Mycobacterium massiliense is a rapidly growing mycobacterial species. The pathogenicity of this subspecies is not well known. We report here the annotated genome sequence of M. massiliense strain M18, which was isolated from a lymph node biopsy specimen from a Malaysian patient suspected of having tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis.
The significance of metastastic disease in the cervical lymph nodes has long been appreciated. The rich lymphatics of the upper aerodigestive tract explained the high incidence of cervical metastasis, occasional bilaterally spread. Even with appropriate treatment, cervical recurrences do occur. Nonetheless, with the resurgence of tuberculosis, the differential of tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis should be excluded. Appropriate modalities should be employed in making the appropriate diagnosis possible.
Fifty-nine cases of tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis were analysed histologically. Characteristic epithelioid cell granulomas were seen in all the cases with central areas of caseation necrosis in 96.6% (57/59) of these cases. The diagnosis of tuberculosis was further established by the demonstration of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in the tissue sections in 29 cases. These AFB, although occasional, were found more frequently within the epithelioid cells as compared with other zones of the granuloma. There was no significant association between necrosis and bacillary content. We conclude that light microscopical assessment is still a useful screening method to diagnose tuberculosis in cases of cervical lymphadenopathy.
We describe a Malay girl with disseminated cryptococcosis affecting the lungs, liver, lymph nodes and bones. The diagnosis was made by culture of the bone marrow. Tests of immune function showed that she was HIV-negative but the CD4 percentage was persistently low. Idiopathic CD4+ T-lymphocytopenia was diagnosed. The child died despite two courses of anti-fungal therapy.
Caseous lymphadenitis is an infectious disease of almost all animals, particularly small ruminants that are caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. The organism causes the formation of suppurative abscesses in superficial and visceral lymph nodes and in visceral organs. This current study was designed to elucidate the clinicopathological responses and PCR detection of the aetiological agent in the vital organs of goats challenged with C. pseudotuberculosis and its immunogenic mycolic acid extract. A total of twelve clinically healthy crossbred Boer female goats were divided into three groups: A, B, and C (four goats per group). Group A was inoculated intradermally with 2 ml of sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS) pH 7 as a control group. Group B was inoculated intradermally with 2 ml of mycolic acid extract (1 g/ml), while group C was inoculated intradermally with 2 ml of 10⁹ colony-forming unit (cfu) of live C. pseudotuberculosis. The experimental animals were observed for clinical responses for 90 days post-inoculation and the clinical signs were scored according to the severity. The clinical signs observed in this study were temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, rumen motility, enlargement of lymph nodes, and body condition score. The experimental animals were euthanised and tissue samples from different anatomical regions of the vital organs were collected in 10% buffered formalin, processed, sectioned, and stained with H&E. Results of both C. pseudotuberculosis and mycolic acid treated groups indicated a significant difference (p