An epidemiological study on the occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus in superficial abscesses of patients presenting for surgery in a teaching hospital in Khartoum, Sudan.

A group of patients (n=86) suffering from superficial abscesses was recruited in the Khartoum Teaching Hospital, Sudan. Detailed clinical and socio-economic data were collected. It appeared that 83% of all patients were younger than 40. Labourers were most prevalent (28%), followed by students (23%) and housewives (16%). The head and neck were most often affected (22%), with hands being second (19%). In 92% of all pus cultures a microbial agents was identified, the large majority being Staphylococcus aureus (69%). Among patients, 47% were nasal carriers of S. aureus, similar to the carriage rate measured among controls, suggesting that nasal carriage is no risk factor for abscess development. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that a history of abscess, recent traditional medical treatment, poor hygiene and low socio-economic status were significantly and independently associated with the occurrence of superficial abscesses.

Development of a species-specific PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis procedure for identification of Madurella mycetomatis.

Madurella mycetomatis is the commonest cause of eumycetoma in Sudan and other countries in tropical Africa. Currently, the early diagnosis of mycetoma is difficult. In attempting to improve the identification of M. mycetomatis and, consequently, the diagnosis of mycetoma, we have developed specific oligonucleotide primers based on the sequence of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions spacing the genes encoding the fungal ribosomal RNAs. The ITS regions were amplified with universal primers and sequenced, and then two sets of species-specific primers were designed which specifically amplify parts of the ITS and the 5.8S ribosomal DNA gene. The new primers were tested for specificity with DNA isolated from human mycetoma lesions and DNA extracted from cultures of M. mycetomatis reference strains and related fungi as well as human DNA. To study the genetic variability of the ITS regions of M. mycetomatis, ITS amplicons were obtained from 25 different clinical isolates and subjected to restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis with CfoI, HaeIII, MspI, Sau3AI, RsaI, and SpeI restriction enzymes. RFLP analysis of the ITS region did not reveal even a single difference, indicating the homogeneity of the isolates analyzed during the current study.