A total of 350 staphylococci isolated from various clinical sources were examined for bound and free coagulase, fermentation of mannitol, and deoxyribonuclease. The economical coagulase-mannitol-agar method of Esber and Faulcomer was found to be suitable for the detection of free coagulase and mannitol fermentation. A significant number of coagulase- and mannitol-negative staphylococci proved t...

One hundred and thirty two Bacillus cereus and 52 Bacillus megaterium isolates from honeys were evaluated for the presence of genes encoding enterotoxin HBL, enterotoxin-T, cytotoxin K and the NHE complex, respectively. The relationship between hemolytic and coagulase activity and its correlation with the presence of the four mentioned enterotoxins was determined by principal component analysis...

PURPOSE To evaluate the fluoroquinolone susceptibilities of ocular isolate coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), identified at the Microbiology Laboratory - UNIFESP. DESIGN Experimental laboratory investigation. METHODS The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 21 strains of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCoNS) and 22 methicillin-sensitive coagulase-negat...

Five commercial Staphylococcus aureus identification kits--Staphaurex (Wellcome), Staphylase (Oxoid), Staphyslide (bioMèrieux), Biostaph (Medlabs) and Bacto Latex (Difco)--were evaluated for the routine identification of S aureus from primary plates in the routine microbiology laboratory. Comparison was made with two methods of tube coagulase testing and five slide methods for detecting clumpin...

A large and diverse group of coagulase-negative staphylococci were assayed for the ability to produce toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1) by immunological reactivity, and whole-cell DNAs from 33 of these strains were hybridized with a TSST-1-specific gene probe. None of the strains tested, including isolates that have been reported as TSST-1+, produced the exotoxin, and no DNA homology was fo...

By analyzing the colonization of the anterior nares in cardiothoracic surgery patients on admission, nasal cocolonization by methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci was detected in 8/235 (3.4%) specimens. Consequently, in a low-methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) setting, a molecular MRSA screening test targeting the mecA gene ...

The pathogenic role of staphylococcal coagulase and clumping factor was investigated in the rat model of endocarditis. The coagulase-producing and clumping factor-producing parent strain Staphylococcus aureus Newman and a series of mutants defective in either coagulase, clumping factor, or both were tested for their ability (i) to attach in vitro to either rat fibrinogen or platelet-fibrin clot...

The susceptibility to methicillin of 44 Staphylococcus aureus and 120 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) was determined by Etest, agar dilution and presence of the mecA gene. There was agreement between the results of all methods when testing S. aureus. However, discrepancies occurred with CNS when cultural methods were compared with presence of the mecA gene. mecA-positive isolates tested ...

Mannitol fermentation has long been considered an important test in studying staphylococci, and yet reports on its correlation with other tests vary widely. Hallman (Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 36, 789) found a 91 per cent correlation with the coagulase test on 487 strains. On the other hand, Plastridge et al. (Storrs Agr. Expt. Sta., Bull. 231) found that 74 per cent of their 211 coagulasene...