Evaluation of tetracycline, erythromycin, penicillin and streptomycin for decontaminating koala semen contaminated in vitro with chlamydiae

Semen from seven koalas was extended in a tris-citrate glucose diluent containing one of four antibiotics at different concentrations and then contaminated with a standard concentration of chlamydiae. These semen preparations were then tested for residual chlamydial viability by an in vitro cell culture assay, and any detrimental effect of the antibiotics on the motility and viability of the sperm was assessed. Penicillin at 25 iu/ml or more, erythromycin at 1000 mug/ml or more and tetracycline at 200 mug/ml or more were highly effective at rendering the chlamydiae non-viable, but streptomycin showed no antichlamydial activity. There was a significant reduction of the motility of spermatozoa extended in diluents containing erythromycin (P < 0.05), but spermatozoa incubated with tetracycline up to concentrations of 200 mug/ml were not affected

Evaluation of tetracycline, erythromycin, penicillin and streptomycin for decontaminating koala semen contaminated in vitro with chlamydiae

Semen from seven koalas was extended in a tris-citrate glucose diluent containing one of four antibiotics at different concentrations and then contaminated with a standard concentration of chlamydiae. These semen preparations were then tested for residual chlamydial viability by an in vitro cell culture assay, and any detrimental effect of the antibiotics on the motility and viability of the sperm was assessed. Penicillin at 25 iu/ml or more, erythromycin at 1000 mug/ml or more and tetracycline at 200 mug/ml or more were highly effective at rendering the chlamydiae non-viable, but streptomycin showed no antichlamydial activity. There was a significant reduction of the motility of spermatozoa extended in diluents containing erythromycin (P < 0.05), but spermatozoa incubated with tetracycline up to concentrations of 200 mug/ml were not affected

Screening semen from koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) for Chlamydia species by PCR

Artificial insemination is a valuable method for facilitating genetic exchange between captive colonies of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) and for the maintenance of genetically important remnant populations. However, to reduce potential disease transmission, their semen needs to be screened for venereal diseases caused by organisms such as Chlamydia species. semen samples from 11 koalas, eight of them with clinical signs of cystitis, were examined for the presence of Chlamydia by an optimised PCR assay. Chlamydia was detected in semen from seven of the 11 animals

Circulating Nucleic Acids of Chlamydia pneumoniae and Cytomegalovirus in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 208 consecutive patients undergoing elective coronary angiography or angioplasty were collected before, immediately after, and 4 h after the procedure. Nucleic acids of Chlamydia pneumoniae and of cytomegalovirus (CMV) were detected by PCR and confirmed by hybridization. Circulating C. pneumoniae DNA was identified in 24 patients (11.5%) and was associated with current smoking (odds ratio [OR] = 4.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.6 to 12.2, P = 0.004) but not with arterial narrowing on coronary angiogram or with serological results positive for C. pneumoniae. Circulating CMV DNA was identified in 36 patients (17.3%) and was associated with anti-CMV immunoglobulin G (OR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.2 to 6.3, P = 0.02) but not with angiographic arterial narrowing or with the need for revascularization. Neither C. pneumoniae nor CMV DNA detection increased after angioplasty, a procedure in which endothelium is disrupted. Larger prospective studies are needed to determine the prognostic significance of DNA detection