Studies on Local Strains of Campylobacter Jejuni in Lagos, Nigeria.

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Date
1985
Authors
Coker, Akitoye . Olusegun.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Lagos
Abstract
One thousand two hundred stool specimens were collected from patients who presented with diarrhoea at Gbaja Health Centre, Surulere, children emergency department and clinical laboratory of the Department of Microbiology and Parasitology of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, between 1980 and 1983. Faecal specimens were plated on a Butzler’s type medium which consists of Brucella agar base (Oxide CM 169) with 10% sheep blood and bacitracin 25iu/ ml, novobiocin 5pg/ml, cycloheximide 50pg/ml, colistin 10 units/ml and cefazolin 15pg/ml. The first batch of 436 stool specimens were cultured for comparison on both skirrow’s medium and Butzler’s type medium. Plates were incubated at 420C in various systems: candle jar, gas generating kits, with and without active catalyst with a view to arriving at a most suitable procedure for the isolation of Campylobacter jejuni in our environment. The candle jar method which is easy, cheap and simple was found most suitable and then used throughout the project. Sixty-two (5.2%) specimens out of 1,200 were positive for Camylobacter jejuni. In positive specimens, characteristic effuse colonies of the organism were formed. These colonies were gram stained and showed small spiral Gram-negative rods. All the 62 strains were oxidase and catalase positive. Nitrate was not reduced to Nirate and failed to oxidize ferment glucose. On the basis of temperature requirements, all strains grew at 370C and 430C but not at 250C. All strains tested reduced selenite by the production of bright-orange coloured selenium. Strains grew well on nalidixic agar (Oxide) containing 40pg/m1. All the strains showed a wide range of tolerance to 2, 3, 5 – triphenyltetrazolium chloride. (TTC). All strains grew on the 1.5% sodium chloride (Nacl) agar but failed to grow on the 3.5% Nacl agar. All strains gave positive results with 1% glycine. Growth occurred mostly near the surface of the liquid medium to give a cloudy appearance. Strains produced slight growth on the cysteine medium (oxide) and hydrogen sulphide in lead acetate paper. There was no growth on 8% glucose, 1:100,000 and 1:33.000 brilliant green agar. All the strains (60) were sensitive to gentamicin and streptomycin. Both antibiotics inhibited all the strains at 4pg/ml. Chloramphenicol inhibited 54 (90%) of the strains at a concentration of 0.25pg/ml. Tetracycline inhibited all the strains at 2pg/ml with the exception of 3 (5%) strains at 64pg/ml. While erythromycin inhibited all the strains at 4pg/ml with the exception of six (10%). Three of the resistant strains had MIC 16PG/ML while the other three had >128pg/ml.
Description
Keywords
Campylobacter , Campylobacter Jejuni , Bacteria , Diarrhoea
Citation
Coker, A . O. (1985). Studies on Local Strains of Campylobacter Jejuni in Lagos, Nigeria. Thesis Submitted to the School of Postgraduate Studies, in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology University of Lagos for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.