcus pyogenes . All contaminated solutions in phase I showed visual turbidity within 48 hr, and all test organisms were recovered and identified . All phase II-contaminated TPN solutions showed visual turbidity after 96 hr, and all test organisms were recovered and identified . One hundred postinfusion TPN samples were collected randomly during phase III from inpatient parenteral nutrition patients . Six patients and two hospitals participated in the study . None of the 44 home parenteral nutrition samples and none of the 56 inpatient TPN samples developed visible turbidity . Subcultures of each sample on blood agar were negative for microbial growth . This described methodology offers an effective means to establish contamination rates of parenteral nutrition solutions after administration.

Mikrobiyol Bul, 1988 Jan, 22(1), 8 - 16
{The identification and comparison of gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae and non-fermentative bacteria by the conventional manual method and the Quantum II microbiology system}; Akyon Y et al.; In this study a total of 1065 clinically isolated enteric and non-fermentative bacteria were tested and compared with a commercially manufactured "Quantum II Microbiology System", and the conventional manual biochemical tests . We are able to say that, "Quantum II Microbiology System" will be very useful in clinical laboratories due to making an identification in a very short time and in species level when an attentive study is made.

Chemotherapy, 1988, 34(6), 490 - 6
Inducing capacity and selection of resistant variants of cefpirome (HR 810) in comparison with other beta-lactam compounds; Stobberingh EE et al.; The inducing capacity of cefpirome (HR 810) and the ability of the compound to select for stable derepressed mutants was determined and compared with those of cefodizime (HR 221), cefotaxime, ceftazidime and cefamandol . Variations in both characteristics between and within species was observed . Overall, cefodizime showed the lowest, cefamandol the highest inducing capacity . Antibiotic resistant variants were isolated from all strains tested at a frequency of around 10(-9) . A stable increased enzyme production was found in Pseudomonas aeruginosa after exposure to ceftazidime as well as in the resistant mutants from Enterobacter cloacae after selection with cefpirome, ceftazidime, cefotaxime and cefamandol . In the other resistant mutants the resistance was probably due to changes in permeability . All resistant variants remained relatively susceptible to cefpirome.

Crit Rev Microbiol, 1988, 16(2), 81 - 111
Iron and virulence in the family Enterobacteriaceae; Payne SM; The ability of bacterial pathogens to acquire iron in the host is an essential component of the disease process . Pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae spp . may either scavenge host iron sources such as heme or induce high-affinity iron-transport systems to remove iron from host proteins . The ease with which iron is acquired from the host will be at least partially determined by the iron status of the host at the time of infection . In response to infection, mammalian hosts reduce serum iron levels and withhold iron from the invading microorganisms . Thus the competition for iron is an active process which influences the outcome of a host-bacterial interaction.

Boll Ist Sieroter Milan, 1988, 67(1), 43 - 8
Molecular study on Salmonella enteritidis strains from a nosocomial gastroenteritis outbreak; Nastasi A et al.; A molecular epidemiological analysis was carried out on S . enteritidis isolates identified at the Central Italy Enterobacteriaceae Center during 1986 . 26 of these were from a diarrhoeal disease outbreak, which occurred in the period April-June at the "S . Chiara" Hospital, Pisa . All S . enteritidis strains harboured a virulence-encoding 39 MDa plasmid . The nosocomial isolates made in June 1986 carried an additional non-conjugative plasmid of 75 MDa, associated with the streptomycin-resistance . In contrast, the nosocomial S . enteritidis strains isolated during the period April-May and 16 isolates from the same geographic area were susceptible to antibiotics and showed a different plasmid pattern . According to the plasmid profile and antibiotic resistance pattern analysis, it could be argued that the hospital cases of S . enteritidis infection occurring after May 1986 are attributable to a strain having different origin from the strain circulating in April-May 1986.

Infection, 1988, 16(6), 337 - 44
Clinical experience with ciprofloxacin in the treatment of urinary tract infections: a review; van Poppel H et al.; During the clinical development of ciprofloxacin 1,519 treatments of UTI were documented . The most frequent specific diagnoses were uncomplicated UTI (46.6%), followed by non-specified UTI (21.7%), complicated UTI (19.4%), acute pyelonephritis (7.6%) and chronic pyelonephritis (4.1%) . 70% of the causative organisms isolated were Enterobacteriaceae (Escherichia coli 38%, Proteus spp . 10% and Klebsiella pneumoniae 10%) . Pseudomonas aeruginosa occurred in approximately 20% of the cases and the remaining 10% were gram-positive aerobes . Clinical resolution was achieved in about 90% in all specific diagnoses . The eradication rate for gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae was 93.8%, for P . aeruginosa 81.8% and for gram-positive aerobes 90.2% . Studies comparing ciprofloxacin and standard treatment have shown the high efficacy of ciprofloxacin making it a preferred agent particularly for infections caused by pathogens less susceptible to conventional drugs . According to the experience of clinical trials the recommended ciprofloxacin dose varies between 100 and 500 mg b.i.d . orally depending on the severity of clinical status and the susceptibility of the pathogen.

Drugs, 1988, 35 Suppl 7, 35 - 8
Sulbactam/ampicillin in paediatric infections; Dajani AS; The emergence and spread of ampicillin-resistant Haemophilus influenzae type b strains have led to a sharp reduction in the use of ampicillin, or the addition of chloramphenicol, in the initial therapy of serious childhood infections . In some instances, third generation cephalosporins are used instead . The combination of ampicillin with sulbactam restores the former usefulness of ampicillin and extends its spectrum of activity to include normally ampicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus . Sulbactam/ampicillin should be useful in treating bacterial meningitis . It is more effective than third generation cephalosporins against Listeria and enterococci, and is more effective than ampicillin against Enterobacteriaceae . The combination also holds promise as a treatment for soft tissue, bone and joint infections in children.

Microbios, 1988, 55(224-225), 173 - 81
An examination of the anti-adherence activity of cranberry juice on urinary and nonurinary bacterial isolates; Schmidt DR et al.; In a previous investigation it was demonstrated that cranberry juice cocktail was able to inhibit adherence in 77 clinical isolates of Escherichia coli obtained from patients with diagnosed urinary tract infections . This work has been extended to include clinical isolates of E . coli, Proteus, Klebsiella, Enterobacter and Pseudomonas isolated from urine, sputum, wound and stool . Bacterial strains isolated from urine adhere in greater numbers to urinary tract epithelial cells than organisms isolated from sputum, stool and wound sources . E . coli, isolated from urine, adheres to urinary epithelial cells, in numbers three times greater than E . coli isolated from other clinical sources, and thus appears to represent a unique population of cells in terms of adherence . Cranberry juice cocktail and urine and urinary epithelial cells obtained after drinking the cocktail all demonstrate antiadherence activity against Gram-negative rods isolated from urine and other clinical sources . Drinking the cocktail may be useful in managing urinary tract infections in certain patients.

Clin Microbiol Rev, 1988 Jan, 1(1), 109 - 23
Beta-lactamase inhibitors from laboratory to clinic; Bush K; beta-Lactamases constitute the major defense mechanism of pathogenic bacteria against beta-lactam antibiotics . When the beta-lactam ring of this antibiotic class is hydrolyzed, antimicrobial activity is destroyed . Although beta-lactamases have been identified with clinical failures for over 40 years, enzymes with various abilities to hydrolyze specific penicillins or cephalosporins are appearing more frequently in clinical isolates . One approach to counteracting this resistance mechanism has been through the development of beta-lactamase inactivators . beta-Lactamase inhibitors include clavulanic acid and sulbactam, molecules with minimal antibiotic activity . However, when combined with safe and efficacious penicillins or cephalosporins, these inhibitors can serve to protect the familiar beta-lactam antibiotics from hydrolysis by penicillinases or broad-spectrum beta-lactamases . Both of these molecules eventually inactivate the target enzymes permanently . Although clavulanic acid exhibits more potent inhibitory activity than sulbactam, especially against the TEM-type broad-spectrum beta-lactamases, the spectrum of inhibitory activities are very similar . Neither of these inhibitors acts as a good inhibitor of the cephalosporinases . Clavulanic acid has been most frequently combined with amoxicillin in the orally active Augmentin and with ticarcillin in the parenteral beta-lactam combination Timentin . Sulbactam has been used primarily to protect ampicillin from enzymatic hydrolysis . Sulbactam has been used either in the orally absorbed prodrug form as sultamicillin or as the injectable combination ampicillin-sulbactam . Synergy has been demonstrated for these combinations for most members of the Enterobacteriaceae, although those organisms that produce cephalosporinases are not well inhibited . Synergy has also been observed for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Haemophilus influenzae, penicillinase-producing Staphylococcus aureus, and anaerobic organisms . These antibiotic combinations have been used clinically to treat urinary tract infections, bone and soft-tissue infections, gonorrhea, respiratory infections, and otitis media . Gastrointestinal side effects have been reported for Augmentin and sultamicillin; most side effects with these agents have been mild . Although combination therapy with beta-lactamase inactivators has been used successfully, the problem of resistance development to two agents must be considered . Induction of cephalosporinases can occur with clavulanic acid . Permeability mutants could arise, especially with added pressure from a second beta-lactam.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adv Exp Med Biol, 1988, 228, 577 - 91
Chemical and immunochemical studies on lipopolysaccharides of Coxiella burnetii phase I and phase II; Mayer H et al.; Lipopolysaccharides of Coxiella burnetii phase I and II were comparatively investigated by chemical and immunochemical methods . LPS of phase I (LPS I) and phase II cells (LPS II) show no serological cross reaction, indicating that the serological determinants of LPS II are masked in LPS I . Chemical analysis of LPS I and II show that phase I and II cells can be considered as S and R forms of Coxiella burnetii . The structure of LPS II has recently been elucidated and shows a dimannosylated core of an alpha(1,3)-linked heptose-disaccharide which is attached to a "KDO-like" substance . In enterobacterial core-types, alpha(1,3)-linked heptose-disaccharide is also part of the inner core structure, although the heptose occurring in enterobacterial R cores is the L-glycero-D-manno-heptose . In Coxiella burnetii we have only the rare D-glycero-D-manno-heptose which is the biosynthetic precursor of the former and is in many enteric LPS, present only in addition to L-glycero-D-mannoheptose . In these R-cores, it is occupying mostly terminal positions (Radziejewska-Lebrecht et al., 1981) and is absent from the main chain . The complete structure of LPS I is not yet available, but some important points could recently be clarified . The immunodominant sugars in LPS I are C-3-branched sugars, 6-deoxy-3-C-methyl-L-gulose (L-virenose) and 3-C-(hydroxymethyl)-L-lyxose (dihydro-hydroxy-L-streptose) . These two sugars have not been found so far in other lipopolysaccharides and the latter one not previously in any other natural product . Their identification is based on GLC-MS comparison with authentic and synthetic compounds . Both branched sugars (and in addition part of the mannose) are the terminal sugars in LPS I . Sites of attachment of phase I-specific sugars to the LPS II-core are: the 3-position of a branched heptose and, presumably, the 4-position of a terminal D-mannose . The extreme acid-lability of the linkages of both branched sugars was investigated in detail and is caused by the nature of the branched sugars (deoxyhexose with bulky axial substituents; pentofuranose with axial OH-groups) . No information is so far available on the (penultimate) sugars to which the branched sugars are linked, but methylation analyses with LPS I, and with the recently described I/CR mutant, which is selectively lacking the virenopyranose, are presently performed.

Br J Rheumatol, 1988, 27 Suppl 2, 23 - 8
Lymphocyte response to enterobacterial biostructures in seronegative spondarthritis: specific T-cell mediated immunity or non-specific polyclonal B-cell activation?
Gross WL, Lohmann C, Ludemann G, Ludemann J.
The proliferative response, as measured by thymidine uptake and the B-cell differentiation response, as measured by Ig secretion, have been studied in peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from patients with ankylosing spondylitis, Yersinia reactive arthritis, Klebsiella infections and healthy controls, following stimulation with enterobacterial biostructures.

Biol Met, 1988, 1(1), 51 - 6
Characterization of ferrioxamine E as the principal siderophore of Erwinia herbicola (Enterobacter agglomerans); Berner I et al.; Several strains of the enterobacterial group Erwinia herbicola (Enterobacter agglomerans) were screened for siderophore production . After 3 days of growth in a low-iron medium, all strains studied produced hydroxamate siderophores . The retention values of the main siderophore during thin-layer chromatography on silica gel plates and on HPLC reversed-phase columns were identical with those of an authentic sample of ferrioxamine E (norcardamine) . Gas-chromatographic analysis of the HI hydrolyzate yielded succinic acid and 1,5-diaminopentane in equimolar amounts; fast-atom-bombardment (FAB) mass spectroscopy showed a molecular mass of 653 Da . Iron from 55Fe-labelled ferrioxamine E was well taken up by iron-starved cells of E . herbicola (Km = 0.1 microM, Vmax = 8 pmol mg-1 min-1) . However, besides ferrioxamine E (100%), several exogenous siderophores such as enterobactin (94.5%), ferric citrate (78.5%), coprogen (63.5%) and ferrichrome (17.5%) served as siderophores, suggesting the presence of multiple siderophore receptors in the outer membrane of E . herbicola.

Drugs Exp Clin Res, 1988, 14(6), 403 - 9
Trospectomycin, a novel spectinomycin analogue: antibacterial activity and preliminary human pharmacokinetics; Zurenko GE et al.; Trospectomycin (TSP; U-63366F) is a novel spectinomycin (SP) analogue with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity . The in vitro activity of the analogue was compared to that of SP against approximately 400 bacterial isolates . The in vivo activity of the compound was assessed using experimental infection models for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative facultative bacteria . The preliminary human pharmacokinetics of TSP were evaluated following single-dose i.v . or i.m . administration . TSP was more active in vitro than SP (2 to 32-fold) against strains of numerous bacterial species, including staphylococci, streptococci, Haemophilus influenzae, Branhamella catarrhalis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Proteus spp., Bacteroides spp., Gardnerella vaginalis and Chlamydia trachomatis . The activity of TSP for most species of the family Enterobacteriaceae was comparable to that of SP . TSP was more active than SP (2 to 32-fold) in curing experimental infections due to streptococci, Salmonella typhi, Serratia marcescens, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae . TSP was well-absorbed following both i.v . and i.m . administration . Pharmacokinetic analysis of microbiological assay data for the 1000 mg dose yielded the following mean values for the i.v . and i.m . routes, respectively: Cmax = 81.2, 28.7 micrograms/ml; serum half-life = 2.2, 2.2 h; Tmax = 25, 75 min; and AUC = 156.6, 116.2 h micrograms/ml . Pharmacokinetic analysis of assay data derived using the more sensitive HPLC assay revealed the biphasic nature of trospectomycin elimination, highlighted by a short apparent serum half-life (2.2 h) and a prolonged tissue half-life (approximately 36 h) . TSP inhibits a variety of clinically important organisms, including agents of sexually transmitted diseases and pelvic inflammatory disease, and demonstrates favourable pharmacokinetic properties.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Am J Nephrol, 1988, 8(1), 68 - 70
Acute renal failure, skin rash, and eosinophilia associated with aztreonam; Pazmino P; A case of acute renal failure associated with aztreonam therapy is reported . A man, age 70, with infections due to Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloaca was treated for 9 days with aztreonam and presented with a generalized maculopapular rash, fever, eosinophilia, worsening renal function and increased IgE levels and eosinophiluria . Aztreonam was then discontinued and the patient was treated with supportive measures and steroids and his renal failure reversed over the course of 5 days . This appears to be one of the first cases of acute renal failure associated with aztreonam.

Drugs Exp Clin Res, 1988, 14(8), 511 - 7
Development of gentamicin resistance in gram-negative bacteria in Czechoslovakia and correlation with its usage; Kettner M et al.; Widespread use of gentamicin in Czechoslovakia began in 1975 when it became more available, although its use remained restricted until 1986 . Starting in 1980 a remarkable increase in gentamicin resistance was observed in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella, Enterobacter and several Proteus species, especially Proteus rettgeri . A large proportion of gentamicin-resistant strains came from the urine of hospitalized patients . In spite of infection control measures and restrictive antibiotic policy, gentamicin resistance has increased over the last years . In 1985 gentamicin resistance of bacteria in Czechoslovakia represented 18.2% and was higher than in Austria or the Federal Republic of Germany, for example, but lower than in Hungary, France, Greece and Italy . The usage of gentamicin has also increased . During the years 1982-1987 gentamicin usage in Czechoslovakia increased by one-half . In a representative collection of 69 gentamicin-resistant Gram-negative strains from seven regions of Czechoslovakia, the mechanisms of resistance to gentamicin, netilmicin, tobramycin and amikacin were studied . Production of acetyltransferases (AAC) and adenylyltransferases (ANT) was observed in 84% of strains . The majority of isolates produced AAC(3) enzymes (55%); production of ANT(2") represented the second most observed resistance mechanism (35%); only 14% of isolates produced AAC(6') . This resistance pattern correlates with patterns reported recently for Central and Southern Europe . Due to dissemination of plasmids coding for the AAC(3)-II enzyme, the majority of Czechoslovak gentamicin-resistant Gram-negative strains were also tobramycin- (87%) and netilmicin-resistant (68%) . Amikacin remains the most effective aminoglycoside against multiresistant bacterial strains.

Dev Genet, 1988, 9(4-5), 279 - 92
Contact alters cAMP metabolism in aggregation-competent Dictyostelium amoebae; Fontana DR et al.; cAMP and cell-cell contact are involved in the coordination of differentiation and morphogenesis in Dictyostelium discoideum . The experiments described in this paper establish a relationship between cAMP and cell-cell contact . Contact between Enterobacter aerogenes and aggregation-competent Dictyostelium amoebae and contact between Dictyostelium amoebae themselves results in the transient secretion of cAMP and an alteration in the amount of cAMP secreted in response to subsequent stimulation by cAMP, i.e., an alteration in magnitude of a cAMP relay response . The subsequent cAMP relay response can be enhanced or diminished depending upon the number of contacts formed and the concentration of cAMP present at the time of contact . Latex beads are capable of evoking cAMP secretion . However, the bead/amoebal contact is unable to alter the magnitude of a subsequent response to cAMP . This suggests that a nonspecific interaction via cell-cell contact elicits transient cAMP secretion in aggregation-competent Dictyostelium amoebae . The two responses to cell-cell contact are distinct from each other and distinct from the cAMP relay response . 1) The dose-response curves for the responses to Enterobacter contact are clearly different . 2) Contact with latex beads can elicit cAMP secretion but not alter the magnitude of a subsequent cAMP relay response . 3) The temperature dependences of the contact-induced responses and the cAMP relay response show that only the contact-induced cAMP secretion is inhibited at 12 and 15 degrees C, while only the cAMP relay response is inhibited at 28 degrees C . A 4-second application of cAMP at the time that contact is initiated enhances both contact-induced responses . Whether the relationship between these two developmental regulators is important for the regulation of Dictyostelium development has yet to be established.

Infection, 1988, 16(6), 349 - 53
The action of LPS porins and peptidoglycan fragments on human spermatozoa; Galdiero F et al.; This study examines the action of the cell wall components of enterobacteria on the vitality of human spermatozoa . Lipopolysaccharides extracted from Escherichia coli K12 killed about 80% of the spermatozoa at a concentration of 50 micrograms/ml . Porins extracted from E . coli, Proteus mirabilis and Salmonella typhimurium killed between 80% and 100% of the spermatozoa at a concentration of 50 micrograms/ml . Muramic acid and N-acetylmuramic acid caused about 60% mortality at a concentration of 50 micrograms/ml . The possibility that the products of cellular lysis in the course of gram-negative infections cause temporary sterility is discussed.

Plasmid, 1988 Jan, 19(1), 1 - 12
Localization and physical mapping of a plasmid-borne 23-kb nif gene cluster from Enterobacter agglomerans showing homology to the entire nif gene cluster of Klebsiella pneumoniae M5a1; Singh M et al.; A physical and genetical map of the plasmid pEA3 indigenous to Enterobacter agglomerans is presented . pEA3 is a 111-kb large plasmid containing a 23-kb large cluster of nif genes which shows extensive homology (Southern hybridization and heteroduplex analysis) to the entire nif gene cluster of Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) M5a1 . All the nif genes on pEA3 are organized in the same manner as in K . pneumoniae, except nifJ, which is located on the left end of pEA3 nif gene cluster (near nifQB) . A BamHI restriction map of pEA3 and a detailed restriction map of the 23-kb nif region on pEA3 is also presented . The nif genes of pEA3 showed a low level of acetylene reduction in Escherichia coli, demonstrating that these genes are functional and contain the whole genetic information required to fix nitrogen . The origin of vegetative replication (OriV) of pEA3 was localized about 5.5 kb from the right end of the nif gene cluster . In addition to pEA3, large plasmids from four other strains of E . agglomerans showed homology to all the Kp nif genes tested, indicating that in diazotrophic strains of E . agglomerans nif genes are usually located on plasmids . In contrast, in most of the free-living, nitrogen-fixing bacteria the nif genes are on chromosome.

Pharmatherapeutica, 1988, 5(3), 204 - 11
{Suppurative meningitis in the newborn infant: experience with 107 cases in the Ivory Coast}; Do Rego A et al.; A retrospective study of 107 neonates with meningitis showed that in 45% of cases the condition occurred during the first 48 hours after birth, probably following a materno-foetal infection . Male neonates accounted for 70% of the cases . In 15% of cases, the mothers previously had a known infectious disease and 55% of cases came from an unfavourable socio-economic environment . Over 50% of the infants had to be resuscitated at birth . The majority of organisms isolated were Gram-negative bacteria or Enterobacteriaceae; the commonest organism was Haemophilus influenzae . The most effective specific treatment (91% favourable results) was intravenous amoxycillin plus intramuscular gentamicin . It is recommended that the newborn infant of parents living in unfavourable socio-economic circumstances should receive careful follow-up during the first week after birth so that the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis can be made at the start of infection . The neonate should receive effective prophylactic antibiotic cover if resuscitated, if the mother has suffered from an infectious disease during pregnancy or if premature rupture of the membranes has occurred.

Br J Rheumatol, 1988, 27 Suppl 2, 61 - 7
Enterobacterial involvement in the pathogenesis of secondary ankylosing spondylitis; van Bohemen CG et al.; Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is closely associated with the histocompatibility antigen HLA-B27 . Pathogenesis of AS is thought to involve interactions between B27 and certain enterobacterial antigens . However, this is uncertain and contested by some . The present paper argues that the presence of statistically raised specific serum IgA to a common enterobacterial heat modifiable major outer membrane protein (h-momp; Mr 35,000) in active AS (N = 25; IgA = 1485 +/- 20) in comparison to controls, most notably hospital patients without known arthropathies or gastrointestinal disease (N = 12; IgA = 548 +/- 59), supports an inductive contribution of enterobacterial antigens to the pathogenesis of secondary AS . Serum IgG and IgM did not statistically differ . Raised specific serum IgA to h-momp might indicate enterobacterial antigenic stimulation from the gastrointestinal tract . It does not necessarily imply direct involvement in the pathogenesis of primary AS . H-momp appears to be a convenient tool for serological studies of AS and at present is likely to be more suitable than other bacterial antigens, notably those with B27-like epitopes . Namely, the confirmed presence in AS of enterobacteria with freely accessible B27-like antigenic epitopes on their cell surface might induce unusual tolerance to these organisms in B27 positive hosts, thus causing chronic inflammation, initially sacroiliitis (and spondylitis) due to the proximity of presacral and para-aortic colon draining lymph nodes, later becoming more generalized (for reasons unclear) to include other lesions (e.g . peripheral arthritis, uveitis, enthesopathies) . Thus, antibodies to B27-like antigenic epitopes need not be detectable or may be absent . Also, cellular immune responsiveness to these antigens might be involved.

Presse Med, 1987 Dec 16, 16(43), 2176 - 9
{Treatment of neonatal infections: the place of cephalosporins}; Aujard Y; The most commonly used antibiotic combination as a first-line treatment in neonates is ampicillin and an aminoglycoside . The increasing resistance of E . coli to ampicillin requires another choice . Good activity against group B Streptococci and E . coli, good CSF penetration and fewer side-effects are in favour of third generation cephalosporins as part of the antibiotic therapy . If a Listeria infection has not been excluded at the beginning of treatment, a triple combination may be given: ampicillin + third generation cephalosporin + aminoglycoside during the first 48 hours . The prognosis of enterobacterial meningitis has improved with third generation cephalosporins . As the other beta-lactam antibiotics, they modify the intestinal microbial ecosystem.

Presse Med, 1987 Dec 16, 16(43), 2167 - 71
{Beta-lactam combinations with new quinolones}; Thabaut A et al.; The combination of new quinolones with beta-lactam antibiotics can be an alternative to the classical use of aminoglycoside-beta-lactam antibiotic combinations . In vitro studies, in particular using cefotaxime-pefloxacin or ofloxacin combinations against Enterobacteria and cefsulodin or ceftazidime with pefloxacin or ofloxacin against P . aeruginosa rarely show evidence of synergistic antibacterial activity when the "static" checker board method is used . In contrast, kinetic bactericidal studies very often show a notable increase in the rapidity of bactericidal activity as well as the disappearance of the frequent secondary regrowth seen after 6 hours with the antibiotics used alone . Techniques studying the development of resistance in vitro show that the combination of pefloxacin-cefotaxime against enterobacteria and pefloxacin-cefsulodin against P . aeruginosa are capable of inhibiting the emergence of resistant variants . These promising results require confirmation by studies using animal models and, above all, by the clinico-microbiological analysis of the results of clinical trials.

Presse Med, 1987 Dec 16, 16(43), 2161 - 6
{Treatment with a cefotaxime-fosfomycin combination of staphylococcal or enterobacterial meningitis in adults}; Portier H et al.; Thirty-two patients were included in this trial: 22 with staphylococcal meningitis (including 5 methicillin-resistant) and 10 with enterobacterial meningitis . Mean duration of treatment was 14.5 and 15.9 days respectively . The combination was synergistic in vitro against 10 of the 12 strains of Staphylococcus and 5 of the 6 strains of Enterobacteriaceae studied . Bacteriological sterilization occurred in all cases which could be evaluated, and clinical recovery was obtained in 95.2% of patients with staphylococcal meningitis (4 unrelated deaths) and 100% of patients with enterobacterial meningitis (2 deaths) . Bactericidal power of the cerebro-spinal fluid, often less than 1/8, was not correlated with effectiveness against Staphylococci . Mean CSF concentrations of cefotaxime, desacetylcefotaxime and fosfomycin on the 2nd and 15th days of treatment were 4, 3.5 and 39.8 mg/l and 2.2, 2.1 and 28.0 mg/l, respectively . Clinical and biological acceptability was satisfactory . There were three cases of superinfection or colonization, by Pseudomonas and Enterobacter.

Am J Ophthalmol, 1987 Dec 15, 104(6), 649 - 53
Penetration of imipenem into human aqueous and vitreous humor; Axelrod JL et al.; Twenty-five patients about to undergo cataract surgery and ten patients about to undergo vitrectomy received a 1-g intravenous dose of imipenem before surgery . Specimens of aqueous or vitreous humor were then obtained and assayed for antibiotic content with a microbiologic disk agar technique . A mean peak aqueous humor level of 2.99 micrograms/ml was found at approximately two hours after administration, and a mean vitreous level of 2.53 micrograms/ml was found from two hours to three hours 15 minutes after administration . These concentrations were well above the minimum inhibitory concentration of imipenem for 90% (MIC90) of Staphylococcus epidermidis, S . aureus, and the Enterobacteriaceae commonly involved in bacterial endophthalmitis.

Pharm Weekbl Sci, 1987 Dec 11, 9 Suppl, S78 - 81
Treatment of chronic bacterial prostatitis with ciprofloxacin; Langemeyer TN et al.; Thirty two patients with proven chronic bacterial prostatitis were treated with ciprofloxacin 500 mg twice daily orally for four weeks . The causative organisms, cultured from prostatic fluid were Enterobacteriaceae (19 patients), enterococci (9), staphylococci (4), streptococci (3), non-fermentative Gram-negative rods (2) and anaerobic bacteria (9) . Nineteen patients had pure cultures, 13 mixed cultures . The susceptibility of all organisms to ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and doxycyclin was determined by agar dilution . The effect of therapy was measured by clinical parameters and by repeated cultures of prostatic fluid during and after therapy up to six months . Clinical cure (at one month after therapy) was obtained in 22 patients, improvement in seven; two patients did not respond, one patient had to stop during therapy because of severe nausea . No other side effects were noted . Ciprofloxacin may be a useful alternative drug in the treatment of prostatitis.

J Med Microbiol, 1987 Dec, 24(4), 291 - 5
Evaluation of a bacteriophage-typing scheme for Enterobacter cloacae; Gaston MA; A set of 25 Enterobacter cloacae typing phages was evaluated . Of 384 test strains, 93.8% were lysed by at least one phage; the mean number of reactions/strain was 7.3 . Discrimination between strains was satisfactory within the most frequent O serotypes; 0.9 patterns/strain were found for strains of serotypes O3 and O8 . Overall, 325 patterns were found . Phage patterns were completely reproducible when duplicates of strains were typed on the same day, but only 40% reproducible when repeated after 18 months . The combination of O serology and phage typing discriminated well between hospital isolates.

J Med Microbiol, 1987 Dec, 24(4), 285 - 90
Isolation and selection of a bacteriophage-typing set for Enterobacter cloacae; Gaston MA; Seventy-six phages active against Enterobacter cloacae were isolated from sewage and other sources . They were tested at RTD on 92 selected strains of E . cloacae and their lytic reactions were used to select phages for a typing set . Numerical analysis by the Jaccard coefficient was used to assess the similarity between the phages . A computer-based test selection procedure selected sub-sets of phages to discriminate between all 92 E . cloacae strains and within the most frequent serological groups . A subjective analysis of the candidate phages based on similarity, clarity of plaque and frequency of lysis was combined with the computer selected sub-sets to produce a final set of 25 phages that gave a good theoretical discrimination of clinical isolates of E . cloacae.

J Bacteriol, 1987 Dec, 169(12), 5827 - 30
Protocatechuate is not metabolized via catechol in Enterobacter aerogenes; Doten RC et al.; Protocatechuate is generally metabolized in bacteria by direct oxygenative cleavage to produce beta-carboxymuconate . An exception to this pattern has been suggested by reports that protocatechuate might be metabolized by nonoxidative decarboxylation to catechol in Enterobacter aerogenes . In the present investigation, analysis of mutant strains indicated that this proposed pathway did not make a significant contribution to protocatechuate metabolism in E . aerogenes because mutations blocking catechol metabolism did not impair protocatechuate utilization . In addition, all the enzymes required for the oxygenative cleavage of protocatechuate and its further metabolism were induced in E . aerogenes during protocatechuate metabolism, and mutations inactivating this oxygenative pathway prevented protocatechuate degradation . The strains of E . aerogenes examined exhibited broad specificities of inductive control over genes associated with protocatechuate and catechol metabolism; it appears that a number of metabolites may trigger the expression of these genes.

J Gen Microbiol, 1987 Dec, 133 ( Pt 12), 3383 - 92
Reduced expression of outer-membrane proteins in beta-lactam-resistant mutants of Enterobacter cloacae; Aggeler R et al.; Two antibiotic-resistant mutants of Enterobacter cloacae (AZT-R and AMA-R), obtained by selection with aztreonam and carumonam, were studied . Both mutants were resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics . In addition, AMA-R was also resistant to chloramphenicol, trimethoprim and brodimoprim, whereas AZT-R was hypersensitive to these compounds . Cytoplasmic and outer membranes of these bacteria were separated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation . Analysis of the outer membranes using SDS-PAGE showed marked changes in the bands corresponding to the porins (between 35 and 40 kDa) . In the two mutants, the 39 kDa band was reduced to approximately 30% of the wild-type and the 36.5 kDa band was absent . Labelling of the outer membranes with the hydrophobic photolabel 3-(trifluoomethyl)- 3-(m-{125I}iodophenyl)diazirine ({125I}TID) enabled the above bands as well as a 28.8 kDa band to be identified as integral membrane proteins, thus supporting the suggestion that they correspond to porins and OmpA protein, respectively . Whereas the changes observed in outer-membrane proteins are assumed to be responsible for resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, the basis of hypersensitivity of AZT-R to hydrophobic antibiotics remains to be more clearly defined.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1987 Dec, 20(6), 903 - 11
Treatment failures of cefotaxime and latamoxef in meningitis caused by Enterobacter and Serratia spp; Eng RH et al.; Despite the apparent success of several new cephalosporins in the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial meningitis, four treatment failures with cefotaxime or latamoxef were encountered (two caused by Enterobacter and two by Serratia spp.) In-vitro parameters of susceptibility of these clinical isolates were compared with those of a meningeal Ent . cloacae isolate from a successfully treated patient . The MIC and MBC values, degrees of inoculum effect, and amounts of beta-lactamase produced correlated poorly with the observed clinical outcome . However, the extent to which an isolate was killed by the cephalosporin used for treatment, in a 6-h in-vitro incubation, showed good correlation . We suggest that such a test should be used to predict clinical outcome of therapy because the other parameters such as the MIC and MBC values are not sufficiently discriminatory.

J Vet Pharmacol Ther, 1987 Dec, 10(4), 324 - 30
Serum levels and pharmacokinetics of ticarcillin and clavulanic acid in dog following parenteral administration of Timentin; Garg RC et al.; The serum concentration-time data for ticarcillin (TICAR) and clavulanic acid (CLA) following intravenous and intramuscular administration of Timentin (TICAR, 50 mg/kg with CLA, 1.7 mg/kg) indicated that absorption of CLA following intramuscular injection and its overall elimination from the body was faster than that of TICAR . This is supported by comparison of certain pharmacokinetic parameters for TICAR and CLA . These include the shorter value of Tmax for CLA (11.45 +/- 1.60 min) than that for TICAR (29.93 +/- 1.94 min) and significant variation in the elimination rate constants (0.183 +/- 0.0018 min -1 for CLA vs . 0.0097 +/- 0.0006 min -1 for TICAR) for the intravenous group of animals . The biological half-life of CLA (approximately 39 min) was significantly shorter (P less than 0.01) than that of TICAR (approximately 73 min) . In spite of initial faster absorption, the intramuscular bioavailability of CLA (65.02%) was less than that of TICAR (91.37%) . Though the pharmacokinetic behaviour of TICAR and CLA is not similar, yet based on the therapeutically optimal concentrations of CLA and TICAR reached in serum, Timentin at the dose used in the present study should be effective in treating most TICAR-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections in dogs . Timentin is not likely to be effective in the treatment of infections caused by TICAR-resistant pseudomonads, at the dose used in the present study.

Acta Pathol Microbiol Immunol Scand {B}, 1987 Dec, 95(6), 331 - 6
The bacteriology of nosocomial infections at Tikur Anbessa Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa; Gedebou M et al.; Patients admitted to a teaching hospital in Addis Ababa were studied for nosocomial infection . Of 2506 patients, 13% developed clinical infections, with the highest rate among obstetric/gynaecologic patients (17.0%) . Wound infection was the most frequent type of nosocomial infection (49%) followed by urinary tract infection (25%) . Antibiotic prophylaxis was given to 43% of the patients . Gram-negative bacteria comprised 88% of all isolated strains Enterobacteriaceae; 75% of all isolates were found in over 60% of the infection, Proteus 25%, Escherichia coli 20% and Klebsiella 19% . The most widely used antibiotics were ineffective against 65 to 85% of the Gram-negative strains . Cefotaxime and gentamicin were more effective . Staphylococcus aureus isolates were also similarly resistant, against which cephalothin, lincomycin and gentamicin were the more effective ones . Over 70% of the strains were multiple resistant . The findings underscore the need for a surveillance program and infection control system to reduce the high rate of infection and to institute appropriate guidelines for the use of prophylactic and therapeutic antibiotics.

J Clin Microbiol, 1987 Dec, 25(12), 2437 - 9
Monoclonal antibody for identification of Bacteroides gingivalis lipopolysaccharide; Millar SJ et al.; A monoclonal antibody, BBG-25, raised in BALB/c mice demonstrated specificity for Bacteroides gingivalis lipopolysaccharide . Immunoblotting indicated that this monoclonal antibody does not cross-react with lipopolysaccharide prepared from enterobacterial organisms or from other Bacteroides species.

J Clin Microbiol, 1987 Dec, 25(12), 2432 - 3
Osteomyelitis caused by Enterobacter taylorae, formerly enteric group 19; Westblom TU et al.; The first case of osteomyelitis caused by Enterobacter taylorae is presented . The infection occurred as a complication to an open fracture in an otherwise healthy host . Despite antimicrobial therapy, based on in vitro susceptibilities, it was not possible to establish a microbiologic cure.

J Clin Microbiol, 1987 Dec, 25(12), 2372 - 7
Comparison of a highly automated 5-h susceptibility testing system, the Cobas-Bact, with two reference methods: Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion and broth microdilution; Murray PR et al.; The results of susceptibility tests performed with the Cobas-Bact system were compared with those of the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion and the broth microdilution methods . The evaluation included tests with 24 antibiotics against 250 isolates of the family Enterobacteriaceae and 13 antibiotics against 100 gram-positive cocci . Complete agreements between the Cobas-Bact and Kirby-Bauer methods were 82.8 and 84.5% for gram-positive cocci and gram-negative bacilli, respectively . Agreements between the Cobas-Bact and broth microdilution methods were 76.7% for gram-positive cocci and 84.8% for gram-negative bacilli . Complete agreements between the Kirby-Bauer and broth microdilution methods were 87.0% for gram-positive cocci and 92.2% for gram-negative bacilli . Despite generally satisfactory results with most organism-antibiotic combinations tested, additional modifications of the Cobas-Bact system are required to reduce the number of major and very major discrepancies, as well as to permit testing of Pseudomonas spp . and other gram-negative nonfermentative bacilli.

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1987 Dec, 40(12), 1762 - 7
The in vitro activity of the combination of cefotaxime and HRE 664; Limbert M et al.; Cefotaxime (CTX) and HRE 664 (a novel penem antibiotic) possess complementary in vitro properties . Differences can be observed in their antibacterial spectra, their beta-lactamase stability and -inhibition, and their affinity to penicillin-binding proteins . These differences suggested that combinations of the cephalosporin and the penem antibiotic would be advantageous and should be studied . The fractional inhibitory concentration values of checkerboard studies confirmed that CTX and HRE 664 act synergistically against various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria . Fixed combinations containing 80% CTX and 20% HRE 664 possess broader antibacterial spectra and in certain cases higher antibacterial activities than each of the components alone . The combinations had improved activity against Staphylococci including methicillin-resistant strains, beta-lactamase producing strains of Enterobacter sp . and Bacteroides fragilis . The combination as well as the single antibiotics had only limited activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Infect Dis Clin North Am, 1987 Dec, 1(4), 855 - 73
Acute and chronic prostatitis: diagnosis and treatment; Meares EM Jr; Several distinct types of prostatitis, or prostatitis syndromes, are now recognized . The most common types include acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis, nonbacterial prostatitis, and prostatodynia . Bacterial prostatitis, caused mainly by enterobacteria, is often difficult to cure, and chronic bacterial prostatitis is a common cause of relapsing recurrent urinary tract infection in men . Nonbacterial prostatitis, the most common syndrome, is an inflammation of the prostate of unknown cause . Patients with prostatodynia typically have sterile cultures and normal prostatic secretions but demonstrate an acquired voiding dysfunction on video-urodynamic testing . Since nonbacterial types of prostatitis have no recognized infectious cause, treatment using antimicrobial agents is ineffective and unwarranted.

Mol Gen Mikrobiol Virusol, 1987 Dec, (12), 40 - 5
{Genetic determinants of antibiotic resistance in enterobacteria}; Anisimova LA et al.; Antibiotic resistance of enterobacterial strains from population isolated in Krasnodar region is rather often controlled by the "plasmid" genes . The conclusion is based on using the colony hybridization with {32P}-DNA fragments of plasmids, carrying the genetic determinants of antibiotic resistance, as a method for antibiotic resistance, genes screening . Kanamycin resistance in the majority of strains is coded by APH (3') II gene, streptomycin resistance by APH (3") gene, chloramphenicol resistance by CATI, sulphonilamide resistance by DHPS type II gene . Tetracycline resistance of the studied enterobacterial strains is not connected with the widespread genetic determinants of a new class tetracycline resistance.

Can J Microbiol, 1987 Dec, 33(12), 1055 - 63
Investigation of a Providencia rettgeri strain that has enterobacterial common antigen in the immunogenic state; Quigley RC et al.; Antigenic material obtained by phenol-water extraction from Providencia rettgeri strains, Escherichia coli O:14 strains, and mutants of the E . coli O:14 strain were examined by the passive (indirect) hemagglutination technique, by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and by immune blotting (lipopolysaccharide (LPS) blotting) . Providencia rettgeri 965, like E . coli O:14, was demonstrated to have an enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) in the immunogenic form but, unlike E . coli O:14, it possessed characteristics of a smooth strain . Two populations of molecules were observed to occur in P . rettgeri 965 phenol-water extracts: one consisting of LPS identifiable with specific O antisera and the other of ECA molecules identifiable with E . coli O:14 antiserum or with a monoclonal antibody against ECA.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1987 Dec, 20(6), 783 - 802
Origin and evolution of genes specifying resistance to macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin antibiotics: data and hypotheses; Arthur M et al.; Resistance to macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin antibiotics is due to alteration of the target site or detoxification of the antibiotic . Postranscriptional methylation of 23S ribosomal rRNA confers resistance to macrolide (M), lincosamide (L) and streptogramin (S) B-type antibiotics, the so-called MLSB phenotype . Several classes of rRNA methylases conferring resistance to MLSB antibiotics have been characterized in Gram-positive cocci, in Bacillus spp, and in strains of actinomycetes producing erythromycin . The enzymes catalyze N6-dimethylation of an adenine residue situated in a highly conserved region of prokaryotic 23S rRNA . In this review, we compare the amino acid sequences of the rRNA methylases and analyze the codon usage in the corresponding erm (erythromycin resistance methylase) genes . The homology detected at the protein level is consistent with the notion that an ancestor of the erm genes was implicated in erythromycin resistance in a producing strain . However, the rRNA methylases of producers and non-producers present substantial sequence diversity . In Gram-positive bacteria the preferential codon usage in the erm genes reflects the guanosine plus cytosine content of the chromosome of the host . These observations suggest that the presence of erm genes in these micro-organisms is ancient . By contrast, it would appear that enterobacteria have acquired only recently an rRNA methylase gene of the ermB class from a Gram-positive coccus since the genes isolated in Escherichia coli and in Gram-positive cocci are highly homologous (homology greater than 98%) and present a codon usage typical of the latter micro-organisms . As opposed to the MLSB phenotype which results from a single biochemical mechanism, inactivation of structurally related antibiotics of the MLS group involves synthesis of various other enzymes . In enterobacteria, resistance to erythromycin and oleandomycin is due to production of erythromycin esterases which hydrolyze the lactone ring of the 14-membered macrolides . We recently reported the nucleotide sequence of ereA and ereB (erythromycin resistance esterase) genes which encode erythromycin esterases type I and II, respectively . The amino acid sequences of the two isozymes do not exhibit statistically significant homology . Analysis of codon usage in both genes suggests that esterase type I is indigenous to E . coli, whereas the type II enzyme was acquired by E . coli from a phylogenetically remote micro-organism . Inactivation of lincosamides, first reported in staphylococci and lactobacilli of animal origin, was also recently detected in Gram-positive cocci isolated from humans.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1987 Dec, 31(12), 1997 - 2001
In vitro activities of ICI 194008 and ICI 193428, two new cephem antimicrobial agents; Allan JD Jr et al.; The in vitro activities of two new cephem antibiotics, ICI 193428 and ICI 194008, were compared with those of cefpirome, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, and piperacillin . Essentially all strains of the family Enterobacteriaceae were inhibited by both study drugs at concentrations of less than or equal to 4 micrograms/ml . Both new cephems were comparable to ceftazidime against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC for 90% of strains, 8 micrograms/ml) and were the most active agents tested against Pseudomonas maltophilia (MIC for 90% of strains, 16 micrograms/ml).

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1987 Dec, 35(10 Pt 2), 1426 - 30
{Quinolones and phagocytosis}; Desnottes JF; Fluoroquinolones as pefloxacin (PEF), ciprofloxacin (CIP), ofloxacin (OFL), norfloxacin (NOR) and enoxacin (ENO), are able to interfere with phagocyte-bacteria interaction . Active forms of PEF, CIP and OFL are concentrated in macrophages (MA) and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) . These molecules appear to be free in MA cytoplasm and their release is rapid after withdrawal of extracellular antibiotic . Pretreatment of different species of bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae, S . aureus) with sub-CMIs of CIP and PEF, leads to morphologic modifications of bacteria and increases their engulfment by PMNs . Pretreatment of PMNs with therapeutic concentrations of PEF, NOR and ENO, but not CIP, increases phagocytic capacity and/or chemiluminescence . S . aureus pretreatment with sub-CMIs of CIP enhances intracellular killing . Adding of PEF after L . pneumophila phagocytosis by MA, involves a significant intracellular killing even after withdrawal of the extracellular drug . These different properties could explain good therapeutic results in severe infection treatment when the antibacterial activity of an antibiotic is not really sufficient to cure the infectious disease.

Pathol Biol (Paris), 1987 Dec, 35(10 Pt 2), 1386 - 8
{The role of 4-quinolones and antibiotics in the elimination of virulence plasmids of Enterobacteriaceae}; Michel-Briand Y et al.; Twenty-six antibiotics belonging to thirteen different chemical families had been tested on seven Enterobacteriaceae harbouring a virulence plasmid (Shigella sonnei, S . flexneri, S . dysenteriae, Escherichia coli (two plasmids) . Yersinia and Salmonella dublin) . Novobiocin and rifampicin were found to be most efficient eliminating three plasmids of which two come from Shigella . Clindamycin, cotrimoxazole, nifurzide, ciprofloxacin, and tilbroquinol were also efficient, but at lower rate . Four virulence plasmids (from the three Shigella sp and Y . pestis) were eliminated by one or several antibiotics . The frequency of elimination was low (at best 10% bacteria per generation) . The plasmid pWR105 from S . sonnei was the less stable.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {A}, 1987 Dec, 267(2), 188 - 93
Detection of specific bacterial enzymes by high contrast metal chelate formation . Part I . 8-Hydroxyquinoline-beta-D-glucoside, an alternative to aesculin in the differentiation of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae; James AL et al.; 8-Hydroxyquinoline-beta-D-glucoside has been shown to be a useful alternative substrate for the differentiation of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae based on the presence or absence of beta-glucosidase . In an identification protocol based on multipoint-inoculated plates 8-hydroxyquinoline-beta-D-glucoside when incorporated into an agar based medium supplemented with a ferric salt produced intense black pigmentation localised solely in the immediate vicinity of beta-glucosidase positive organisms . In contrast, using conventional aesculin plates, positive organisms produced a brown ferric-aesculetin complex, the diffusibility of which limited interpretation especially where large numbers of colonies were involved . Almost complete agreement was found when 1964 routine 'coliform' organisms were tested by both methods . The method described allows use of a 36 place 'minipin' inoculator without any danger of 'nearest neighbour' interference and constitutes a cost-effective method suitable for either manual or automatic reading.

Clin Pharmacol Ther, 1987 Nov, 42(5), 588 - 94
A genetic polymorphism of the N-oxidation of trimethylamine in humans; Al-Waiz M et al.; Trimethylamine (TMA) and its N-oxide (TMAO) are normal components of human urine . They are present in the diet and also derived from the enterobacterial metabolism of precursors such as choline . Dietary TMA is almost entirely metabolized to and excreted as TMAO . However, the extent to which TMA undergoes N-oxidation appears to be polymorphic in a British white population study (n = 169) . Two propositi were identified with relative TMA N-oxidation deficiency that was further confirmed by oral challenge with TMA (600 mg) . The study of the families of the two propositi, as well as those of two identified subjects with trimethylaminuria, under both normal dietary conditions and after oral TMA challenge strongly indicates that the conditions of impaired N-oxidation is inherited as a recessive trait . It is proposed that the N-oxidation of TMA in humans is polymorphic and under single gene diallelic control in which individuals who are homozygous for the variant allele exhibit marked N-oxidation deficiency and trimethylaminuria.

J Med Microbiol, 1987 Nov, 24(3), 187 - 96
Properties of equine anti-lipopolysaccharide hyperimmune plasma: binding to lipopolysaccharide and bactericidal activity against gram-negative bacteria; Wells MT et al.; Anti-lipopolysaccharide equine hyperimmune plasma (anti-LPS), which has been used successfully to treat LPS (endotoxin)-mediated disorders, has been further characterised . IgG present in anti-LPS had the highest affinity for LPS prepared from Salmonella typhimurium, S . typhi, S . abortus equi and Shigella flexneri and intermediate affinity for Escherichia coli O55:B5, E . coli O127:B8 and S . enteritidis . Anti-LPS destroyed by means of complement activation a wide range of gram-negative bacteria, including various species and strains of Klebsiella, Enterobacter, E . coli, Sh . flexneri, Providencia, Salmonella and Pseudomonas . Control plasmas or saline had little or no effect . Maximum killing occurred within seconds to minutes . Electronmicroscopy showed that anti-LPS treatment of K . pneumoniae caused extensive cell wall and cytoplastic membrane disruption, followed by the appearance of spheroplasts and cell ghosts . Antibodies were required in 100,000-fold excess to inhibit the limulus amoebocyte lysate reaction with LPS from E . coli . Anti-LPS thus contains IgG that binds to a wide range of LPS, and can destroy a wide range of gram-negative bacteria by means of complement activation.

Infection, 1987 Nov-Dec, 15(6), 427 - 33
Ofloxacin for prevention of bacterial infections in granulocytopenic patients; Kern W et al.; We studied the potential value of oral ofloxacin (200 mg twice daily) for selective decontamination and infection prevention in 40 granulocytopenic patients with acute leukemia, blast crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia, hairy cell leukemia or severe aplastic anemia . The quality of selective decontamination was acceptable with rapid elimination of Enterobacteriaceae from the alimentary tract, only a slight decrease in concentrations of anaerobes in faeces, and a small number of newly acquired transient (twelve isolates in seven patients) or colonizing (six strains with 28 isolates in four patients) aerobic gram-negative rods and Staphylococcus aureus (one isolate) recovered from 672 surveillance cultures from faeces, oral washings and urine . Two of three patients colonized with ofloxacin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains developed Pseudomonas infections . A total of twelve acquired infections was observed . Six were microbiologically documented infections, all caused by ofloxacin-resistant bacteria (two P . aeruginosa, two Staphylococcus epidermidis, one Aerococcus viridans, one Micrococcus sp.) . Tolerance was acceptable with no serious side effects observed . Mean drug concentrations in serum and saliva were comparable to those determined in healthy volunteers and were found to be higher in saliva than in serum . We conclude that ofloxacin may be studied as an effective alternative to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for selective decontamination and infection prevention in severely granulocytopenic patients . Careful monitoring of colonizing Pseudomonas spp . with decreased ofloxacin sensitivity, however, seems necessary.

J Appl Bacteriol, 1987 Nov, 63(5), 427 - 34
Amines in fresh beef of normal pH and the role of bacteria in changes in concentration observed during storage in vacuum packs at chill temperatures; Edwards RA et al.; The amine content of fresh and vacuum-packaged beef of normal pH stored at 1 degree C was evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography of dansyl derivatives . Fresh samples contained five amines, viz . putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, spermine and spermidine . Development of a natural spoilage flora during storage led to increases in concentration of putrescine and cadaverine and the production of a sixth amine, tyramine . Pure culture meat inoculation experiments showed tyramine formation to be restricted to lactobacilli and to strains of Lactobacillus divergens and Lact . carnis in particular; strains of leuconostocs, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp . and Brochothrix thermosphacta were negative . Production of tyramine at cell densities less than log10 6/cm2 indicated its potential as an objective measure of acceptability/spoilage.

Antibiot Med Biotekhnol, 1987 Nov, 32(11), 855 - 9
{Comparative activity of new semisynthetic penicillins and their combinations with gentamycin against gram-negative bacteria}; Treskina OS et al.; Comparative antibacterial activity of two novel ureidopenicillins (azlocillin and piperacillin), carbenicillin and ampicillin against 170 clinical strains of Enterobacteriaceae and 43 strains of Pseudomonadaceae was studied . Higher antibacterial activity of azlocillin and piperacillin evident from lower frequency of resistant strains and lower MICs for the majority of the isolates was shown . Impact of the inoculum size on the MIC values was observed with respect to all the penicillins . The study on the kinetics of Pseudomonadaceae death under the effect of azlocillin and carbenicillin revealed an increase in the bacteria growth after 6- to 8-hour contact with therapeutic concentrations of azlocillin and 4-hour contact with carbenicillin . Nor renewal of the culture growth was observed within 10-hour contact with combinations of the penicillins and 2 micrograms/ml of gentamicin.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1987 Nov, 20 Suppl B, 131 - 8
Influence of amoxycillin, erythromycin and roxithromycin on colonization resistance and on appearance of secondary colonization in healthy volunteers; Vollaard EJ et al.; We investigated the influence of oral administration of amoxycillin, erythromycin and roxithromycin on colonization resistance in healthy volunteers . Antibiotics were administered in a randomized cross-over design . No effect on the colonization resistance of the oropharynx could be demonstrated . Amoxycillin decreased the colonization resistance of the bowel against Enterobacteriaceae and yeasts, whose median concentration in faeces increased 100-fold and 30-fold respectively . Roxithromycin and erythromycin decreased the concentration of Enterobacteriaceae in faeces . Secondary colonization with Enterobacteriaceae was detected as often following roxithromycin as following amoxycillin, but the level of colonization with these bacteria was much higher following amoxycillin . Following roxithromycin and erythromycin the level of secondary colonization did not exceed the original concentration of Enterobacteriaceae, showing that these antibiotics did not decrease the colonization resistance against Enterobacteriaceae . The appearance of secondary colonization in faeces at levels equal to or lower than the concentration of Enterobacteriaceae before administration of antibiotics, should not be regarded as proof of disturbance of colonization resistance.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1987 Nov, 20(5), 657 - 61
The in-vitro activity of metronidazole against Enterobacteriaceae alone and in mixed cultures with Bacteroides fragilis; Moran FJ et al.; The in-vitro antimicrobial action of therapeutic concentrations of metronidazole against Bacteroides fragilis and six different strains of Enterobacteriaceae in pure and mixed cultures have been studied . Under anaerobic conditions, metronidazole suppressed the growth of pure cultures of the Enterobacteriaceae . A reduction in the viable counts from 10(9) cfu/ml, in the 24 h controls, to 10(8), 10(7) and 10(5) cfu/ml in the presence of 10, 50 and 100 mg/l of metronidazole respectively, was observed . These concentrations of drug produced a marked bactericidal effect against B . fragilis, as expected . The antimicrobial activity of metronidazole on mixed cultures of B . fragilis and each one of the Enterobacteriaceae studied was greater against both micro-organisms than the corresponding effect on their respective pure cultures, under the same experimental conditions.

Mol Gen Genet, 1987 Nov, 210(1), 52 - 9
Cloning and DNA sequence determination of the L11 ribosomal protein operon of Serratia marcescens and Proteus vulgaris: translational feedback regulation of the Escherichia coli L11 operon by heterologous L1 proteins; Sor F et al.; In Escherichia coli the genes encoding ribosomal proteins L11 (rplK) and L1 (rplA) are contained in a single operon and their expression is translationally regulated by L1 . We have cloned the homologous genes from two other enterobacteria, Serratia marcescens and Proteus vulgaris, and determined nucleotide sequences . The genes are organized in a similar way to that found in E . coli . Conservation of nucleotide and amino acid sequences relative to E . coli in the protein coding regions are 89.2% and 94.7% for S . marcescens, and 80.9% and 88.6% for P . vulgaris . Nucleotide sequences of L11 mRNA leader regions were strongly conserved for the primary as well as the secondary structures in the L1 target site . We have also constructed plasmids carrying E . coli L11 and either P . vulgaris or S . marcescens L1 genes fused to the lac promoter, with or without the E . coli leader containing the L1 target site . Induction of transcription of the operons possessing the E . coli mRNA leader did not lead to overproduction of L11, indicating translational regulation of the chimeric operon as well as the chromosomal operon by the plasmid encoded L1 . Repression of the chromosomal L11 operon was directly demonstrated upon induction of the chimeric operons without the leader, which also lack the L11 initiation signal but have a mutation allowing L1 translation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Rev Infect Dis, 1987 Nov-Dec, 9(6), 1079 - 86
Epidemiology of infections caused by gentamicin-resistant enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa over 15 years at the Nashville Veterans Administration Medical Center; Alford RH et al.; Nosocomial infections and gentamicin resistance were surveyed over 15 years at Nashville Veterans Administration Medical Center, and trends for Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were contrasted . Analysis of approximately 6,000 nosocomial infections indicated that four-fifths were caused by aerobic gram-negative bacilli . Three hospital-wide outbreaks caused by Enterobacteriaceae occurred; these three outbreaks were due to Serratia marcescens, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter cloacae, respectively . The outbreaks were temporally related to the emergence of gentamicin resistance . Detailed analysis of the recent outbreak due to Enterobacter indicated that an increasing prevalence of gentamicin-resistant E . cloacae predated nosocomial infections by several months; this pattern suggested that such outbreaks could be predicted . Molecular epidemiologic data pertaining to the preservation over a decade of genes encoding gentamicin resistance were reviewed . In contrast to Enterobacteriaceae, P . aeruginosa gradually and progressively developed resistance to gentamicin that spread in an endemic fashion, with parallel increases in nosocomial infections . This pattern appeared to relate to different modes of spread and persistence for resistant P . aeruginosa that may require unique methods for control.

J Clin Microbiol, 1987 Nov, 25(11), 2181 - 8
Serum antibodies to outer membrane proteins of Escherichia coli in healthy persons and patients with bacteremia; Henriksen AZ et al.; Antibodies to Escherichia coli outer membrane proteins in sera from healthy persons and from patients bacteremic with various enteric or nonenteric bacteria were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) . Outer membranes were prepared from E . coli O55 . Serum was absorbed with E . coli O55 lipopolysaccharide and diluted 1:100 for immunoglobulin A (IgA) or IgM and 1:1,000 for IgG antibodies . Paired serum specimens were obtained from the 56 patients included in the study (the first specimen on the day of positive blood culture and the second specimen 8 to 12 days later) and compared with sera from blood donors (n = 50) as controls . On an average, the patients bacteremic with enterobacteria (n = 40) showed increased levels of antibodies of all three immunoglobulin classes in the first serum specimens and significantly higher levels in the second specimens compared with the controls, although with considerable case-to-case variation . Increased levels of IgG antibodies showed the best combination of diagnostic specificity (100%) and sensitivity (53%) for bacteremia caused by enteric bacilli . Mostly, the antibody response was directed against the major E . coli O55 outer membrane proteins at 81,000, 38,500, 33,500, and 7,500 molecular weights as shown by Western blot (immunoblot) analysis . Some of the patients bacteremic with nonenteric bacteria showed increased levels of IgA antibodies, but not of IgG or IgM antibodies . Cross-reactivity of the nonenteric blood culture isolates with the E . coli outer membrane preparation was not demonstrated . The cross-reactivity of the E . coli O55 outer membrane proteins with those of enteric bacilli of other genera was examined by absorption experiments . Western blots with serum absorbed with live E . coli O55 provided evidence that the epitopes of the outer membrane protein at 7,500 molecular weight were available for antibody binding at the bacterial surface, and that at least some of the epitopes of the 38,500- and 33,500-molecular -weight proteins were accessible to antibodies . The results suggest that an ELISA for the measurement of antibodies against cross-reactive outer membrane proteins from enteric bacilli may be useful in the diagnosis of serious infections caused by members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, and that antibodies to the major outer membrane proteins may have an immunobiological function.

Mayo Clin Proc, 1987 Nov, 62(11), 1018 - 24
Antibiotic therapy for severe infections in infants and children; Rhodes KH et al.; In infants and children, drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion may differ considerably from these factors in adults; thus, differences also exist in therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of various antibiotics . Because of known toxicity, certain drugs--such as chloramphenicol in high doses, the sulfonamides, and tetracycline--should not be used in neonates . Antibiotic therapy should be modified in neonates because of biologic immaturity of organs important for the termination of drug action . Because of poor conjugation, inactivation, or excretion, the serum concentrations of many antibiotics may be higher and more prolonged in neonates than in older infants . Thus, the dosages of many antibiotics must be lower and the intervals between administration must be longer . The appearance of strains of ampicillin-resistant Haemophilus influenzae, the slow development of resistance to chloramphenicol among gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, and the development of improved analytic methods to measure chloramphenicol have all resulted in the use of this drug in select cases of serious infection in children beyond the neonatal age . Third-generation cephalosporins have an important role in empiric treatment of pediatric bacterial meningitis because of their ability to penetrate the central nervous system and their effectiveness against ampicillin- or chloramphenicol-resistant Haemophilus strains and against many gram-negative bacteria in the Enterobacteriaceae group.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {B}, 1987 Nov, 185(3), 243 - 9
{The effect of air pollution on the microbial colonization of the palatine tonsils}; Huber HC et al.; The prevalence of some facultatively pathogenic microorganisms in the tonsillar flora was studied in 10-years old children living in areas with different grades of air pollution during the years 1984-1986 . Samples were examined for beta-hemolytic Streptococci, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., Candida spp . and molds . Colonization by these microorganisms occurred more frequently in highly polluted towns (Frankfurt and Wiesbaden) than in less polluted areas (Freiburg and Starnberg) . It is supposed that alteration of immune response or other defense mechanisms induced by some environmental pollutants enhance colonization by facultatively pathogenic bacteria and fungi.

J Appl Bacteriol, 1987 Nov, 63(5), 409 - 15
A note on the microbiology of retail packs of prepared salad vegetables; Brocklehurst TF et al.; Retail packs of mixed, prepared salad vegetables from two different manufacturers were stored at 7 degrees C until the end of storage-life (sell-by date plus 1 d), when the microbial flora was examined . The quality of the salads was acceptable at the end of storage life . The oxygen concentrations in packs were lower, and the carbon dioxide concentrations were higher, than those in air . High numbers of bacteria were present, with Pseudomonas spp . and Enterobacter agglomerans predominating in packs of both salads, together with lactic acid bacteria in one of the salads . Significant numbers of pectolytic bacteria including Pseudomonas spp . and Erwinia carotovora were detected . Despite the presence of high numbers of coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli was not detected in batches of one salad, and was detected in relatively low numbers in batches of the other . Yersinia spp., predominantly environmental strains of Yersinia enterocolitica, were isolated by enrichment from all samples tested; Staphylococcus aureus and enterococci were not detected.

J Bacteriol, 1987 Nov, 169(11), 5046 - 53
Characterization of Erwinia chrysanthemi extracellular proteases: cloning and expression of the protease genes in Escherichia coli; Wandersman C et al.; Erwinia chrysanthemi, a phytopathogenic enterobacterium, secretes three antigenically and structurally distinct proteases, A, B, and C and produces a protease inhibitor, a low-molecular-weight, heat-stable protein which remains mostly intracellular and which binds specifically to the A, B, and C proteases . The structural genes for proteases A, B, and C and for the inhibitor are clustered on a ca . 40-kilobase DNA fragment present in cosmid pEW4 . Escherichia coli strains harboring pEW4 secrete the three proteases into the medium during the exponential phase of growth, without intracellular accumulation and in the absence of detectable cell lysis . An 8.5-kilobase EcoRI fragment derived from the cosmid encodes proteases B and C and the inhibitor as well as functions involved in the synthesis or secretion (or both) of the proteases . The inhibitor is not required for protease synthesis or secretion.

J Bacteriol, 1987 Nov, 169(11), 4946 - 9
Frequency of IS1-mediated molecular events in different members of the family Enterobacteriaceae; Bustos-Martinez JA et al.; The numbers of chromosomal copies of the insertion sequence IS1 in strains of Salmonella typhimurium (0 to 8 copies), Shigella sonnei (56 copies), and Shigella flexneri (41 copies) isolated in Mexico City, Mexico, were similar to those reported for these genera isolated in other countries . Of the 11 Shigella strains studied, all carried several small plasmids; however, in only one of these strains did a small plasmid contain IS1, IS1 recombination, cointegrate formation mediated by IS1 or by the IS1-flanked transposon Tn9, and transposition of Tn9 occurred at a higher frequency in S . typhimurium than in either Escherichia coli or S . sonnei strains . The frequencies of IS1 recombination in S . typhimurium strains containing either zero or eight copies of IS1 were similar.

Minerva Med, 1987 Oct 31, 78(20), 1531 - 8
{Epidemiologic aspects of sepsis}; Salvo S et al.; Sepsis is increasingly common and is now emerging as a iatrogenic condition, though the increase relates to both hospital-acquired and community-acquired infections . The causes and modalities of sepsis are reviewed with particular emphasis on the invasive treatment now extensively employed in patients with severe concomitant pathologies and immune deficiencies . The changing aetiology of the various forms of sepsis is analysed . These days common opportunistic Gram negative bacilli such as Enterobacteriacea and Pseudomonas as well as Candida mycetes are the most frequent cause of sepsis . The diagnostic importance of blood culture analysis is emphasised.

Epidemiol Infect, 1987 Oct, 99(2), 283 - 90
Molecular relationship among Salmonella dublin isolates identified at the Center for Enterobacteriaceae of Palermo during the years 1971-85; Nastasi A et al.; A molecular epidemiological study was carried out on 60 Salmonella dublin isolates identified at the Southern Italy Enterobacteriaceae Center between 1971 and 1985 . These included 23 isolates from children with diarrhoea in Palermo obtained during 1984 . All isolates from the outbreak of gastroenteritis in children were resistant to chloramphenicol and streptomycin and harboured two plasmids of 50 MDa and 3 MDa molecular weight, whereas the majority of the isolates identified before 1984 were susceptible to these antibiotics and carried only a 50 MDa molecular weight plasmid . Four S . dublin strains successively identified from cattle (Palermo, Foggia, Portici) and from a child (Palermo) were shown to possess similar antibiotic resistance patterns and plasmid profiles to S . dublin isolates from the outbreak of gastroenteritis in children . The 50 MDa plasmid was shown to be associated with virulence in mice, while it was not possible to assign any genetic function to the 3 MDa plasmid.

Mayo Clin Proc, 1987 Oct, 62(10), 916 - 20
The aminoglycosides: streptomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin, netilmicin, and sisomicin; Edson RS et al.; Despite the introduction of newer, less toxic antimicrobial agents, the aminoglycosides remain useful in the treatment of serious, hospital-acquired, gram-negative bacillary infections, especially those caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Formidable nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity have limited the use of neomycin to topical or oral administration . Widespread antimicrobial resistance among Enterobacteriaceae has restricted the use of streptomycin and kanamycin to a few specific clinical situations . Gentamicin, tobramycin, and amikacin are active against a wide range of Enterobacteriaceae and many P . aeruginosa organisms . In medical centers where gentamicin resistance is prevalent, amikacin is the aminoglycoside of choice . Fortunately, amikacin resistance has not seemed to increase substantially, even in institutions where usage has been extensive for a long period . No new aminoglycoside has proved to be superior to amikacin.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1987 Oct, 31(10), 1589 - 95
Contribution of beta-lactamase hydrolysis and outer membrane permeability to ceftriaxone resistance in Enterobacter cloacae; Marchou B et al.; Mechanisms of ceftriaxone resistance were examined in Enterobacter cloacae . Clones were selected from four strains: susceptible (S), resistant (R1), selected by plating on ceftriaxone-containing agar, and highly resistant (R2), selected in ceftriaxone-treated mice infected with S clones . According to 14C-labeled beta-lactam binding assays, ceftriaxone resistance was not associated with altered target proteins . R1 and R2 clones stably produced 50 to 1,500 times more beta-lactamase than S clones; this production increased after cefoxitin induction in all S and some R1 clones . Experiments conducted with strain 218 suggested that ceftriaxone resistance involved beta-lactamase hydrolysis . Half-lives for the beta-lactamase-beta-lactam complexes at 37 degrees C were 0.4 and 2.2 min for ceftriaxone and Sch 34343, a drug not affected by the resistance, respectively; in chromatography experiments, 218 intact R1 cells (2 x 10(9) to 3 x 10(9) CFU) suspended in ceftriaxone-containing buffer (2 micrograms/ml) hydrolyzed 80% of the antibiotic in 30 min . Three observations also suggested decreased permeability in some clones, (i) Most of the R1 and R2 clones showed decreased expression of outer membrane proteins of 37,000 to 38,000 molecular weight (37K to 38K proteins) by electrophoresis, often associated with increased amounts of 42K protein . (ii) {14C}Sch 34343 labeling of intact cells proceeded more slowly in 218 R2 (with altered 37K to 38K proteins) than in 218 R1 (without this alteration), a difference persisting after competition with unlabeled cloxacillin . Delays in binding were not caused by different enzymatic activities, since 218 R1 and 218 R2 produce, in similar amounts, beta-lactamases undistinguishable in isoelectric point and Km of cephaloridine . (iii) Intact cells from 218 R2 hydrolyzed ceftriaxone more slowly (20% in 30 min) than did those from 218 R1 . In 218 R1, beta-lactamase overproduction was responsible for a 15- to 200-fold increase in the MIC's of ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, carbenicillin, piperacillin, moxalactam, aztreonam, carumonam, and BMY 28142 . Imipenem and Sch 34343 were not affected; an additional three- to fivefold increase in the MIC's of these antibiotics (with the exception of piperacillin, imipenem, Sch 34343), seen with 218 R2, was associated with decreased permeability.

J Antimicrob Chemother, 1987 Oct, 20(4), 489 - 96
Selection of enhanced cefotaxime resistance in Enterobacter spp; Hopkins JM et al.; Four strains of Enterobacter spp . with different chromosomal beta-lactamase expression (inducible, constitutive or negligible) were grown in broth containing either cefoxitin or cefotaxime, then plated on to agar containing 20 mg cefotaxime per litre to quantitate the cefotaxime-resistant mutants present in the population . Spontaneous resistant mutants were initially isolated from each strain at frequencies of 10(-4) to 10(-5) . These high frequencies of spontaneous mutation suggested that more than one type of mutational event could yield cefotaxime resistance . Induction of a high level of beta-lactamase in broth cultures was not in itself sufficient to confer a high level of cefotaxime resistance on the population, and increased resistance following selection of resistant mutants did not necessarily correlate with any significant increase in beta-lactamase activity.

Acta Pathol Microbiol Immunol Scand {B}, 1987 Oct, 95(5), 297 - 302
Comparison of resistance types in Enterobacter cloacae 1977 and 1985; Sogaard P et al.; A collection of Enterobacter cloacae strains from Odense University Hospital from 1977 were compared with a collection from 1985 as regards acquired resistance traits . Among the strains with carbenicillin (Ca) resistance, the number of multiresistant strains decreased while the number with sole Ca-resistance increased . In 1977, a high proportion of the Ca-resistant (Ca-r) strains had plasmid-mediated beta-lactam resistance, but in 1985 the Ca-r strains were completely dominated by organisms with elevated amounts of chromosomally-mediated beta-lactamase . The latter, but not the former, strains were resistant to the newer cephalosporins (e.g . cefotaxime (Ctax)) . The consumption of Ctax and cefuroxime increased from 0 kg in 1977 to 7.0 kg in 1985 . It is therefore probable that this increase was the cause of the change in occurrence of the resistance types . Ninety-one % of the Ca-r strains were isolated from urinary samples in 1977 . The percentage was only 31 in 1985 . This change, concomitant with the increase in Ctax-r strains, can probably be explained by the better conditions for selection of Ctax-r mutants, producing greater amounts of chromosomal beta-lactamase, in wounds and respiratory tract than in urine.

Chemioterapia, 1987 Oct, 6(5), 319 - 23
In vitro activity of pefloxacin against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria in comparison with other antibiotics; Debbia E et al.; The in vitro antibacterial activity of pefloxacin was evaluated against 310 gram-negative and 315 gram-positive aerobes, freshly isolated from clinical material . Reference antibiotics were: ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, teicoplanin, vancomycin, rifampin, and methicillin for gram-positive cocci, and norfloxacin, nalidixic acid, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, piperacillin, netilmicin, gentamicin, amikacin, and aztreonam, for gram-negative bacilli . Gram-positive cocci were inhibited by 0.5 mg/l of teicoplanin, 1 mg/l of ciprofloxacin, 4 mg/l of both pefloxacin and ofloxacin, and 8 mg/l of vancomycin or rifampicin . Against gram-negative bacteria pefloxacin showed excellent activity, inhibiting 90% of all enterobacterial strains and 70% of other gram-negative aerobes at concentrations ranging between 0.03 and 4 mg/l . The same percentage of bacteria were inhibited by the other drugs at concentrations which resulted from two to fourfold higher than those of pefloxacin . MBCs and timed-kill tests indicated that this new agent is rapidly bactericidal against these isolates, and there were no significant differences in the rate of killing of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria . Inoculum size and pH did not change significantly the MIC values of pefloxacin.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {A}, 1987 Oct, 266(3-4), 422 - 4
Human isolates of Enterobacter intermedium; Prats G et al.; The phenotypic characters of four clinical strains of Enterobacter intermedium (a species usually isolated from surface water and soil) are described and compared to those of E . cloacae and E . asburiae.

Chemioterapia, 1987 Oct, 6(5), 355 - 8
A comparative study of cefoxitin, cefotaxime, moxalactam and aztreonam kinetics in saliva; Petrikkos G et al.; In immunocompromised patients with serious gram-negative aerobic infections of the oral cavity, it is necessary to treat with antibiotics that possess a broad spectrum of activity and that display satisfactory kinetic properties . The purpose of the present study was to determine the serum and salivary pharmacokinetics of four new beta-lactam antibiotics: cefoxitin, cefotaxime, moxalactam and aztreonam . A total of 20 adult surgical in-patients (14 males and 6 females) were randomly assigned treatment by one of the four antibiotics . Each antibiotic was administered IV at a dose of 2 g IV every 8 hours . Serum and saliva levels were measured by the agar diffusion method .5, 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours after the third dose . The salivary concentrations of the four antibiotics were low, but, with the exception of cefoxitin, would be adequate to treat most infections of the oral cavity caused by enterobacteriaceae . No correlation was found between the antibiotic levels in the serum and the levels in the saliva.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {A}, 1987 Oct, 266(3-4), 370 - 8
Evaluation of a small "conventional" identification system for fermentative gramnegative rods using a computerized data base; Siegrist HH et al.; A small "conventional" identification system consisting of six tubed media totalling eleven reactions was used to identify 467 strains of Enterobacteriaceae, 15 strains of Aeromonas sp., and 3 strains of Plesiomonas shigelloides . The system identified 371 strains (76.5%) correctly to maximum identification (species or genus) level and an additional 13 strains (2.7%) to genus level where species level identification would have been possible . Ninety strains (18.6%) were not identified . Only 11 strains (2.3%) were misidentified . The system is inexpensive compared with commercial systems and can be used for primary identification of fermentative gramnegative bacteria in a clinical microbiology laboratory . It comes with a computerized data base in the form of an identification manual.

What Is Activated Sludge?, What Is Botulism?, What Is Amino Acid?, What is Food Microbiology?, What Is Genetics?, e, Bacteriology, a, Microbe, s, Microbes, e, Microorganisms, c, Microbiology, o, Meningococcus, n, Haemophilus, s, Klebsiella, r, Escherichia coli, n, Antibiotics, e, Bacillus subtilis, s, Salmonella typhimurium, o, Proteus, a, Alcaligenes, s, Campylobacter, n, Haemophilus, i, Haemophilus, a, Enterobacters, n, S. cerevisiae, s, S. cerevisiae, e, Yeasts, r, Escherichia coli, c, Streptococci, s, Erythromycin, i, Pseudomonas, c, Streptococcal

Scientific Publications - Work Done by Microbiology Reader Bioscreen C
Agricultural Microbiology Anaerobic Microbiology Antimicrobial Susceptibility Artificial Atmosphere Bioassay of Antibiotics Biofilm Microbiology Bioreactor Technology Biotechnology Cell Biology Clinical Microbiology Environmental Microbiology Experiments with Yeast	Fermentation Food Microbiology Functional Genomics Gene Technology Growth Media Development Growth Rate and Lag Time Industrial Microbiology Medical/Pharmaceutical Field Microbiological Assay Microbiological Research Microbiology of Cosmetics go to a specific theme...	Military Microbiology Molecular Microbiology Mutagenicity and Genotoxicity Oral Microbiology Patents Postantibiotic Studies Soil Microbiology Spore Microbiology Veterinary Microbiology Waste/Wastewater Treatment Water Microbiology Wine Microbiology

� 2005 Transgalactic Ltd (manufacturer of Bioscreen C software) | Privacy Statement | P.O. Box 1393, 00101 Helsinki, Finland, phone: +358 9 85172920, fax: +358 9 8749481, e-mail: microbiology@bionewsonline.com

Last modified: May 25, 2005