The clinical need to rapidly and correctly differentiate beta-hemolytic streptococci into Lancefield groups has prompted the development of commercially available rapid agglutination techniques. A modified Streptex (Wellcome Diagnostics, Research Triangle Park, N.C.) technique and the PathoDx latex Strep Grouping Kit (Diagnostic Products Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif.) technique were applied ...

At our hospital (Jefferson Davis Hospital, Houston, Tex.) since 1979, non-group D alpha-hemolytic streptococci have been isolated with increasing frequency from neonatal blood cultures with clinical findings of sepsis. A total of 47 such isolates were identified to the species level by the scheme of Facklam and were compared with 57 genital isolates from 167 maternity patients. Among the genita...

By means of the immunofluorescent staining technique, antisera to a wide variety of serological types of Group A and A variant streptococci were found to contain an antibody which reacted with mammalian striated muscle, both skeletal and cardiac, as well as with smooth muscle in the endocardium and in the media of arterioles. Similar heart-reactive antibodies were not present in antisera to mos...

BACKGROUND Here we report a rare case of lumbar spine epidural abscess and facet joint septic arthritis caused by Streptococcus agalactiae, which had spread to the iliopsoas muscles, leading to urine retention. CASE PRESENTATION A 68-year-old woman with low back pain experienced a sudden onset of bilateral lower limb weakness, it was followed 14 days later by urine retention. At consultation,...

Studies in this laboratory for the past several years have been focused on the epidemiology of hemolytic streptococcal disease in New Haven. Attention is being given to the incidence and possible clinical and epidemiological significance of the various serological types of hemolytic streptococci recovered from residents of this city. Current experience indicates that in a city of some 160,000 i...

1. The relation between hemolytic and non-hemolytic streptococci is orderly and arises from the fact that the former variety is unique while the latter is heterogeneous. 2. Analogous considerations of the classification, distribution, and pathogenicity of the streptococcus group and the pneumococcus and colon-typhoid groups show a definite parallelism. 3. These considerations suggest that uniqu...

An epidemic of infections due to group A Streptococcus haemolyticus type 12 originated in an infant with bronchiectasis, and involved children and nurses. Some of the children spread contagion; the nurses did not spread contagion. The children who spread contagion had few or no recognizable type 12 organisms in their throats; most of the nurses had type 12 predominant in their throat flora. Two...

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a collagenous serum lectin believed to be of importance in innate immunity. Genetically determined low levels of the protein are known to predispose to infections. In this study the binding of purified MBL to pathogens isolated from immunocompromised children was investigated by flow cytometry. Diverse Candida species, Aspergillus fumigatus, Staphylococcus aureus...