0000000000217358
AUTHOR
Villafrate Mr
rDNA fingerprinting as a tool in epidemiological analysis of Salmonella typhi infections
SUMMARYCharacterization of 169 strainsof Salmonella typhiof phage types C1, C4, D1and D9isolated in 1975–88 was carried out by rDNA gene restriction pattern analysis. Twenty-four isolates had been recovered during four large waterbone outbreaks in the last 20 years in Sicily; 145 strains, isolated from apparently sporadic cases of infection in Southern Italy in the same period of time, were also examined.Application of rRNA–DNA hybridization technique after digestion of chromosomal DNA withClaI showed the identity of patterns of the epidemic strains of phage types C1and D1, confirming attribution of the outbreaks to single bacterial clones. Patterns of the two available strains of lysotype …
Diagnostic follow-up of blood donors with indeterminate results to Western Blot for HIV infection in Palermo, Sicily
27,343 blood donors, were tested for HIV infection at the Poli- clinico of Palermo in the period 1999-2001 by using a com- mercial ELISA as screening test and a commercial Western Blot (WB) as confirmatory test. HIV infection was detected in two subjects, whereas five individuals reacted faintly at the screening and tested indeterminate at the confirmatory test showing the presence of only one band for gp41 (four cases) or p24 (one case). A one year follow-up was performed in these patients. All donors but one, spontaneously seroreverted during the follow-up; the only one who persisted as WB inde- terminate, tested also negative for HIV RNA by PCR assay at the end of follow-up. In conclusio…
Salmonella serovars identified at the centre for enterobacteriaceae of palermo over the 5-year period 1983-87
Salmonellosis is become an increasing public health problem in many countries. Serotyping and assessment of antibiotic resistance are useful tools, which assist in understanding the epidemiology of Salmonella infections. In this respect, the Centre of Enterobacteriaceae of Southern Italy provides helpful information on the changing pattern of Salmonella serovars in this geographic area. This paper reports the distribution of serovars and their antibiotic susceptibility in the years 1983-1987. In particular, because of their peculiar trends during this 5-year period, epidemiological features of Mbandaka, Corvallis, Dublin, Infantis and Wien serovars are described.
Epidemiology ofSalmonella typhimurium: ribosomal DNA analysis of strains from human and animal sources
SUMMARYSalmonella typhimuriumis the most frequently identified serovar ofSalmonellain Italy. This serovar is characterized by the widespread dissemination among human and non-human sources of phenotypically and genetically well-differentiated clones.In this study 457 strains ofS. typhimuriumisolated in Italy in the years 1982–91 from human and animal sources were submitted to characterization by the rDNA fingerprinting technique. Application of this typing method, after digestion of chromosomal DNA withHincII endonuclease, confirmed the greatest genetic differentiation of clones ofS. typhimurium, allowing reliable identification of 45 rDNA patterns linked into 9 major clusters. rDNA pattern…
Sieroepidemiologia dei virus epatitici in un gruppo di bambini adottati dall'estero
[Legionella spp. contamination in indoor air: preliminary results of an Italian multicenter study].
Obiettivo. Rilevare la presenza di Legionella spp. nell’aria attraverso un protocollo standardizzato, a fianco dei tradizionali metodi impiegati per la rete idrica. Disegno. In dieci strutture sanitarie è stato selezionato un bagno, la cui acqua presentava una contaminazione da Legionella >1.000 unità formanti colonie (ufc)/litro. La contaminazione dell’aria è stata valutata tramite campionamento attivo (Surface Air System, SAS) e passivo, impiegando piastre di sedimentazione per la valutazione dell’Indice Microbico Aria (Index of Microbial Air, IMA). I campionamenti sono stati effettuati per 8 ore consecutive, a circa 1 m dal pavimento e a 50 cm dal rubinetto. Con il campionamento attivo, …
Sieroprevalenza dell'infezione da virus dell'epatite A nella provincia di Palermo
Molecular relationship among Salmonella dublin isolates identified at the Center for Enterobacteriaceae of Palermo during the years 1971-85.
SUMMARYA molecular epidemiological study was carried out on 60Salmonella dublinisolates 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. FourS. dublinstrains successively identified from cattle (Palermo, Foggia, Portici) and from a child (Palermo) we…
rRNA probing of chromosomal DNA of epidemic and sporadic isolates of Salmonella enterica subsp. Enterica serovar kottbus from Northern and Southern Italy
Fifty-two strains of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Kottbus, identified at the Centres of Enterobacteriaceae of Northern and Southern Italy, were investigated by molecular genetic methods. Thirteen isolates were recovered during two food-poisoning outbreaks that occurred in May 1987 in Lombardy. The rDNA gene restriction patterns, obtained by probing endonuclease cleaved chromosomal DNA with photobiotin labeled Escherichia coli rRNA, revealed some heterogeneity among strains isolated from Southern Italy, whereas Northern Italy isolates exhibited virtually identical banding patterns.