Erythromycin stearate, 1.5 g, was effective in reducing the prevalence of streptococcal bacteraemia following dental extraction when administered orally under supervision 1 h before extraction. Blood samples were collected from adult patients for culture and erythromycin assay 1 to 2 min after the dental procedure. High dilution techniques involving the use of 1 litre bottles of broth were used to inactivate erythromycin present in blood cultures. Viridans streptococci were isolated from 6 of 40 patients receiving erythromycin (15%) compared with 18 of 42 control patients (43%). The mean serum erythromycin concentration at the time of extraction was 3.7 mg/l for 34 patients receiving erythromycin who had negative blood cultures compared with 1.8 mg/l for the six patients given erythromycin who had viridans streptococci isolated from the blood. Both the 1.5 g erythromycin stearate and placebo oral doses were well tolerated in a double blind comparative study which included 109 adult dental patients.

The period prevalence of morbidity was high among the welders surveyed. Ignorance of health hazards associated with occupation and non-usage of protective gears was reported by number of them. Therefore, health education and safety policies need to be strengthened at welding sites.

Diabetes mellitus, a chronic metabolic disease is increasing worldwide. Diabetic foot infections are one of the most feared and bothersome complications of diabetes caused by different genera of bacteria. There is an increasing evidence which demonstrates the presence of biofilm former's in chronic diabetic foot ulcers which contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant strains and treatment failure. The present study aimed at isolating bacteria from diabetic wounds, to check for its antibiotic susceptibility and biofilm forming ability. From the diabetic wounds, isolates belonging to the genera of Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Esherichia, Vibrio, Acinetobacter and Citrobacter were recovered. To the best of our knowledge, Vibrio parahaemolyticus was isolated for the first time from diabetic ulcer. Antibiotic sensitivity profile of the organisms infers the presence of multidrug-resistant strains. Majority of bacteria isolated were found to be biofilm formers. High biofilm former's were observed in strains of P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and Klebsiella spp. There was significant association between incubation time and intensity of biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa [ᵡ2 (p< 0.05) = 0.001)], Staphylococcus spp. [ᵡ2 (p< 0.05) = 0.023)] and Acinetobacter spp. [ᵡ2 (p< 0.05) = 0.018)]. The presence of biofilm forming multidrug-resistant bacteria infers the chronic nature of diabetic wounds.

SUMMARY. Viridans streptococci were isolated from the blood stream of half of 50 patients undergoing dental extractions approx. 2 min before blood culture.Glucose and nutrient broths were tested in parallel. There was no significant difference between the isolation rates of streptococci by the two methods after incubation for 7 days, nor did the addition of glucose 0.1% to nutrient broth significantly increase the speed of detection of streptococci; the isolation rates of streptococci during the first 48 h of incubation were similar with both types of broth. Although there were a few more isolations of streptococci from the glucose broth than from the nutrient broth during the first 20 h, the difference was not statistically significant. No rapid lethal effect against streptococci was observed in glucose broth during incubation for 7 days. These results suggest that adding glucose 0.1% to nutrient broth for blood culture does not influence the recovery of organisms from patients with "Streptococcus viridans" bacteraemia after incubation of the broth for 2-7 days.