This is a report of a case of vulvovaginitis due to Shigella flexneri in a three-year-old child. This is probably the first documented case of shigella vulvovaginitis In Malaysia. The patient was successfully treated with cotrimoxazole. Extraintestinal infections by Shigella are rare and are briefly reviewed in this article.
The incidence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in products of the Malaysian export shrimp processing industry was investigated through the stages from the catch to that of the cooked, peeled and frozen product. The organism was commonly found in freshly caught and landed shrimp, and could be detected by enrichment culture at all stages of processing. The number of V. parahaemolyticus in shrimp varied from nil to 4x10(4), and 19 of the 50 serotypes in the current antigenic scheme were found, O1-K38 and O1-K32 occurring most often. All the isolates were Kanagawa-negative; one strain was a sucrose-positive variant. The study indicated that specifications of 10(2) g-1 for V. parahaemolyticus in raw tropical shellfish are too stringent but that the Malaysian shrimp industry should be able to meet this requirement for cooked shrimp.
Gas-Liquid chromatography (GLC) was used to detect the presence of isocaproic acid produced by Clostridium difficile from 54 stool samples grown in cycloserine-cefoxitin broth. Isocaproic acid was detected in 12 samples of which 5 were confirmed to be Clostridium difficile by culture and biochemical tests. The detection of isocaproic acid by GLC together with the presence of presumptive colonies on primary selective culture media provides a more rapid laboratory diagnosis for Clostridium difficile.
An investigation into the seasonal changes in the population structure of Haemonchus and Trichostrongylus in tracer goats was conducted over 12 months at Serdang, an area in southern West Malaysia with year-round tropical rainfall. Successive groups of parasite-free tracer goats were grazed for a month alongside naturally infected adult goats and necropsied for worm counts 14 days after their removal from pasture. No hypobiotic larvae of Trichostrongylus were recovered. Hypobiotic larvae of Haemonchus were evident during each month of the year but accounted for only a very small proportion of the total Haemonchus burden. Very low levels were encountered from December through to June. Comparatively higher levels of hypobiosis were observed thereafter with a peak of 7.4% in September. The factors responsible for hypobiosis were not clearly defined but the phenomenon was associated with increasing levels of soil moisture storage. Host resistance, adult worm population of tracers and population of ingested L3 were ruled out as possible inducing factors.
Heat treatment of sera at 56 degrees C for 30 min results in positive ELISA reactions for anti-cardiolipin antibody (aCL) in sera that had undetectable or low levels of aCL before heat inactivation. The positive, potentiated reactivity of the heated sera in the aCL ELISA could be inhibited with the cardiolipin antigen and was abolished by prior IgG depletion using staphylococcal protein A. The heat-potentiating effect of aCL binding in ELISA was evident in both normal human sera and clinical sera including sera from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and syphilis.
A strain of Clostridium bifermentans individualized as serovar malaysia (C.b.m.) according to its specific H antigen is toxic to mosquito and blackfly larvae when given orally. The toxicity occurs in sporulated cells which contain, in addition to spores, proteinic parasporal inclusion bodies and feather-like appendages; the amino acid content of the inclusion bodies is similar to that of Bacillus thuringiensis serovar israelensis (B.t.i.) and B. sphaericus crystals. The toxicity to Anopheles stephensi is as high as that of B.t.i. and the best strains of B. sphaericus. Culex pipiens is somewhat less susceptible, and Aedes aegypti much less. Pure parasporal inclusion bodies, isolated by ultracentrifugation on sucrose gradients, are highly toxic to mosquito larvae. The larvicidal power is destroyed by heating at 80 degrees C or by treatment with 50 mM NaOH. It is preserved by freeze-drying. The innocuity to mice of the sporulated cells is shown by different routes of administration: force-feeding, percutaneous, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal or intravenous injections. The potential for the biological control of mosquito and blackfly larvae is suggested.
During the 5-year (1981-5) surveillance period, 2322 salmonella isolations were recorded from animals and other non-human sources in Peninsular Malaysia. This was an increase of 356% over the preceding 5-year period. The 83 serotypes isolated were recovered from 41 sources. Of these 34 were new serotypes bringing the total number of serotypes isolated from non-human sources to date up 97. Food animals and edible animal products accounted for 92.2% of the total isolations, with cattle and beef accounting for 70% of the total. Salmonella dublin was the most frequently isolated serotype, whereas S. typhimurium had the widest zoological distribution. More than 80% of the non-human salmonella serotypes have also been reported in man in this country.
Twenty transport-stressed goats were divided into two groups. The first group was further stressed with steroid. Pasteurella haemolytica was found at various sites in the nasal cavity of goats in this group as early as 2 weeks post-transportation. The successful isolations continued consistently with more goats having pure growth of P. haemolytica at later stages. Mild catarrh rhinitis, loss of epithelial cilia and erosions were the main lesions observed in the nasal cavity. Goats in the second group that were not given steroid injections had inconsistent bacterial isolation and less severe pathological lesions.
The eye harbours bacteria from the time of birth throughout life. Owing to its antibacterial properties, the normal conjunctival flora plays a significant role in the defence against superficial ocular infections. In view of its protective action as well as its probable role in causing ocular disease under certain circumstances, the study of the normal flora and its pattern of antibiotic susceptibility could provide useful information in the prevention and treatment of post-surgical infections. While several such surveys have been reported from various parts of the world, no data is available for the Malaysian population. This survey seeks to establish the pattern of bacterial flora in healthy conjunctivae of Malaysians. In addition, the bacterial flora of a nondiabetic population was compared to that of a diabetic population to see if there were any differences.
The pattern of phage types of 2553 strains of Salmonella typhi isolated over the 10-year period 1970-9 was studied. During the period 29 different phage types were encountered, not including the categories of 'untypable strains', 'degraded Vi-strains' and Vi negative strains. For the period as a whole, the commonest phage types encountered were A (20.9%), E1 (14.8%), D1 (10.3%), degraded Vi positive strains (10.3%), untypable Vi strains (7.3%), C4 (7.1%), D2 (4.4%), E2 (3.9%) and type 25 (2.6%). There were phage types which appeared in the early years of the period and then disappeared (types B2, D9 and D1-N). Others only made their appearance in recent years (K1 and 53). Notable differences were also seen in the predilection of some phage types for certain geographical areas.
Candida rugosa lipase was modified via reductive alkylation to increase its hydrophobicity to work better in organic solvents. The free amino group of lysines was alkylated using propionaldehyde with different degrees of modification obtained (49 and 86%). Far-ultraviolet circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy of the lipase in aqueous solvent showed that such chemical modifications at the enzyme surface caused a loss in secondary and tertiary structure that is attributed to the enzyme unfolding. Using molecular modeling, we propose that in an aqueous environment the loss in protein structure of the modified lipase is owing to disruption of stabilizing salt bridges, particularly of surface lysines. Indeed, molecular modeling and simulation of a salt bridge formed by Lys-75 to Asp-79, in a nonpolar environment, suggests the adoption of a more flexible alkylated lysine that may explain higher lipase activity in organic solvents on alkylation.
1. Electrophoretic variations of 9 erythrocyte proteins, coded by a separate gene locus each, were analysed in and among the 5 Malayan species of Rattus belonging to the subgenus Lenothrix. 2. The average proportion of loci heterozygous per individual for the taxa analysed is 0.037. 3. The results obtained confirm the specific status of the 5 taxa studied. With respect to the relative affinities among the species studied, the present results could resolve the discrepancies between conclusions based on morphological evidence and those based on cytological evidence. 4. The 5 species of Rattus studied may be assigned to 4 groups and comparative data suggest that these groups are relatively distantly related to one another.
The Bacillaceae family members are a good source of bacteria for bioprocessing and biotransformation involving whole cells or enzymes. In contrast to Bacillus and Geobacillus, Anoxybacillus is a relatively new genus that was proposed in the year 2000. Because these bacteria are alkali-tolerant thermophiles, they are suitable for many industrial applications. More than a decade after the first report of Anoxybacillus, knowledge accumulated from fundamental and applied studies suggests that this genus can serve as a good alternative in many applications related to starch and lignocellulosic biomasses, environmental waste treatment, enzyme technology, and possibly bioenergy production. This current review provides the first summary of past and recent discoveries regarding the isolation of Anoxybacillus, its medium requirements, its proteins that have been characterized and cloned, bioremediation applications, metabolic studies, and genomic analysis. Comparisons to some other members of Bacillaceae and possible future applications of Anoxybacillus are also discussed.