ISOLATION OF PPLO FROM THE UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT IN PATIENTS WITH RESPIRATORY DISEASES

Abstract

Specimens of 147 patients with respiratory diseases were examined whether they contained PPLO, using Bacto-PPLO agar or Bacto-PPLO broth. They were throat mucus, intratracheal mucus, sputum, scalene lymph nodes, resected lung tissues, saliva and pleural effusion.
In consequent, PPLOs have been isolated from the throat specimens in 27 cases out of 125.
The high incidence of PPLO was observed in such cases with respiratory inflammation as common cold, primary atypical peumonia and chronic bronchitis.
Sixteen strains isolated were investigated their biological properties; they could grow on Bacto-PPLO agar or in Bacto-PPLO broth containing Bacto-PPLO Serum Fraction without yeast extract, did not ferment glucose, and did not reduce 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride under aerobic conditions. Twelve strains out of 14 tested lysed sheep erythrocytes.
Cold hemagglutination was found positive in the 14 cases out of the 16 PPLO positive patients.