During 2002-2003 increased numbers of notified salmonellosis due to S. enterica serovar Agona were observed in Germany. In order to understand the recent spread of this serovar and to trace the route of infection to its source, a new phage-typing scheme and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were used to analyse these isolates. By using 14 bacteriophages, 52 phage types were distinguished ...

The staphylococcal typing phages require divalent cations for a stage in phage growth which is probably that of penetration. When phage is adsorbed to the cell surface of sensitive cocci and a chelating agent is added, there is a short period during which the phage particle may be inactivated and its lethal effect on the coccus prevented. Cocci attacked by phages of serological group A show pen...

the percentage of strains of stn plrylococcus .t1lln'us that can be typed with the basic set phages has fallen in recent years (1,2)). it appears, therefore, that all increasing proportion of stcphvlococci, for whatever reason, arc unsuscepriblc to the basic set phages and it is essential that new phages be introduced if the situation is to be improved. seven new phages have ben issued by the i...

A new system is described for the bacteriophage typing of Salmonella typhimurium cultures isolated in the United States. The system is based upon one phage adapted to different S. typhimurium strains.

A study has been made of 523 strains of staphylococci on the basis of biological properties, phage typing, and serology. The value of serology in the identification of pathogenic staphylococci has been assessed.

A major Canada-wide outbreak of gastroenteritis due to Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis phage type (PT) 8 occurred in 1998, and this was traced to contaminated cheese in a commercial lunch pack product. Phage typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis linked the clinical and cheese isolates of serotype Enteritidis but failed to differentiate outbreak from nonoutbreak PT 8 strains. Furt...

A bacteriophage typing system is described for Salmonella infantis. Nine phages were selected, of which three were isolated from sewage and six from human feces. All except 7 of the 546 strains collected between 1974 and 1978 could be classified into 23 different phage types. The five most common phage types comprised 26, 13, 9, 9, and 9% of all strains, respectively. Strains from humans, anima...

A procedure in which soft agar overlays were used in bacteriophage-typing Mycobacterium tuberculosis is presented. This safer method uses commercially available media, whereas media presently used must be prepared in the laboratory. Single plaque isolations of the phage BG-1 specifying phage type A and B of M. tuberculosis were readily made by using the modified procedures. This purification an...

The emergence of new groups of strains of Staph. aureus as important causes of endemic hospital infection in Great Britain has been followed by the phage typing method. Experiments are reported which suggest the possible origin of one of them.

Duplicate phage typing tests of 150 isolates of methicillin-sensitive and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus at 100 times the routine test dilution showed that the existing reaction difference rule remains satisfactory when isolates are tested on the same day; i.e., two or more reactions must differ before isolates should be considered distinct. However, if typing is done on different days, a thr...