William Landau

Human colostral whey M-l glycoproteins and their L. bifidus var. Penn. growth promoting activities

Abstract A total of seven M-1 glycoprotein fractions were isolated from human colostrum whey and all showed L. bifidus var. Penn. growth promoting activities using well defined chemical medium. The growth promoting activity of these fractions was parallel to their total carbohydrate content. On the other hand, bovine colostrum M-1 glycoprotein had a relatively low growth promoting activity, whereas human serum orosomucoid had none.

Speciation and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci

During a six month period, 191 isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci from blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid and heart valves were identified to species level and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. Seventy-one percent of isolates wereStaphylococcus epidermidis, 8 %Staphylococcus warneri, 7 %Staphylococcus hominis, 7 %Staphylococcus haemolyticus, 4 %Staphylococcus capitis, 2 %Staphylococcus saprophyticus and 1 %Staphylococcus cohnii. Approximately 4 % of isolates were felt to be associated with infection. Overall, 18% of isolates were susceptible to penicillin G, 61 % oxacillin, 98 % cephalothin, 98 % cefamandole, 72 % cefotaxime, 95 % cefsulodin, 76 % gentamicin, 64 % clindamycin and 98 % rifampicin. All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin. Vancomycin, rifampicin, cephalothin and cefamandole showed excellent activity against oxacillin-resistant isolates. With one exception, speciation was not helpful in determining whether or not an isolate was associated with infection.

A Urine Preservative System to Maintain Bacterial Counts A Laboratory and Clinical Evaluation

The urinary tract is a common site of infection in the hospitalized, institutionalized, or ambulatory patient population. Ideally, urine should be cultured immediately or refrigerated up to 24 hours for quantitative examination for microorganisms. In the evaluation of patients at their homes or in long-term care facilities, rapid plating or refrigeration may not be practical. This is also true when evaluating small children in whom external collection devices are required to obtain a specimen. Because of these limitations, we evaluated a urine preservative and transport system, the Sage Products Urine Culture Tube, in a study of 1469 clinical specimens. This tube utilizes boric acid (1.1% final concentration) as a preservative. The Urine Culture Tube was easy to use and was as effective as refrigeration in maintaining bacterial counts. This system may be particularly useful where rapid transport or refrigeration is limited.

The Problem of Bacteriologically Contaminated Infant Formulas in a Newborn Nursery

* Assistant Director of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Epidemiologist. † Fellow in Pediatrics Infectious Diseases. Presently in private practice in Port Tobacco, Md. ‡ Director, Infectious Diseases. ** Associate Director of Microbiology. THE LITERATURE is replete with outbreaks of infectious diseases resulting from contaminated common sources of diverse types. But what may not be appreciated is that for every outbreak there are many more incidences of contamination of vehicles which

Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni: experience in a large Chicago medical center.

From January 1979 through December 1979, 2059 stool specimens received by our laboratory for enteric culturing were additionally examined for the presence of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni. The study population included inpatients, outpatients and hospital food handlers. Patients were included regardless of symptoms. Enteric pathogens were identified as follows: Salmonella, 27 isolates; Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni, 26 isolates; and Shigella, 11 isolates. Twenty-five of 26 patients with stool cultures positive for Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni had an acute diarrheal illness. Diarrhea, fever and chills were the most common symptoms. In most patients the disease was self-limited, requiring only supportive therapy. A seasonal variation was noted, with 14 of the 26 patients presenting between July and September.

An Analysis of Ordering Patterns and Utilization of Bacteriological Culture Reports.

Excerpt A 2-week-period prevalence study was conducted to determine ordering patterns and utilization of bacteriological reports. All bacteriological reports (1381) were monitored, and ongoing char...