Microbiological status of selected chicken carcases from a non-automated poultry processing plant

The microbiological status of chicken carcases sampled at three different processing points in a South African Grade B poultry abattoir slaughtering ca. 750 birds per hour, was determined. Six skin samples and two meat samples were aseptically collected from different sites on each carcase. Total bacterial counts were performed at 25 °C, 37 °C and 43 °C and all colonies from plates showing between 30 and 300 cfu were characterised. Bacterial counts of the skin samples at 37 °C were consistently the highest, followed by those at 25 °C and then 43°, but for the two meat samples the highest bacterial counts were found at 37 °C and the lowest at 25 °C. Neck skin counts were marginally higher than bacterial counts of the other skin samples. The Gram negative genera Escherichia and Acinetobacter were isolated most frequently at all three incubation temperatures and from all sampling sites, while the dominant Gram positive genera were Staphylococcus and Enterococcus. Escherichia isolates predominated on the skin sampling site cranio-dorsal to the pygostyle, whilst Staphylococcus isolates predominated on the skin sampling site caudal to the breastbone. Microbiological contamination is a major problem in the abattoir studied and further studies should therefore aim to determine points of maximum contamination in the processing line.     

Microbiological Characteristics of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infections in South African Women

We analyzed data of 263 women with at least one genital or anorectal sexually transmitted infection from a cross-sectional study conducted in rural South Africa. We provide new insights concerning the concurrence of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycoplasma genitalium, and Trichomonas vaginalis infections as well as the characteristics of bacterial loads.     

Microbiological survey in an Intensive Care Unit

An epidemiological survey on 417 sample from ICU patients, was carried out from January '97 to December 98 to verify the epidemiology of bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections and to monitor the susceptibility patterns to antimicrobial drugs during this period. Microbiological cultures were positive in 47.7% of the samples. P. aeruginosa was the most frequent pathogen, followed by Staphylococcus aureus, Candida spp, coagulase-negative staphylococci, E.coli, with a clear prevalence of Gram-negative over Gram-positive isolates. The evaluation of the antibiotic susceptibility profile of this bacterial pathogens suggests the importance of a costant epidemiological surveillance in ICU.     

Inherited haemoglobin variants in a South African population.

We present the findings of a survey to determine the prevalence of inherited haemoglobin disorders in the Coloured (mixed ethnic origin) population of South Africa. A variety of haemoglobins was found. Of the structural variants, Hb E and Hb S were the most common, the former probably originating from South-East Asia and the latter from East Africa and possibly Madagascar. The alpha+ (-alpha) thalassaemia haplotype is particularly common with an observed frequency of 0.023. Beta thalassaemia was rather less common, while hereditary persistence of fetal haemoglobin was found for the first time in this population group, occurring in two subjects.     

Molecular characterisation of a distinct South African cassava infecting geminivirus

Summary.  African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV) are whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses (WTGs) which are widespread in cassava in Africa and cause serious yield losses. Recently, a new geminivirus affecting cassava in South Africa (SACMV) has been reported. In this work SACMV was found to have DNA-A and DNA-B components. Comparisons of amino acid sequences of the putative coat protein, and nucleotide sequences of the common region and a 687-bp DNA B fragment of SACMV with other WTGs, showed that SACMV clustered with the Old World subgroup of the Begomovirus genus of geminiviruses. Despite its bipartite nature, SACMV was most closely related to monopartite TYLCVs, but was sufficiently different to justify designating it as a distinct virus. In serological studies, SACMV grouped biologically with EACMV isolates. Received January 22, 1998 Accepted May 21, 1998     

Sleep behavior of South African adolescents

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To survey a large group of South African adolescents about their sleep behavior, daytime behaviors, and morning alertness as compared to those of other teenagers worldwide. DESIGN: Subjects completed a questionnaire about their sleep habits and daytime behaviors on the previous day, and subjective morning alertness at the time of completing the questionnaire. SETTING: Four secondary schools in Johannesburg, South Africa on mid-week mornings. PARTICIPANTS: 825 secondary school students volunteered for this study. INTERVENTIONS: N/A. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The students, (16+/-1 years), 61% female, reported significantly less time in bed (p<0.001) on a school night (453+/-70 minutes), compared to weekend nights (476+/-128 minutes). On the school night, they reported a mean sleep onset latency of 17 minutes, with 45% of the sample falling asleep in less than ten minutes. Short sleep onset latency and short in-bed wakefulness both were positively related to a high sleep efficiency and subjective sleep quality. On the previous day, 72% of the adolescents had consumed caffeinated beverages and 56% had exercised, but these behaviors did not significantly influence their nighttime sleep. The majority (77%) of students had napped the previous day and 8% had taken medication to fall asleep that night. 40% of the students felt that they could fall asleep mid-morning, if given the chance, but their sleepiness was independent of their nighttime sleep quality or duration. CONCLUSIONS: Similarly to teenagers around the world, South African adolescents get insufficient sleep during the week, which they attempt to compensate for on the weekends. A large proportion of the students are also sleepy during the school day, which may influence their academic performance.     

The influenza virus gene pool in a poultry market in South central china

We surveyed influenza activity in a live poultry market in Central China for 16 months, isolating viruses from 1% of 6360 fecal samples. We obtained multiple H3N6, H9N2, H2N9, H3N3, and H4N6 isolates and single H1N1 and H3N2 isolates. Two distinct H3 molecules were identified; other hemagglutinin subtypes were phylogenetically homogeneous. The H3N6 viruses (9 genotypes) and H9N2 viruses (4 genotypes) were genetically heterogeneous, whereas the H2N9, H3N3 and H4N6 viruses had single genotypes. Thirteen representative viruses were tested for their ability to replicate in quail and chickens. All tested viruses replicated in the respiratory tract of quail. Only nine of the viruses were shed in detectable levels in infected chickens, and four of these were detected in less than 50% of infected birds. A single H4N6 isolate caused disease and systemic spread in chickens. These findings show that quail are broadly susceptible to different subtypes of influenza A virus.     

The impact of motherless paternity testing in a South African population

BackgroundPaternity investigations play an important role in determining biological relatedness, and in South Africa, the outcome of these investigations impacts medical, judicial and home affairs decisions. Short Tandem Repeat (STR) analysis is utilised to perform paternity and kinship analysis, due to the polymorphic nature of STR loci. The cost associated with paternity testing is high, and there is a demand for motherless testing.ObjectivesThis study aims to determine what the impact of motherless testing would have been by evaluating 6182 paternity trio cases.MethodsThe AmpFLSTR™ Identifiler™ PCR Amplification kit was used to profile each of the trio cases. A scenario was created where the mother was eliminated from the test results to determine if the paternity outcome would change.ResultsPutative fathers were excluded in 27% of all cases, and in 2.5% of those cases, putative fathers would have been falsely included, had the mother not been tested. These false inclusions are attributed to coincidental STR loci that are shared between the mother and the putative father. The addition of loci to the STR profiling kit may resolve the issue; however, comparable STR data with more loci will have to be evaluated to ensure it overcomes the issue of coincidentally shared loci between unrelated individuals.ConclusionWe would recommend that within our setup and within similar setups, the mother always be included for testing, except in extreme scenarios such as death. False inclusion of putative fathers could have serious legal implications for testing laboratories.     

Spread of non-typable multiply resistantHaemophilus influenzae in a South African hospital

In July 1987 non-typableHaemophilus influenzae strains resistant to both ampicillin and chloramphenicol were isolated from the endotracheal aspirate of two children with pneumonia at Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa. A study was therefore undertaken to determine the carriage rates ofHaemophilus influenzae strains in the nasopharynx of children and staff in the index ward and in three control wards. Using a disc diffusion and an agar dilution method the susceptibility was determined of 100 isolates to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, rifampicin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, gentamicin, cefaclor, cefotaxime, tetracycline, sulphamethoxazole, trimethoprim and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole (1:19). The overall carriage rate ofHaemophilus influenzae on admission was 76 %. In the index ward, children carrying multiply resistant strains differed from the other children in that there was a longer mean duration of hospitalization, a lower proportion of males, and a higher proportion who had previously received antibiotics. All ampicillin resistant strains were shown to produce beta-lactamase. Only four isolates belonged to serotype b, of which three were ampicillin resistant and chloramphenicol sensitive while one was resistant to both drugs. Nasopharyngeal spread of resistant non-typable strains ofHaemophilus influenzae was demonstrated to affect the management of paediatric patients in the hospital.     

Developmental outcomes of HIV-exposed infants in a low-income South African context

BackgroundEffective HIV transmission prevention strategies have led to a growing population of vulnerable HIV- and antiretroviral-exposed infants in sub-Saharan Africa, however uncertainty exists regarding their development.ObjectiveTo determine the developmental outcomes of HIV-exposed (HE) infants in a low-income South African context, when compared to HIV-unexposed (HU) counterparts.MethodsIn this prospective cross-sectional, group comparison study, the development of 41 HE and 40 HU infants (mean age=8.4 months, SD=2.1 months) from a low-income context was assessed. Caregivers were interviewed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition (Vineland-3) to evaluate infants'' development.ResultsMost HE participants had age-appropriate overall development (90.2%;n=37). Some HE participants, however, presented with delays in domains of communication (9.8%;n=4), daily living skills (2.4%;n=1), socialisation (19.5%;n=8), and motor development (7.3%;n=3). HU participants also demonstrated some domain-specific delays, thus delays were present in both groups. No statistically significant between-group differences regarding development were found.ConclusionFindings were reassuring and suggested that HE and HU participants had similar development. Developmental differences may, however, only emerge with age, therefore large-scale longitudinal research is recommended. It is suggested that the entire sample was vulnerable, highlighting the importance of developmental surveillance in low-income contexts, irrespective of HIV and antiretroviral exposure status.     

Atypical rotavirus from South African neonates

Summary Rotaviruses displaying an RNA profile different from other human rotaviruses were detected in stools from six healthy neonates. These viruses shared the common group A antigen, unlike most other atypical human rotavirus electropherotypes described to date.With 1 Figure     

Leucocytozoon smithi in South African turkeys

Leucocytozoon smithi was discovered in a flock of turkeys not far from Onderstepoort. This is the first record of the presence of this blood parasite in Africa. Simulium nigritarse is suspected to act as vector of this parasite.