DOI

https://doi.org/10.25772/XJKG-XF15

Defense Date

1977

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Pathology

First Advisor

Harry P. Pallov

Abstract

Summary:

1. The type of animal blood used in preparing blood agar plates did not significantly affect the demonstration of hemolysis by any streptococcal species except for S.faecalis. S.faecalis more consistently displayed an alpha reaction on sheep blood agar while expressing a beta reaction on horse and rabbit blood agars.

2. A recommended scheme for identifying streptococci, adaptable to most any clinical laboratory, was developed and is outlined in Table 13.

3. S.agalactiae (group B) was the most frequent beta hemolytic streptococcal isolant. Significantly, it was the only species over-all to be recovered from every clinical source. The CAMP test proved to be the best method for the presumptive identification of the group B streptococci.

4. The alpha streptococci were isolated in substantial numbers from a variety of infectious situations suggesting that their role in infection may be greater than previously believed.

5. S.avium accounted for a greater percentage of group D isolations than previously reported in other studies of a similar nature.

6. The bile-esculin test was supported as the best nonserological method for distinguishing the group D streptococci. Arginine hydrolysis was shown to be the best method for distinguishing between the enterococci and the nonenterococci. The test commonly used for this purpose, growth in 6.5% NaCl, resulted in the misidentification of S.avium as an enterococcal species.

7. Urinary tract isolants from every division (notably S.agalactiae, S.mutans. and S.faecalis) exhibited patterns of overall greater antibiotic resistance than those strains isolated from other sources.

8. Among the group D species, S.faecalis displayed the greatest antibiotic resistance followed by S.avium, S.faecium, and S.bovis. S.avium, a nonenterococcus. showed greater drug resistance than S.faecium, an enterococcus. S.bovis was the least resistant with susceptibility patterns more closely related to the alpha streptococci.

Comments

Scanned, with permission from the author, from the original print version, which resides in University Archives.

Rights

© The Author

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

6-9-2017

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