BACKGROUND Moraxella catarrhalis, a major nasopharyngeal pathogen of the human respiratory tract, is exposed to rapid downshifts of environmental temperature when humans breathe cold air. The prevalence of pharyngeal colonization and respiratory tract infections caused by M. catarrhalis is greatest in winter. We investigated how M. catarrhalis uses the physiologic exposure to cold air to regula...

Moraxella catarrhalis is an important human mucosal pathogen causing otitis media in children and lower respiratory tract infection in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Little is known about the mucosal antibody response to M. catarrhalis in adults with COPD. In this study, 10 pairs of well-characterized sputum supernatant samples from adults with COPD who had acquired a...

BACKGROUND Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Streptococcus pneumoniae are the most common causative agents of respiratory tract infections (RTIs). The increase in resistance to current antibacterial agents highlights the need to monitor the resistance pattern of these bacterial pathogens. METHODOLOGY In this study, we assessed the antibacterial suscept...

Outer membrane protein E (OMP E) is a 50-kDa protein of Moraxella catarrhalis which has several features that suggest that the protein may be an effective vaccine antigen. To assess the conservation of OMP E among strains of M. catarrhalis, 22 isolates were studied with eight monoclonal antibodies which recognize epitopes on different regions of the protein. Eighteen of 22 strains were reactive...

We reviewed tetracycline and erythromycin disk diffusion susceptibility of 457 isolates of Branhamella catarrhalis. Four isolates were resistant to tetracycline, with MICs for two available isolates of 16 micrograms/ml. Sixteen isolates were in the moderately susceptible range for erythromycin, with an MIC for one available isolate being greater than 8 micrograms/ml. These are the first tetracy...

Cefpodoxime proxetil (U-76,252; CS-807) is a new esterified oral cephem antibiotic with a broad antibacterial spectrum. Since data regarding the activity of cefpodoxime against Branhamella catarrhalis are limited, we tested its activity against 200 B. catarrhalis isolates. The drug was highly active against beta-lactamase-negative and -positive isolates; 99% of all strains tested showed a cefpo...

Over 12 months serum was collected from 45 inpatients, with acute bronchopulmonary infection, in whose sputum Branhamella catarrhalis predominated, or was the sole pathogen. Serum was examined for IgG against B catarrhalis using an immunofluorescence antibody test. Acute and convalescent sera were compared with sera of age and sex matched controls. The convalescent sera had significantly higher...

A modified oxidation-fermentation medium was developed as a practical medium for highly sensitive and specific detection of acid production from carbohydrates by Neisseria spp. and Branhamella catarrhalis. A total of 756 strains representing 17 Neisseria spp. and Branhamella catarrhalis were tested in this medium, in which the protein concentration was reduced relative to the carbohydrate conce...

Outer membrane protein E (OMP E) is a 50-kDa protein of Moraxella catarrhalis which possesses several characteristics indicating that the protein will be an effective vaccine antigen. To study the antigenic structure of OMP E, eight monoclonal antibodies were developed and characterized. Three of the antibodies recognized epitopes which are present on the bacterial surface. Fusion peptides corr...

ABT-492 exhibited excellent in vitro activities against all 326 aerobic and anaerobic antral puncture sinus isolates tested with MICs (in micrograms per milliliter) at which 90% of the isolates tested were inhibited as follows: Haemophilus influenzae, 0.001; Moraxella catarrhalis, 0.008; and Streptococcus pneumoniae, 0.015. It was four- to sixfold more active than other fluoroquinolones, includ...