In vitro inhibitory effects of tea polyphenols on Chlamydia trachomatis and C. pneumoniae were investigated. A product of tea polyphenols, Polyphenon 70S was used. Chlamydial strains used were C. trachomatis D/UW-3/Cx and L₂/434/Bu, and C. pneumoniae AR-39 and AC-43 strains. HeLa229 cells and HL cells were used for cultivation of C. trachomatis and C. pneumoniae, respectively. In the post-inoculation method, no inclusions of C. trachomatis were observed at 0.5 mg/ml of Polyphenon 70S. However, the toxicity of Polyphenon 70S was noted in HeLa229 cells and HL cells at a concentration of 0.25 mg/ml. In the pre-inoculation method, no toxic effects of Polyphenon 70S on the cells were noted. Complete inhibition of C. trachomatis D and L₂ was noted at concentrations of 1.6 and 0.4 mg/ml, respectively. With C. pneumoniae strains, the end points were 0.8 and 1.6 mg/ml for AR-39 and AC-43, respectively. Our findings encouraged the application of tea polyphenols for topical usage.

A total of 136 children aged 5 years and under with respiratory tract diseases were examined for Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection. By means of the micro-immunofluorescence test, an acute infection was suggested in 37 (27.2%) of them. Infection was found in 23 (43.4%) of 53 children with bronchitis, seven (70.0%) of 10 with pharyngitis, and two (22.2%) of nine with pneumonia. C. pneumoniae DNA was detected in seven of 55 children by means of nasopharyngeal swabs, and serological evidence was present in all of seven. Five of them were suggested the acute infection and four of the five showed IgG titers increasing four times and over. By age distribution, five of the seven DNA-positive children were 1 year old, and the remaining two were 2 and 4 years old, respectively. The clinical findings of the seven DNA-positive children were characterized as indicative of bronchitis (n = 4), pharyngitis (n = 2), and pneumonia (n = 1). In Thailand, C. pneumoniae infection occurs frequently among children aged 5 years and under, and may cause pharyngitis, bronchitis, and sometimes pneumonia. However, it is suggested that C. pneumoniae infection is not a major cause of severe pneumonia among children in that age group.

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed for the identification of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Three sets of primers were designed for detecting O4, H:i, and H:1,2 antigen genes from the antigen-specific genes rfbJ, fliC, and fljB, respectively. These were evaluated in a multiplex PCR assay by using DNAs from S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, 15 other Salmonella serovars, and 8 non-Salmonella enteric pathogens. Multiplex PCR proved to be capable of identifying S. enterica serovar Typhimurium specifically and differentiating it from other Salmonella serovars in addition to non-Salmonella enteric pathogens. Thus, this multiplex PCR assay can be practically applied to the identificaiton of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium.

The present study evaluated the in vitro efficacy of ciprofloxacin (CPFX) in combination with gentamicin (GM) using agar dilution checkerboard method against six blood culture isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi with CPFX minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 0.75 - 1.25 μg/ml and GM MIC values of 0.75 - 2 μg/ml. When used in combination, the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) values of CPFX and GM for the isolates ranged from 0.008 - 0.032 μg/ml and 0.1 - 0.2 μg/ml, respectively. The range of the FIC index from 0.121 - 0.216 indicated the synergistic effect between CPFX and GM for all the isolates. The time-kill method, which showed a 2.64 log₁₀ decrease in CFU/ml between the combination and its more active compound, also established synergism between CPFX and GM against one isolate employed in the method. These results may be helpful in making clinical decisions in the treatment of enteric fever due to the infection of multidrug resistant S. enterica serovar Typhi.

The virus neutralization (VN) test is a reliable indicator of adequate vaccination in animals. However, the VN test is tedious and complicated to perform. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), though rapid and simple compared to the VN test, is complicated and hazardous during preparation of the viral antigen. In an effort to overcome the disadvantage of ELISA, the recombinant His-tagged nucleoprotein (His-rNP) expressed in Escherichia coli was used as a safe antigen for ELISA (i.e., live virus was not used). Anti-rabies antibody levels were determined by fluorescent ELISA (FELISA) using His-rNP as an antigen. The presence of anti-rabies VN antibody was determined by the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT). The VN titers by RFFIT were found to correlate well with the FITC-signal determined by the FELISA (r = 0.616). The sensitivity and specificity of the FELISA were 91.7 and 100%, respectively. This study showed that the His-rNP could be useful as an antigen of ELISA to test for anti-rabies antibody in vaccinated dogs. Several studies in Japan have investigated the antibody level in the sera of vaccinated dogs. A safe and convenient test using His-rNP would contribute to our understanding of the status of herd immunity among not only domestic dogs but also stray dogs in Japan.

Advances in serologic assays for tuberculosis (TB) have made serology an attractive surveillance tool. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of these new assays have been well established. We employed an immunochromatographic serodiagnostic test for detecting antibodies (immunoglobulin [Ig] G, IgA, and IgM) specific for mycobacteria-specific antigen 60 in the serum of suspected TB patients (n = 310) attending the Chest Clinic of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. Compared to the gold standard, sputum culture, the performance indexes of the test kit indicated a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 98.2%, respectively. The positive predictive value and the likelihood ratios for positive and negative results were 96.6, 44.4, and 0.2%, respectively, when compared to sputum culture. Our results suggest that the serodiagnostic test kit may be a valuable tool for the diagnosis of TB, and can provide simple and satisfactory results, particularly in cases in which TB is clinically difficult to diagnose by the usual clinical and laboratory tests.

Several infectious diseases have been found to be associated with transfusion of blood and blood components. Reports from studies conducted in many African countries indicate a high incidence of blood-borne pathogens such as syphilis infections among healthy blood donors. The prevalence of syphilis antibodies in blood donors in Ghana is not known. This study was therefore conducted in order to determine the prevalence of antibodies to syphilis among blood donors seen between the months of January and March 2003 at the National Blood Transfusion Service, Accra area (Blood Bank) at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. The presence of antibodies specific for syphilis was tested using Veneral Disease Research Laboratory and particle agglutination test kit. A sero-prevalence rate of 7.5% was found. Our sample of blood donors was largely comprised of male subjects (500 out of 536 donors, and only 1 out of the 36 screened female donors was positive), making sex comparisons statistically undesirable. In both sexes, the age distribution of subjects positive for syphilis antibodies was from 19 - 54 (median age, 32) years. In conclusion, our results indicate that syphilis is prevalent among healthy blood donors in Ghana, and that there is a need to introduce the screening of donated blood for syphilis in Ghana.

To detect the prevalence of Clonorchis sinensis, one of the important helminthes in the human population of the Guangxi Region where Schistosoma japonicum was endemic but eliminated in the late 1980s, the Kato-Katz thick smear technique was used for examining fecal samples from selected townships in Hengxian County. Among 1,552 people examined, 491 (31.6%) were found infected with C. sinensis. By counting eggs per gram feces (EPG), it was found that the light, moderate, and heavy intensities of infection occupied 55.4, 33.0, and 11.6%, respectively, with an average EPG of 4,845 in the infected subjects. The survey revealed that the prevalence in the age groups of 0 - 9 and 10 - 19 years old was less than 10% but was 45 - 50% in the groups between 30 - 39 and 60 - 69 years old. A much higher prevalence was demonstrated in the male population (41.9%) than in the females (20.5%), and heavier intensity of infection was also found in the males than in the females. These results indicated that the prevalence of this liver fluke is increasing in the past decade in that region, and there is an urgent need to further assess the epidemiological factors in reference to the area’s changing socioeconomic conditions and human behavior, contamination of the environment and fish ponds, inadequate farming/fishery practices, and the infection of domestic animals.