Phosphatase activity of anaerobic organisms.

Anaerobic organisms were tested for phosphatase activity in different pH ranges. Several groups of organisms displayed characteristic patterns. Bacteroides fragilis, B. melaninogenicus, and B. ruminicola produced phosphatase with strongest activity at pH 8.6. Fusobacterium mortiferum was the only species of this genus to show strong hydrolysis. The enzyme was active in both acid and alkaline ranges. The activity of gram-positive organisms was variable, the most active groups being Clostridium perfringens, Peptostreptococcus intermedius, P. micros, and Peptococcus constellatus. The incorporation of phosphatase activity into the identification scheme of anaerobes seems feasible. There was a correlation of hydrolysis with several important pathogens.

Fluorescent antibody study of the gram-positive anaerobic cocci.

Fluorescent antibody conjugates were prepared from five species of anaerobic cocci commonly isolated from human infections. When tested with homologous and heterologous cells these conjugates were found to be highly specific. There was no evidence of a common genus antigen. Peptococcus magnus conjugates detected a species-specific antigen; cross-reactions with Peptostreptococcus anaerobius were readily eliminated by absorption. The conjugates from Peptococcus asaccharolyticus, Peptococcus prevotii, Peptostreptococcus, anaerobius, and Peptostreptococcus intermedius displayed a high degree of strain specificity. Occasional cross-reactions were detected with homologous strains, suggesting the presence of common antigens, but no attempt was made to determine the number of different serotypes in these species.

Tryptic soy bile-kanamycin test for the indentification of Bacteroides fragilis.

A simple and practical test for the identification of Bacteroides fragilis is described. It utilizes two well-known properties of this species, i.e., stimulation of growth by bile and resistance to kanamycin. The test media are a tryptic-soy bile agar plate and a supplemented blood agar plate on which a kanamycin 1,000-mug/ml disk is placed. Incubation is for 24 h at 37 C in GasPak. The results of screening 190 strains, mostly clinical isolates, indicate that B. fragilis can be easily and reliably distinguished from other Bacteroides and from Fusobacterium species by its growth on tryptic-soy bile agar and resistance to kanamycin.

[Antisepsis and disinfection: the necessity of a conceptual demarcation]. / Antiseptik und Desinfektion: Notwendigkeit einer begrifflichen Abgrenzung.

Increasing international cooperation in the areas of research, teaching, trade and healthcare has called for standardization of the terminology. In disinfection and antisepsis such efforts have been pursued for almost 20 years but without great success. This contribution to the definition of antisepsis and its clear separation from disinfection is supposed to promote international discussion. German terms for skin, mucosa and wound antisepsis are proposed which permit to restrict the term disinfection to the application of antimicrobial measures to inanimate objects and surfaces.