Reliable data on the risk of transmission of N. gonorrhoeae would enhance our understanding of the importance of host defenses against gonorrhea and would aid in the evaluation of prophylactic measures. This paper examines the risk of transmission of gonorrhea from infected female to male and the role that variables such as race, prophylaxis and amount of exposure play in the development of gonococcal urethritis. Volunteer crew members of a large naval vessel were followed prospectively as a cohort to study their risk of acquiring gonococcal infection during a four-day liberty period in the Far East. At the same time the prevalence of N. gonorrhoeae was determined in a population of females to whom the sailors were exposed. The calculated risk of transmission per exposure with an infected partner was .19 for whites and .53 for blacks. A statistically significant relationship was noted between the risk of transmission of gonorrhea and both the number of partners and the frequency of sexual intercourse. Further, the increasing infection rate with increasing numbers of exposures in men who had a single sex partner suggests that the majority of men are in fact susceptible to gonorrhea if the quantity of exposure is sufficient.

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A retrospective survey of non-typhoid Salmonella bacteraemia in the period 1984 to 1988 was carried out by the five departments of clinical microbiology in Greater Copenhagen. A total of 168 patients were identified. A gradual increase was observed from 11 cases in 1984 to 58 cases in 1988. The corresponding incidence per 100,000 inhabitants in Copenhagen rose from 0.9 in 1984 to 5.0 in 1988. During the same period the total registered incidence of human Salmonella infections in Denmark increased from 17.6 to 67.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. The serotype most often isolated from bacteraemic patients was Salmonella dublin followed by Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium. Salmonella dublin demonstrated enhanced invasive and pathogenic properties. Predisposing factors were present in 56% of the patients; the most common was malignant disease. A fatal or complicated course of the bacteraemia was observed more frequently in patients with underlying diseases than in persons who had previously been healthy. A total of 17% of the patients died; one-fifth of these had a ruptured aortic aneurysm. It is concluded that the substantial increase in the number of cases and the often serious course taken by the infection demonstrate a need for increased efforts at prophylaxis.

The in vitro susceptibility of 156 strains of Listeria monocytogenes isolated since 1958 from human cerebrospinal fluid or blood to twelve antibiotics was determined by an agar dilution technique. Erythromycin (0.05), trimethoprim (0.2), netilmicin (0.2), and penicillin (0.2) were the most active drugs on weight basis (MIC90 0.05–0.2 μg/ml). Ampicillin and imipenem had MICs for 90% of the strains of 0.4 μg/ml. Ceftazidime was inactive (MIC90 > 100 μg/ml). Comparison of susceptibility pattern between strains isolated in different years showed that the antimicrobial susceptibility of L. monocytogenes has not changed during the last 25 years. The minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of penicillin was determined by a macro tube dilution method in ten recent isolates. Penicillin was bactericidal for all the strains with a MBC of 0.4–3.1 μg/ml, i.e. one to three two‐fold dilutions above the MIC of 0.2–0.8 μg/ml, which means that no tolerant strains were found.

The purpose of this study was to validate a multiplex real-time PCR assay capable of detecting toxigenic Clostridium difficile and simultaneously identifying C. difficile ribotype 027/ST-1 by targeting the toxin genes tcdA, tcdB and cdtA in one reaction and in a separate reaction identifying the Δ117 deletion in tcdC associated with ribotype 027/ST-1. PCR was done prospectively on 704 samples routinely submitted to our department and results were compared to results of toxigenic culture. Sequencing of tcdC, multi locus sequence typing (MLST) and PCR ribotyping were done on cultured isolates to confirm the correct identification of the Δ117 deletion in tcdC and C. difficile ribotype 027/ST-1, respectively. The PCR assay displayed a sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of 99.0%, 97.4%, 87.4% and 99.8%, respectively, compared to toxigenic culture on 665 samples evaluable both by PCR and culture. Sequencing of tcdC, ribotyping and MLST of cultured isolates validated the genotyping assay and confirmed the ability of the assay to correctly identify C. difficile ribotype 027/ST-1 in our current epidemiological setting. We describe the use of a combination of two separate PCR assays for sensitive and specific detection of toxigenic C. difficile and presumptive identification of C. difficile 027/ST-1.

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