The cells that line the mucosa of the human gastrointestinal tract (GI, that is, oral cavity, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and rectum) are constantly challenged by adverse micro-environmental factors, such as different pH, enzymes, and bacterial flora. With exception of the oral cavity, these microenvironments also contain remnant cocktails of secreted enzymes and bact...

Selective intestinal decontamination (SID) with norfloxacin has been widely used for the prophylaxis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) because of a high recurrence rate and preventive effect of SID for SBP. However, it does select resistant gut flora and may lead to SBP caused by unusual pathogens such as quinolone-resistant gram-negative bacilli or gram-positive cocci. Enterococcus hi...

Significant amounts of cyanide are released when amygdalin (Laetrile), a cyanogenic glycoside, is given orally or intravenously to rats. The amount of cyanide liberated following oral administration is dependent in part on the bacterial flora of the gut and can be suppressed by antibiotic pretreatment of the animals. Bacteria from human feces likewise hydrolyze amygdalin with release of cyanide...

A common etiology of diabetic ketoacidosis is severe infection [1], and hyperglycemia has been reported to be a possible risk factor for developing a liver abscess [2]. Streptococcus anginosus is a subgroup of streptococcus viridians, which commonly exists in normal oral and gastrointestinal flora. Streptococcus anginosus differs from other bacterial subgroups as Streptococcus anginosus may cau...

We report what may be the first documented case of an anterior mediastinal abscess due to infection by Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. This small, fastidious Gram-negative coccobacillus is a normal component of the oral flora of healthy individuals,' but rarely a human pathogen. It was first described in 1912 by Klinger2 in association with actinomycosis and has since been identified as t...

The development of resistance to a range of antibiotics by some important pathogens has raised the possibility of a return of humans to the pre-antibiotic dark ages. Time has come to shift the paradigm of treatment from specific bacteria elimination to altering bacterial ecology by probiotics. Probiotics are dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria or yeasts. They help in ...

Granulicatella species, along with the genus Abiotrophia, were originally known as 'nutritionally variant streptococci'. They are a normal component of the oral flora, but have been associated with a variety of invasive infections in man and are most noted as a cause of bacterial endocarditis. It is often advised that Granulicatella endocarditis should be treated in the same way as enterococcal...

INTRODUCTION The normal flora can be divided into two groups Resident flora and Transient. Some organisms are almost always present in a normal oral cavity and constitute constant/normal microbial flora. It is further divided into two types: indigenous & supplemental. Comprise of those species that are almost always present in high numbers (> 1%) in a particular site, such as the supra gingival...

BACKGROUND To evaluate associations between alterations in vaginal flora and clinical symptoms in low-risk pregnant women. METHODS Vaginal specimens from 245 pregnant women were analyzed by microscopy for vaginal flora. Signs and symptoms of vaginal infection were determined by patient interviews and gynecologic examinations. RESULTS Abnormal vaginal flora was identified in 45.7% of the sub...