No abstract available.
Antibodies* ; Borrelia burgdorferi* ; Borrelia* ; Ticks*

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Clostridium difficile* ; Clostridium* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver* ; Sepsis* ; Vibrio cholerae* ; Vibrio*

Vibrio fetus was isolated from blood specimens of a subacute bacterial endocarditis patient. The 38 year old male patient was admitted to Severance Hospital in January 1970 for 11 days and again in July 1970 for 13 days. Subacute bacterial endocarditis was the major condtion. Aortic insufficiency and cholestatic hepatitis were the accessory diagnosis. The organism was isolated during the second admission. V. fetus human infection is known to be very rare, and the present case appears to be the first case in Korea. V. fetus grows very slowly with increased carbon dioxide tension which favours the growth. It is a slightly curved, S-shaped and spiral gram-negative organism. Many antibiotics, effective to gram negative organisms, inhibit the growth of the organism. V. fetus is an animal pathogen causing disease in ruminants. The patient enjoyed raw beef dishes. He could be infected with the organism by eating raw beef.
Adult ; Campylobacter fetus/isolation & purification ; Endocarditis, Subacute Bacterial/etiology ; Endocarditis, Subacute Bacterial/microbiology* ; Human ; Male ; Vibrio/isolation & purification* ; Vibrio Infections/microbiology*

BACKGROUND: Cladosporium spp. are dematiaceous fungi that are commonly isolated from indoor and outdoor environments, including hospital air. This fungus is rarely pathogenic to humans, but has been reported to cause infections of the skin and toenails, as well as sinusitis and pulmonary infections. The monitoring of culture results was conducted to identify the outbreak of an unknown black fungal infection between January and March 2006 in a University hospital, and infection control activity was performed to identify the cause of the outbreak. METHODS: An epidemiological investigation of 22 patients with infections caused by an unknown black fungus was conducted. Microscopic examination and molecular analysis on the internal transcript spacer (ITS) region was performed to identify the black fungus. To detect the source of contamination, a culture of environmental specimens was performed, and then, disinfection of the laboratory was implemented. RESULTS: The patients with black fungi belonged to various departments and wards. No symptoms of fungal infection were recognized on the basis of the survey. The black fungus was identified as Cladosporium spp. on the basis of morphological features and ITS region sequencing. Culturing of environmental specimens was performed in the laboratory. Black fungi were isolated from a specimen from a rack and had the same morphological features with Cladosporium spp. from clinical specimens. After the rack was autoclaved, Cladosporium spp. from clinical specimens was no longer isolated. CONCLUSION: Epidemiological investigation, microscopic examination, and molecular analysis revealed that the sudden increase in the isolation rate of Cladosporium spp. from clinical specimens was the result of a pseudo-outbreak caused by the contamination of a rack. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a pseudo-outbreak of Cladosporium spp. Continuous monitoring of culture results is important to avoid unnecessary labor for nosocomial infection control.
Cladosporium ; Cross Infection ; Disinfection ; Fungi ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Nails ; Sinusitis ; Skin

Campylobacter fetus subsp. intestinalis was isolated from the blood of two different patients. One patient was a 46-year-old male with liver cirrhosis and the other a 44-year-old male with co1on carcinoma. These are the second and third documented infections of this kind in Korea. Difficulties of their isolation were well illustrated. For instance, the growth was detected after a long incubation of 4 to 6 days. All of the 3 blood cultures from the carcinoma patient, but on1y 2 of 3 specimens from the other patient, yielded the organism.
Adult ; Campylobacter/isolation & purification* ; Campylobacter Infections/microbiology ; Campylobacter fetus/isolation & purification* ; Colonic Neoplasms/microbiology ; Culture Media ; Human ; Liver Cirrhosis/microbiology ; Male ; Middle Age ; Septicemia/microbiology*

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is known to cause septicemia, mesenteric lymphadenitis enteritis and erythema nodosum. Most of the infections were found in European countries, but none in Korea ti11 now. For the first time in Korea Y. pseudotuberculosis was isolated form a 51-year-old ma1e with liver cirrhosis. The patient showed chills, abdominal pain and diarrhea followed by a comatose state. The organism was isolated from both blood and peritoneal fluid. The isolation and identification were difficult as the organism grew slowly and many of the characteristics were similar to other enteric bacilli. The isolate was susceptible to all antibiotics tested in vitro, but our chemotherapy with ampicillin and kanamycin did not save the patient's life.
Antibiotics/pharmacology ; Human ; Male ; Middle Age ; Septicemia/microbiology* ; Yersinia/drug effects ; Yersinia/isolation & purification ; Yersinia Infections/microbiology* ; Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Infections/microbiology*

BACKGROUND: Recent clinical isolates of bacteria often produce various beta-lactamases, for example, extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) by some species of Enterobacteriaceae, TEM beta-lactamase by Haemophilus influenzae, and penicillinase by methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Cefminox, a commonly used cephamycin, is stable to various beta-lactamases, but its activity against recent clinical isolates has not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the activities of cefminox against recent clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae, H. influenzae, and MSSA. METHODS: The organisms, isolated from Severance Hospital patients during 1997 to 1998, were kept frozen until the test. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the NCCLS agar dilution method. RESULTS: All 30 isolates of Escherichia coli and 90% of 30 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were susceptible to cefminox, cefotetan and amikacin. All of the Enterobacter cloacae and Serratia marcescens, and 86% of Citrobacter freundii isolates were susceptible to amikacin. All of the 15 isolates each of Proteus mirabilis, P. vulgaris and Morganella morganii were susceptible to cefminox, cefotetan, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, and aztreonam, while all of the Providencia spp. were susceptible to ceftazidime and aztreonam. All of the 29 H. influenzae isolates were susceptible to cefminox, cefotaxime, and levofloxacin, while all MSSA isolates were susceptible to cefoxitin and cotrimoxazole. CONCLUSION: Cefminox is more active than the other beta-lactams against Enterobacteriaceae including, ESBL- producing E. coli, and K. pneumoniae.
Agar ; Amikacin ; Aztreonam ; Bacteria ; beta-Lactamases ; beta-Lactams ; Cefotaxime ; Cefotetan ; Cefoxitin ; Ceftazidime ; Citrobacter freundii ; Enterobacter cloacae ; Enterobacteriaceae* ; Escherichia coli ; Haemophilus influenzae* ; Haemophilus* ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Levofloxacin ; Morganella morganii ; Penicillinase ; Pneumonia ; Proteus mirabilis ; Providencia ; Serratia marcescens ; Staphylococcus aureus* ; Staphylococcus* ; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae endocarditis in man is a very rare disease. The bacteria can be easily misiden- tified as nonpathogenic gram-positive bacilli or streptococci. This organism was isolated from blood samples taken from a 39-year-old male farmer with subacute bacterial endocarditis. The patient had cirrhosis of the liver; diabetes, and tuberculosis. The isolate showed typical cultural and biochemical characteristics such as facultative growth, formation of small greenish colonies on blood agar, positive hydrogen sulfide, negative catalase, and nonmotility. The isolate was susceptible to penicillin G and the cephalosporins.
Adult ; Endocarditis, Subacute Bacterial/diagnosis* ; Endocarditis, Subacute Bacterial/drug therapy ; Erysipeloid/diagnosis* ; Erysipeloid/drug therapy ; Human ; Male