We compared StrepB Select medium (Select) after enrichment with conventional culture for the detection of Group B Streptococcus (GBS). Postenrichment sensitivities of Select and conventional culture were 98.8% and 92.2%, respectively (P<0.05). Select was superior for detection of GBS from vaginal-rectal specimens. Growth of non-GBS colonies required additional work to exclude the presence of GB...

emm-clusters and-types of the GAS isolates characterized in the study emm-cluster Isolates (n) emm-types (n) Non-typeable 2 Not able to be emm-typed (2)

A. Montilla, A. Zavala, R. Cáceres Cáceres, R. Cittadini, C. Vay, G. Gutkind, A. Famiglietti, L. Bonofiglio, M. Mollerach Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Laboratorio de Bacteriología Clínica, Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín, Facultad de Farmacia y Bio...

Because rapid identification of gram-positive organisms from blood cultures may provide valuable information for patient care and because the AutoMicrobic system Gram-Positive Identification (AMS-GPI) Card (Vitek Systems, Inc., Hazelwood, Mo.) is designed for the identification of these organisms in 4 to 13 h, we designed this study to evaluate the performance of the AMS-GPI Card in the direct ...

We describe 2 cases of fatal necrotizing fasciitis and toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus agalactiae-a rare entity that has been reported in only 9 patients-in 2 nonpregnant adults.

The bacterium Streptococcus agalactiae is an etiologic agent in the pathogenesis of endocarditis in humans. FbsA, a fibrinogen-binding protein produced by this pathogen, is considered an important virulence factor. In the present study we provide evidence that S agalactiae clinical isolates bearing FbsA attach to fibrinogen and elicit a fibrinogen-dependent aggregation of platelets. Mutants of ...

Streptococcus agalactiae is a major cause of bacterial sepsis and meningitis in human newborns. The interaction of S. agalactiae with host proteins and the entry into host cells thereby represent important virulence traits of these bacteria. The present report describes the identification of the fbsB gene, encoding a novel fibrinogen-binding protein that plays a crucial role in the invasion of ...

A random-amplified polymorphic DNA assay using partially degenerate oligonucleotides as primers was used for the characterization of 78 epidemiologically related and unrelated clinical isolates of Streptococcus agalactiae belonging to different serotypes. Thirty distinct amplification profiles were obtained among 52 unrelated S. agalactiae isolates assigned to nine groups by serotyping (includi...