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Biomedical subjects

Y Peloux

Publications and source records attributed to Y Peloux.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Rhodococcus equi infection in patients with AIDS.

Rhodococcus equi is an emerging opportunistic pathogen of HIV-I infected patients. It is an aerobic, Gram-positive coryneform bacterium which acts as a facultative intracellular micro-organism, multiplying in the phagosome of macrophages. Eighteen cases of R. equi infection in HIV-I positive patients have now been reported. Sixteen of these had pneumonia, of which 12 had cavitating lung lesions. A history of contact with farm animals, which are the primary hosts of R. equi, was found in only three patients. There was a delay in establishing a definite diagnosis in most cases as this depended upon the isolation of R. equi from sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, or blood. Treatment included surgical resection in five patients and erythromycin with a second antibiotic in 13 cases, but II of the 18 patients died from the infection. In this report we describe our experience of R. equi pneumonia in two AIDS patients and review the published cases of the disease in man.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

An outbreak of pneumonia and meningitis caused by a previously undescribed gram-negative bacterium in a hot spring spa.

An outbreak of infection caused by a previously undescribed Gram-negative bacterium affected people attending a hot (37 degrees C) spring spa in France in 1987. Thirty-five case of pneumonia and two cases of meningitis occurred. None of these patients died. Attack rates were significantly higher for patients above 70 years old and for male patients. An epidemiological comparison of the 26 hospitalized cases with 52 matched controls suggests that spa treatment early on the first day (OR = 4.8) and attendance at the vapour baths (OR = 10.7) were significant risk factors for acquiring the infection. Person-to-person spread was not thought to have occurred. The same bacterium was isolated from the hot spring water. All strains studied shows a single rRNA gene restriction pattern. Epidemiological data indicated that the thermal water was the source of infection. This outbreak stresses the need for increased surveillance of infections in people attending hot spring spas.

Aged

Pneumonia and meningitis caused by a new nonfermentative unknown gram-negative bacterium.

Seven isolates of an unclassified bacterium resembling Flavobacterium spp. were characterized by growth requirements, microscopic examination, biochemical characteristics, antimicrobial susceptibility tests, protein profile analysis, and serologic data. The unclassified isolates were differentiated from Flavobacterium meningosepticum, Flavobacterium odoratum, Flavobacterium balustinum, Flavobacterium strain IIb, Chromobacterium violaceum, Aquaspirillum serpens, and Pseudomonas spp. The bacterium was a gram-negative rod with a polar flagellum. Protein profile analysis demonstrated two major protein bands present in the unclassified isolates that were absent from the Flavobacterium and Pseudomonas controls but present in the Aquaspirillum and Chromobacterium controls. However, no serologic cross-reactions were observed. Our results showed that the unclassified bacterium was distinct from any previously known genus of bacterium.

Bacteria

[Micromethods and gas chromatography analysis of carboxylic acids produced from the fermentation of glucose in the identification of Corynebacteria].

The identification of fermentative Corynebacteria currently isolated from human specimens is not very easy, even with the use of the useful guide edited by Hollis and Weaver. The purpose of this investigation is to present a classification based on the study of a large number of biochemical characters, including the use of micromethods, and the characterization of carboxylic acids produced from dextrose fermentation by gas-liquid chromatography. The results show that it is possible to classify fermenting Corynebacteria into two groups based on the production of propionic acid or the lack of it. We are thus able to separate distinctly Corynebacteria whose biochemical characters are very similar. Likewise, some tests included in the micromethods are useful for separating the species.

Carboxylic Acids

[Opportunistic bacteria].

The definition of opportunistic bacteria is based on two parameters: the receptive subject and the bacteria. When the receptive subject is normal, theoretically, no saprophytic or normal commensal organisms are able to invade the subject. This subject can only be infected by certain "undesirable" commensal organisms such as Vargues' Specific Pathogenic Bacteria. If an otherwise normal subject has a temporary decrease in his immune defences, he may be invaded by a number of organisms from the normal commensal flora: these are the opportunistic bacteria in the broad sense of the term. The immunosuppressed patient with profound and prolonged depression of his immune system may be attacked by various saprophytic organisms and a number of commensal organisms, even those which were previously considered to be non-virulent. These are the opportunistic infections in the strict sense of the term.

Bacteria

[Campylobacter fetus fetus bacteremia. Review of the literature apropos of 2 cases].

The authors report two cases of bacteremia due to Campylobacter fetus fetus (also called C. fetus intestinalis). One was a 22-year-old female, under treatment for active systemic lupus erythematosus, who died. The other was a fifty-year-old male, in a poor general condition, who had a self-limited acute febrile dysentery. In this patient, C. fetus fetus was found in stools after apparent recovery, raising the problem of healthy carriers. A review of the literature shows 64 other such cases.

Adult

[Septicemia due to Leptotrichia buccalis in an immuno-suppressed patient].

The authors report a case of septicemia due to Leptotrichia buccalis in a patient with underlying lymphatic leukemia. It is the second case reported in the literature. This observation shows, once again, that bacteria known as "non virulent" can exhibit pathogenicity in immunosuppressed patients.

Aged

[Fusobacterium necrophorum associated with Actinomyces odontolyticus septicemia ].

The authors have observed a case of Fusobacterium necrophorum associate with Actinomyces odontolyticus septicemia, which appears to be the first case reported. In a 19 year old man, 15 blood cultures allowed to isolate both germs. Clinical manifestations were: acute-like abdomen, encephalitis, myocarditis and pleural effusion. Treatment with amoxicillin and metronidazole was successful.

Actinomycosis