Clostridium difficile is the infectious agent responsible for antibiotic-associated colitis. We report the use of the polymerase chain reaction technique to identify toxigenic strains of C. difficile in human stool specimens. A set of primers based on the nucleotide sequence of the toxin B gene, which amplified a 399-bp fragment from isolates producing toxin B, was designed. We examined 28 know...

The antifungal activity of isolated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from a locally fermented cereal, "Kunu", was tested against toxigenic Aspergillus flavus. The liquid refreshment, "Kunu", was prepared under hygienic condition using millet, sorghum, and the combination of the two grains. The antifungal potential of isolated LAB against toxigenic A. flavus was carried out using both in vitro and in ...

The survival of toxigenic Pasteurella multocida in air and liquids was studied to identify possible risk factors in the etiology of atrophic rhinitis. In aerosols, at low relative humidity (28%), the viability of toxigenic P. multocida 5 min after aerosolization was at least 22% of its initial value. Viability at low relative humidity declined to 8% after 45 min. Viability at high relative humi...

Clostridium difficile (CD) produces antibiotic associated diarrhea and leads to a broad range of diseases. The source of CD infection (CDI) acquisition and toxigenic profile are factors determining the impact of CD. This study aimed at detecting healthcare facility onset- (HCFO) and community-onset (CO) CDI and describing their toxigenic profiles in Bogotá, Colombia. A total of 217 fecal sample...

The antimicrobial susceptibilities of 78 strains of Clostridium difficile isolated from patients with and without gastrointestinal symptoms were determined and compared. Strains from patients with symptoms were more likely to show resistance to antibiotics. The antimicrobial susceptibilities of toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains were found to be similar.

There is little doubt that the toxigenicity of diphtheria cultures is associated with the lysogenic state. Blair (1924) noted that filtrates from toxigenic cultures lysed atoxic cultures of the diptheria bacillus but not the toxigenic cultures, but later investigators were able to isolate certain phages which could lyse toxigenic strains. We now know that, in general, lysogenic cultures are res...

We evaluated toxigenic Clostridium difficile detection by a lateral flow assay for antigen and toxin, an enzyme immunoassay, and two commercial PCR methods. Compared to the cell cytotoxicity neutralization assay and toxigenic culture, both toxin detection methods lacked sensitivity. PCR following combined antigen and toxin detection provided the most useful diagnostic information.

In recent studies, strains of non-dysenteriae 1 Shigella (NDS) expressing Shiga toxin have been reported. In this study, we report a novel stx1a-converting bacteriophage of Shigella sonnei associated with travel to Mexico. Phylogenetic comparison between this and other stx-converting phages suggests that toxigenic NDS strains have arisen through separate horizontal transfer events from toxigeni...

In March 2014, a person in their eighties who was diagnosed with extensive cellulitis due to toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans died from multiple organ failure. Environmental investigation also isolated C. ulcerans in biological samples from two stray cats in contact with the case. This finding provides further evidence that pets can carry toxigenic C. ulcerans and may be a source of the infec...

Since every single test has some limitations for detecting toxigenic Clostridium difficile, multistep algorithms are recommended. This study aimed to compare the current, representative diagnostic algorithms for detecting toxigenic C. difficile, using VIDAS C. difficile toxin A&B (toxin ELFA), VIDAS C. difficile GDH (GDH ELFA, bioMérieux, Marcy-l'Etoile, France), and Xpert C. difficile (Cepheid...