Bilateral mammary abscess due to Brucella melitensis.

Brucellosis is an important zoonosis, which is widespread as endemic cases in Turkey. Unusual clinical features and complications can sometimes lead to diagnostic difficulties. We describe here a case of a pregnant woman with bilateral mammary abscesses due to Brucella melitensis.

Medically treated intraspinal "Brucella" granuloma.

BACKGROUND: Although there have been reports of Brucella granuloma or abscess in the literature, they were all localized extradurally except one, and most patients underwent surgery. CASE REPORT: A 40-year-old female presented with urinary and fecal incontinence and a two-month history of progressive weakness of the right leg and numbness of the left leg. Four months previously, she had been diagnosed with systemic brucellosis with a period of radiculomeningoencephalitis; she was treated successfully with rifampicin, doxycycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMZ), and streptomycin, and was discharged symptom-free on rifampicin and doxycycline. Neurological examination revealed spastic paraparesis, globally hyperactive deep tendon reflexes (DTRs) and sensory level at T6. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spinal cord revealed a 10 x 30 mm intradural-intramedullary mass lesion at the T5 level with surrounding edema that enhanced with contrast. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was xanthochromic with lymphocytic pleocytosis and elevated levels of albumin, immunoglobulins, and antibody titers for Brucella. The medications were modified to rifampicin 1200 mg, doxycycline 400 mg, and TMP/SMZ 480/2400 mg daily, and methylprednisolone 100 mg in decremental doses (for 6 weeks). After 2 months, the patient was almost symptom-free and her medication doses were decreased. After 5 months, the mass lesion resolved almost completely. The treatment was discontinued after 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: The case is presented because of its uniqueness. In cases of Brucella granuloma, the authors recommend a trial of medical treatment with adequate dosages for a reasonable length of time before considering surgical intervention.

An intramedullary dermoid cyst abscess due to Brucella abortus biotype 3 at T11-L2 spinal levels.

A 17-year-old boy was admitted to hospital with a history of backache, weakness of the lower extremities and fever. While the diagnosis of brucellosis was made his clinical course worsened. Acute medulla spinalis mass effect and signs of meningitis predominated. It was shown that he had a dermoid cyst infected with Brucella abortus biotype 3 which was the same strain growing in his blood cultures.

[S. typhi strains which produce "beta" type of hemolysis]. / Beta tipi hemoliz yapan salmonella typhi suslari.

S. typhi strains were isolated from the blood of one, and from the faeces cultures of the other of two brothers, which showed the classical biochemical and serological characteristics except for the Vi antigen. These strains produced "beta type" of hemolysis in their first isolation when grown on brain heart infusion agar media. This ability was lost after two or three subculturing on the same media. The cause of this phenomenon is thought to be a plasmid. However, this reason is still under investigation. Both patients were treated with classical methods plus ampicillin successfully.

[Food poisoning caused by S. san-diego (author's transl)]. / Salmonella san-diego ile meydana gelen toplu besin zehirlenmesi.

In this paper, a S. san-diego food poisoning outbreak of 24 people who ate the same food is presented. This is the first report of a S. san-diego food poisoning outbreak in Turkey.

[Salmonella typhimurium isolated from the spinal fluid of 2 children]. / Iki çocuk beyin - omurilik sivisindan üretilen s. typhimurium bakterileri.

In this article isolation of S. typhimurium bacteria from cebrospinal fluid of two children is reported.

[A case of subacute bacterial endocarditis related to Alcaligenes faecalis]. / Alcalgenes faecalis'e bagli subakut bakteriyel endokardit olgusu.

Alcaligenes faecalis was isolated from the blood culture of an 18 years old patient with subacute bacterial endocarditis and rheumatic valvular disease. Isolated strain agglutinated with patient's serum at a ratio of 1/160.

[West Nile arbovirus antibodies with hemagglutination inhibition (HI) in residents of Southeast Anatolia]. / Güneydogu anadolu bölgesi halkinda bati nil atesi hemaglutinasyon - önlenim antikorlarinin arastirilmasi

937 sera collected from different persons in Southeast Anatolia were studied for antibodies against West Nile - Virus by HI test. 763 out of 937 sera were from the research area, 42 from the neighboring districts and 21 from soldiers recently come to the research area, the features of the remaining 111 sera, except the ages of 4 could not be recorded. In the sera from the research area the West Nile antibodies were positive in 41.80%. The positive ratios were 40.49% in Diyarbakir, 47.83% in Mardin, 44.82% in Siirt, 38.09% in Urfa and 41.17% in Elâzig. In 916 sera, the positive ratio was 40.06%. The ratio increased with the age, 5 out of 21 sera from soldiers were positive. It seems that in research area an active West Nile virus or a closely related one is found. We think that in neighboring areas some active foci of West Nile wirus are found.