Serotyping of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) has been contingent upon the availability of antisera. Here we describe a 7-plex microbead-based immunoassay to simultaneously serotype seven STECs (i.e., belonging to serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157) by the Luminex xMAP® technology. This technology presents many advantages: Its multiplexed format (up to 100 analy...

Historically, military recruits have been at high risk of acquiring meningococcal disease. Beginning in the 1940s, the US military relied on mass treatment with sulfadiazine to control outbreaks in training camps. In the 1960s, a vaccine was developed in response to the emergence of sulfadiazine-resistant strains. Since 1971, all new recruits in the US military have been immunized against Neiss...

A protein-free chemically defined medium for cultivation of pathogenic Leptospira was developed. The medium permitted continued serial subculturing of 9 serogroups (52 strains) of the 12 serogroups (61 strains) tested. Growth was initiated from small inocula, and the growth rate and maximal cell yields were similar to those on serum-containing media. The nutritional requirements of serogroups L...

Healthy adults, 18-55 years old, were immunized once with a tetravalent (serogroups A, C, Y, and W-135) meningococcal vaccine conjugated to diphtheria toxoid at 1 of 3 doses and were monitored for safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity. No immediate reactions were observed. Only 1 of 89 subjects reported fever; only 1 reported any severe reactogenicity (local pain/soreness, chills, arthralg...

The antibody response of patients infected with Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 in a common source outbreak was investigated. Heat-killed antigens from L pneumophila serogroups 1-3 and 6-10, plus several other strains of L pneumophila, together with 13 other species of legionellas were used in an indirect fluorescence antibody test. Formolised yolk sac antigens made from L pneumophila serogr...

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), although uncommon, is difficult to diagnose and can be rapidly fatal, even in healthy young persons. IMD is cyclic, and serogroups responsible for disease vary by age group, although the prevalence of the serogroups changes over time and by geographical location. Two quadrivalent vaccines are licensed in the United States to prevent IMD caused by serogroups...

Ten samples of antiserum against Pseudomonas cepacia were prepared by the intravenous immunization of rabbits with heat-killed organisms. Ten P. cepacia strains used for immunization were proven unique antigenic strains. Using these antisera, we serogrouped 127 strains of P. cepacia, and 114 strains (89.8%) fell under one of the ten serogroup. The most prevalent serogroup was C (26.8), the seco...

The so called enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) O serogroups include typical and atypical EPEC, enterohaemorrragic E. coli, enterotoxigenic E. coli, and enteroaggregative E. coli. The aim of this article is to review the composition of each O serogroup and the major serotypes, clones, and additional virulence characteristics of each of these diarrheagenic categories. Their adherence patt...

Simultaneous infections with different Legionella spp. have rarely been described in the literature. We now report on seven sporadic cases of legionellosis of which three were simultaneous infections caused by multiple Legionella pneumophila serogroups. Four different legionellae were involved. L. pneumophila serogroup 1, two different types of L. pneumophila serogroup 4, and L. pneumophila ser...