Wound Botulism Among Persons Who Inject Black Tar Heroin in New Mexico, 2016

Outbreaks of wound botulism are rare, but clinicians and health departments should maintain suspicion for signs, symptoms, and risk factors of wound botulism among persons who inject drugs in order to initiate treatment quickly. This report describes an outbreak of three wound botulism cases among persons in two adjacent counties who injected drugs. Provisional information about these cases was previously published in the CDC National Botulism Surveillance Summary. All three cases in this outbreak were laboratory-confirmed, including one case with detection of botulinum toxin type A in a wound culture sample taken 43 days after last possible heroin exposure. Findings highlight the delay in diagnosis which led to prolonged hospitalization and the persistence of botulinum toxin in one patient.

The threat of persistent bacteria and fungi contamination in tuberculosis sputum cultures

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) sputum culture contaminants make it difficult to obtain pure TB isolates.We aimed to study and identify persistent TB sputum culture contaminants post the standard laboratory pre-culture sample decontamination techniques. Methods: This was a longitudinal study of TB sputum culture contamination for a cohort of TB patients on standard treatment at: baseline, during TB treatment and post TB treatment. Sputum samples were decontaminated with 1.5%NaOH and neutralized using 6.8 Phosphate buffer solution.Sputum was then inoculated into MGIT (mycobactrial growth indicator tube) supplemented with 0.8ml PANTA. A drop of each positive MGIT culture was sub cultured onto blood agar and incu- bated for 48 hours at 35 -37OC.Any growth was identified using growth characteristics and colony morphology. Results: From October 2017 through May 2019;we collected 8645 sputum samples of which 8624(99.8%) were eligible and inoculated into MGIT where 2444(28.3%)samples were TB culture positive and 255(10.4%)were positive for contam- inants:237 none-tuberculosis bacteria, 12 fungi and 6 mixed(none-tuberculous bacteria+fungi).There was no statistically significant difference between none tuberculosis bacteria and fungi in the treatment (OR=1.4,95%CI:0.26–7.47,p=0.690) and the post treatment TB phases(OR=2.02,95%CI:0.38–10.79,p=0.411)Vs baseline. Conclusion: None-tuberculous bacteria and fungi dominate the plethora of TB sputum culture contamination and persist beyond the standard laboratory pre-culture decontamination algorithm. Keywords: Bacteria; Fungi; Inoculation; PANTA (Polymyxin B; Amphotericin B; Nalidixic acid; Trimethoprim; Azlocillin).

Neonatal Salmonella Paratyphi B Sepsis: A Case Report

Salmonella Paratyphi B infection is rare in newborns. We present the case of a 26 d old baby with Salmonella Paratyphi B sepsis. The baby responded well to 14 d of antibiotics. A prompt blood culture sample should always be taken before starting antibiotics.

Late Bronze Age anthropological materials from the Nepljuevski kurgan cemetery

The body of works on craniological and paleoodontological analyses of the materials from the Bronze Age sites of the Southern Trans-Urals still has not clarified the question of the genesis of the people who lived in this area. This is partly due to fragmentary state of the available materials, so that publication of new data appears highly relevant. This paper deals with the results of craniological and dental analyses of an osteological sample from two kurgans of the Nepljuevski burial ground, excavated between 2015 and 2017 by a Russian-German archaeological expedition. The burial ground is located 300 km south-west of Chelyabinsk city, in Kartalinsky dis-trict in the steppes of the Southern Trans-Urals. The recovered materials are dated to the Late Bronze Age and attributed to the Srubnaya-Alakul Culture variant. Materials and methods. Metric description of 5 male and 6 fe-male crania is given. The dental sample comprised remains of 14 children and adolescents and 12 adults. Stan-dard craniometric and paleoodontological protocols were used. Statistical procedures included principal compo-nent analysis (PCA) for craniometric traits and correspondence analysis for odontological traits. Results. Gener-ally, the crania show morphology characteristic for the European (Caucasian) groups. The male crania are ho-mogenous in such traits as narrow, vividly protruding nose and a pronounced horizontal profiling. The sample is dominated by individuals with a high facial height. Females and males generally show morphological similarities, but females, on average, have a relatively higher braincase, wider and lower orbits, a relatively wider nose, and slightly less pronounced horizontal profiling. The odontological analysis is in line with the cranoimetric data indi-cating European ancestry. One of the distinct characteristics of this sample is the presence of «enamel pearls» — a usually rare trait — in 5 out of 12 individuals, which may indicate an increased percentage of biological relatives in it. Conclusion. Overall, the crania from kurgan 1 find analogies among gracilized high-faced forms widespread in Southern Urals and Kazakhstan during the Bronze Age, often linked to the southern ancestry. The attribution of the Nepljuevski sample to the circle of gracile forms is indicated by the results of odontological analysis, which revealed its proximity to the Tripolye culture sample.

Osteometric Study of an Early Iron Age Postcranial Sample from Lower Kama Region (Novo-Sasykul Burial Ground).

The article outlines results of an osteometric study of a postcranial sample (22 male and 30 female skeletons) from Novo-Sasykul burial ground in the Lower Kama region (Pyany Bor culture). Novo-Sasykul necropolis dates back to between the I and the turn of the II–III cc. AD. In total, the Sasykul population is characterized by a mesomorphic (with a tendency to dolichomorphism) body type proportions and an average or higher than average body length. Results of intragroup analysis allow to conclude that the studied sample was mixed. Results of the intergroup canonical discriminant analysis demonstrate the greatest proximity of the Novo-Sasykul postcranial skeletons to the Mazunino culture samples (Pokrovsky, Dubrovsky and Boyarsky “Arai” burial grounds), as well as to the Pyany Bor culture sample from Stary Chekmak cemetery. The latter thesis does not apply to female skeletons from Stary Chekmak, characterized by a rather “harmonious” ratio of the limb segment lengths and do not show a tendency towards relative lengthening of the tibia. A slight increase in the crural index may be a specific feature of the Pyany Bor and Mazunino culture population groups from the Kama region.

COMMON HUMAN PATHOGENS

Background: Due to easy availability or excess to antibiotics people usuallystart antibiotic without consulting doctors when they are suffering from illness and as they werefeeling well they discontinue the treatment and as a result these bacteria become resistantto those antibiotics which are inadequately used. Also most of the antibiotic have side effectthat also produce undesirable effect so after considering all of these issues we want toexplore natural compounds for their antimicrobial activity as these compounds have no sideeffect and cost effective as well. Objectives: We analyzed the antimicrobial activity of ginger(ZINGIBER OFFICINALE) against common human pathogens. Study design: Experimentalstudy. Place and duration of study: All clinical isolates were identified at BUMDC (BahriaUniversity Medical and Dental College) Microbiology Lab (Karachi) by standard biochemicalmethods. Study conducted between april2015-nov 2015. Material & Methods: Staphylococcusaureus, Pseudomonas, Vibrio cholera and E.Coli culture sample were taken and againcharacterized using conventional biochemical, cultural and molecular methods. Then I checkedthe antimicrobial activity of ginger alone and with soyaoil against these isolates using discdiffusion method. Result: It shows that ginger alone having good antimicrobial activity againstpseudomonas but when using after mixing with soya oil its antimicrobial activity decreasedas it was note when individually used. Conclusion: Ginger when using alone having goodantimicrobial activity then when using in combination with soya.