[Antimicrobial drug susceptibility of 365 Streptococcus agalactiae strains isolated in 1999-2006].

In vitro resistance to antimicrobials and its dynamics were evaluated in 365 strains of group B. Streptococcus agalactiae (SGB) isolated in 1999-2006 from female patients in an obstetrics and gynecology clinic of Moscow. Susceptibility to ampicillin, cefazolin, clindamycin, erythromycin, ofloxacin, penicillin, tetracycline and vancomycin was tested with the automatic Vitek 1 system and disk diffusion and double disk method according to CLSI/NCCLS. All the isolates were susceptible to ampicillin, cefazolin, penicillin and vancomycin. Tetracycline, erythromycin, clindamycin and ofloxacin resistance was detected in 78.1, 20.8, 9.0 and 1.1% of the isolates respectively. Three out of 19 strains resistant to erythromycin and susceptible to clindamycin showed inducible resistance to clindamycin in the D test with the Vitek 1 system. No significant differences in the resistance of the SGB strains isolated from diverse clinical materials were observed. Analysis of the resistance of the strains isolated in 1999-2006 demonstrated that resistance to erythromycin increased from 15.6% in 1999-2002 to 24.1% in 2003-2006 (p < 0.05). The tetracycline resistance within the same period lowered from 87.9 to 71.9% (p < 0.01). Therefore, penicillin remained to be the drug of choice for the prophylaxis and treatment of diseases due to SGB. The high of the SGB resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin suggested the use of non-beta-lactam antibiotics by the results of the in vitro susceptibility tests alone. The D-test should be routine in determination of the SGB susceptibility to clindamycin in clinical diagnostic laboratories.

[A case of the long-term carrier state of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the hand skin of a nurse in a resuscitation department]. / Sluchai dlitel'nogo nositel'stva Pseudomonas aeruginosa na kozhe ruk meditsinskoi sestry otdeleniia reanimatsii novorozhdennykh.

A case of a three-month carrier-state of P. aeruginosa in the hands' skin of a nurse in a newborns reanimation department is described. The carrier state did not seize after the nurse was isolated from work and was related with colonization of the dermal tissue, therefore, it could be detected only after the hands' skin was treated with a detergent solution. The carrier state was arrested after a chemotherapy course with cyprofloxacyn administered both locally and perorally.

[Immunoenzyme test system for detecting antibodies to group-specific antigens of group A Streptococcus on the base of conjugated N-acetylglucosamine and its use in medical practice]. / Immunofermentnaia test-sistema dlia opredeleniia antitel k gruppospetsificheskomu antigenu streptokokka gruppy A na osnove kon'iugirovannogo N-atsetilgliukozamina i ee primenenie v meditsinskoi praktike.

Enzyme immunoassay kit has been created for detecting antibodies to group A Streptococcus, based on N-acetylglucosamine. N-acetylglucosamine was selected as the group-specific determinant due to the structure of group A Streptococcus polysaccharide, in which this monosaccharide residue is lateral to the main polysaccharide chain and hence more available for antibodies. Water-soluble polyacrylamide is the carrier in this kit, for this carrier is stable and not liable to nonspecific reaction with proteins. In addition, the synthesis of polyacrylamide conjugates ensures reproducible results. Use of this kit permits the identification of group A streptococcal etiology of the disease and thus carry out appropriate therapy; moreover, it helps predict the outcome of an acute streptococcal infection and detect the poststreptococcal complications in the early period of the disease.

[Streptococcal group A carriage: new data on the characteristics of the biology of the causative agent and of the immune response of the host]. / Nositel'stvo streptokokka gruppy A: novye dannye po kharakteristike biologii vozbuditelia i immunnogo otveta khoziaina.

Carriership of group A streptococcus (A-STR) was registered with significantly greater frequency among children of preschool and early school age (29.8%) than among adults (4.0%). Cultures of A-STR isolated from carriers were characterized by their low capacity for secreting erythrogenic toxin of type A (ET-A), lipoteichoic acid and by lower content of surface proteins than those isolated from tonsillitis and scarlet fever patients. Highly hydrophobic strains of A-STR prevailed in long-time carriers and patients. Elevated immunological characteristics for group-specific polysaccharide A and ET-A were more frequently detected in children than in adults, which correlated with frequency of A-STR carriership in these groups and the capacity of the infective agent to produce ET-A. Some specific features in the character of humoral immune response in carriers, manifested mainly by defects of local immunity (a low level of SIgA to polysaccharide A), were established.

[Enzyme immunoassay test system for detection of antibodies to Streptococcus pyogenes group-specific A polysaccharide in blood droplets on paper]. / Immmunofermentnaia test-sistema dlia vyiavleniia antitel k gruppospetsificheskomu A-polisakharidu (A-PSKh) Streptococcus pyogenes v syvorotkakh, kapliiakh krovi na bumage.

An enzyme immunoassay-based test system has been developed to assess the level of specific antibodies to A polysaccharide which permits analysis of material (droplets of native sera or blood eluate) collected on filter paper. Special variants of the test system permit separate detection of IgA, IgG, and IgM antibodies. The test system is fit for clinical and epidemiologic studies.