Determinación de factores de patogenicidad en cepas clínicas de Rhodotorula / Determination of pathogenicity factors in clinical strains of Rhodotorula

Rhodotorula ha sido implicada como agente etiológico dediversas infecciones, sobre todo en pacientes inmunocomprometidos,ya que esta levadura solamente llega a ser patógenaen determinadas circunstancias. En este estudio se determinanlos factores de patogenicidad implicados en las infecciones poresta levadura. Ensayamos un total de 50 muestras clínicas deRhodotorula, investigando las enzimas hidrolíticas esterasa,fosfatasa ácida, proteinasa y fosfolipasa. Todas las cepas mostraronpositividad para fosfatasa ácida; sin embargo la actividadpara las otras enzimas fue negativa. La ausencia de actividadde las enzimas proteinasa y fosfolipasa confirma la escasapatogenicidad del género Rhodotorula

Rhodotorula has been implicated as the ethiologic agent ofhuman infections mainly in immunocompromised patients,because this yeast only became pathogen in special circumstances.This study has been carried to determinate the virulencefactors implicated in the infections by this yeast. A total of50 strains of Rhodotorula isolated from clinical samples werestudied. Hidrolytic enzymes esterase, acid phosphatase, proteinaseand phospholipase were performed. All strains showedpositivity to acid phosphatase. However the activity to otherenzymes was negative. The absence of enzymatic activity toproteinase and phospholipase confirm the limited pathogenicityof the Rhodotorula genus

[Nocardiosis in a patient with AIDS]. / Nocardiosis en paciente con SIDA.

A young drug addict with positive anti-HIV antibodies, OKT4/OKT8 ratio below 1, oropharingeal candidiasis and pulmonary Pneumocystis carinii infection, dies due to a cerebral abscess with a septic status. The postmortem microbiologic study shows pulmonary abscesses and Nocardia asteroides is isolated from lung tissue and spinal fluid. We note out the rareness of this pathology and its relation to AIDS.

[Antibiotic resistance of Shigella strains isolated in Cádiz (author's transl)]. / Resistencia a los antibióticos en cepas de Shigella aisladas en Cádiz.

The incidence of shigellosis at the Residencia Sanitaria Fernando Zamacola (Cáciz, Spain) and the antibiotic sensitivity of 94 strains of Shigella sonnei and 40 strains of Shigella flexneri, isolated during the year 1979, has been studied taking into account the present status of strain resistance to the major antibiotics. Three epidemic bouts of shigellosis were detected: one in february by Shigella sonnei (16 cases), and two others in august-september and november due to Shigella flexneri (43 and 29 cases). Children 2 to 5 years old had the highest incidence of Shigella infection. Almost all strains isolated were resistant to the sulphonamides (99.77%). Ampicillin and chloramphenicol had little efficacy against Shigella flexneri (95.00 and 92.50% resistance). The percent resistance of Shigella sonnei strains to phosphomycin was elevated (44.69%). All strains studied were sensitive to colimycin and showed little resistance to the combination trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazol (16.42%).

[Epidemic outbreak of bacillary dysentery by "Shigella sonnei" in a kindergarten (author's transl)]. / Brote epidémico de disentería bacilar con Shigella sonnei en una guardería.

An epidemic outbreak, caused by "Shigella sonnei" in a kindergarten, affecting a high percentage of children aged two to seven years is described. On searching into the sensitivity is isolated strains to a wide range of antibiotics, it was observed that all them showed resistance to sulphonamides and a 57.19% were also resistant to phosphomycin. After doing the pertinent investigations and epidemiological analysis possible mechanisms of illness, transmission and dissemination are studied, evaluating the clinical symptoms that these children showed as well as the clinical course after treatment with ampicillin.