A total of 123 water samples were examined in parallel by culture and semi-nested PCR for the presence of Legionella. They comprised: 35 samples of hot water distributed by the urban municipal water supply system (MWSS) taken in institutions, 45 samples of hot water distributed by urban MWSS taken in dwellings, 27 samples of cold water distributed by rural MWSS taken in dwellings, and 16 sample...

Scrub typhus, caused by infection with Orientia tsutsugamushi, is one of the most common rickettsial diseases in the Asia-Pacific region. The disease can cause up to 35% mortality if left untreated. In order to get a better understanding of the host responses to O. tsutsugamushi infection, freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were infected with O. tsutsugamushi. The infect...

BACKGROUND Molecular amplification techniques are suggested to be a useful adjunct in early detection of pathogens in septic patients. The aim was to study the feasibility of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay compared to the standard microbiological culture (MC) technique in identification of pathogenic microorganisms from blood and non-blood samples in septic patients. METHODS Samples ...

BACKGROUND The effectiveness of PCR methods to amplify rickettsiae from clinical samples has still not been evaluated. Our aim was to determine the sensitivity and usefulness for Rickettsia species identification by PCR methods, targeting 16S rDNA, htrA, gltA, ompA, and ompB genes for molecular diagnosis of rickettsioses. METHODS A total of 72 clinical samples (EDTA-blood, skin biopsies and t...

neospora caninum, an apicomplexan protozoan, is regarded as a major cause of abortion and stillbirth in cattle in countries world-wide. the ability to detection n.caninum in tissue samples can be a useful detection diagnostic tool for use in the study of the pathogenicity, immunoprophylaxis, and treatment of neospora infection. however, molecular biology is one of the most sensitive tools for d...

Laboratory testing for dengue virus is used to confirm the diagnosis of dengue virus infection and to differentiate dengue from other febrile tropical illnesses. There are few data on the clinical use of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for diagnosis of dengue virus infection. We prospectively evaluated 121 consecutive patients with possible dengue who had samples submit...

BACKGROUND Relapsing fever caused by Borrelia persica, is an acute tick-borne disease which is transmitted by soft ticks of Ornithodoros tholozani to human. METHODS Value of PCR and xenodiagnosis for detection of B. persica in O. tholozani ticks was compared. Sixty-four Borrelia-free ticks were fed on infected guinea pigs and used for the experiments. For xenodiagnosis, a group of 32 ticks in...

BACKGROUND Arthroscopic treatment of tears in the middle and posterior parts of the medial meniscus can be difficult when the medial tibiofemoral compartment is tight. Passage of the instruments may damage the cartilage. The primary objective of this cadaver study was to perform an arthroscopic evaluation of medial tibiofemoral compartment opening after pie-crusting release (PCR) of the superfi...