Fishmeal extract bile salt lactose agar–A differential medium for enteric bacteria

675-678Fishmeal extract bile salt lactose agar (FEBLA), a new differential medium for enteric bacteria was developed and evaluated for its ability to grow and differentiate lactose fermenters (LF) from non-lactose fermenters (NLF) in comparison with MacConkeys agar. Performance of FEBLA was at par with the latter. On FEBLA medium, the contrast between LF and NLF colonies was pronounced and Klebsiella pneumoniae produced more mucoid colonies than on MacConkeys agar (Hi Media). Unlike MacConkeys agar, a 24 h culture of K. pneumoniae cells on FEBLA were longer and thicker with abundant capsular material around the bacilli. Escherichia coli produced long and thick cells but only after 48h. No change in cell morphology was evident with regard to Salmonella typhi, S. paratyphi A, Shigella flexneri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Citrobacter koseri and Acinetobacter baumannii. Performance of the medium was controlled using E. coli and S. flexneri. FEBLA is simple, cost effective and may be a suitable alternative in the preliminary identification of enteric bacteria. </b

Biotypes and virulence factors of Gardnerella vaginalis isolated from cases of bacterial vaginosis

The present study was conducted to correlate the biotypes of Gardnerella vaginalis strains isolated from cases of bacterial vaginosis and their virulence factors. Thirty-two strains of G. vaginalis isolated from cases of bacterial vaginosis were biotyped. Adherence to vaginal epithelial cells, biofilm production, surface hydrophobicity, phospholipase C and protease activity were tested on these isolates. Biotype 1 was the most prevalent (8; 25%), followed by biotype 2 (7; 21.9%) and biotypes 5 and 8 (5; 15.6%). We did not find any statistical correlation between G. vaginalis biotypes and its virulence factors. Virulence factors expressed by G. vaginalis were not associated with a single biotype

Genotypic and Phenotypic Expression of Antibiotic Resistance Patterns of Uropathogenic Enterobacteriaceae

Elizabeth Gantasala,1 Sevitha Bhat,2 Vishwas Saralaya,2 Madhumitha Jayaram,1 Jeppu Udayalaxmi2 1Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India; 2Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, IndiaCorrespondence: Jeppu Udayalaxmi, Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India, Tel +91 824-2423452, Email [email protected]: To determine the antibiotic resistance patterns, detection of carbapenemase genes in uropathogenic bacilli belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family and to correlate it with clinical data.Materials and Methods: Identification and antibiotic sensitivity testing of the uropathogenic Enterobacteriaceae was done by using VITEK2 Compact (C) system. Multiplex PCR was used to detect blaIMP, blaKPC, blaNDM1, blaOXA − 48, and blaVIM genes.Results: Out of 1602 urine samples, 417 (26%) showed significant growth, and in these 311 (74.6%) belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae family. Escherichia coli showed a relatively low rate of resistance to nitrofurantoin (17/205; 8.3%), with the majority of the isolates showing a MIC value of ≤ 16 μg/mL when compared to Klebsiella spp. (55/86; 64%), with MIC values for the majority of isolates being 128 μg/mL. Klebsiella spp. showed a relatively low rate of resistance to nalidixic acid (48/86; 55.8%) when compared with E. coli isolates (179/205; 87.3%). Out of 145 isolates tested, we found blaNDM in 11 (7.58%), bla OXA − 48 in 8 (5.51%), bla VIM in 4 (2.75%), bla KPC in one (0.6%) and blaIMP in none of the isolates. Of these 3 isolates were carbapenem sensitive, the rest were resistant.Conclusion: Most of the isolates were sensitive to fosfomycin, carbapenems and resistant to cephalosporins and nalidixic acid. We detected carbapenemase genes in 13 (59%) out of 22 carbapenem resistant isolates and 3 (2.4%) out of 123 carbapenem sensitive isolates.Keywords: antibacterial agents, drug resistance, multiplex polymerase chain reaction, urinary tract infectio

Clinical features of bacterial vaginosis in a murine model of vaginal infection with Gardnerella vaginalis.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a dysbiosis of the vaginal flora characterized by a shift from a Lactobacillus-dominant environment to a polymicrobial mixture including Actinobacteria and gram-negative bacilli. BV is a common vaginal condition in women and is associated with increased risk of sexually transmitted infection and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth. Gardnerella vaginalis is one of the most frequently isolated bacterial species in BV. However, there has been much debate in the literature concerning the contribution of G. vaginalis to the etiology of BV, since it is also present in a significant proportion of healthy women. Here we present a new murine vaginal infection model with a clinical isolate of G. vaginalis. Our data demonstrate that this model displays key features used clinically to diagnose BV, including the presence of sialidase activity and exfoliated epithelial cells with adherent bacteria (reminiscent of clue cells). G. vaginalis was capable of ascending uterine infection, which correlated with the degree of vaginal infection and level of vaginal sialidase activity. The host response to G. vaginalis infection was characterized by robust vaginal epithelial cell exfoliation in the absence of histological inflammation. Our analyses of clinical specimens from women with BV revealed a measureable epithelial exfoliation response compared to women with normal flora, a phenotype that, to our knowledge, is measured here for the first time. The results of this study demonstrate that G. vaginalis is sufficient to cause BV phenotypes and suggest that this organism may contribute to BV etiology and associated complications. This is the first time vaginal infection by a BV associated bacterium in an animal has been shown to parallel the human disease with regard to clinical diagnostic features. Future studies with this model should facilitate investigation of important questions regarding BV etiology, pathogenesis and associated complications