Background & objectives:Multidrug resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of nosocomial and community acquired infections and is on the rise. The glycopeptide vancomycin has been proposed as the drug of choice for treating such infections. The present study aimed at identifying the vancomycin resistance both phenotypically and genotypically among the MRSA isolates from two tertiary care hospitals in Hyderabad, south India.Methods:MRSA were isolated and identified from different clinical samples collected from ICUs of tertiary care hospitals in Hyderabad using conventional methods. Antibiogram of the isolates and vancomycin MIC were determined following CLSI guidelines. vanA was amplified by PCR using standard primers.Results:All vancomycin resistant S. aureus (VRSA) isolates were MRSA. The VRSA isolates were positive for vanA gene, except one which was negative. All VRSA had a vancomycin MIC in the range of 16-64 mg/l.Interpretation & conclusions:The increase in vancomycin resistance among MRSA and excessive use of antimicrobial agents have worsened the sensitivity. Larger studies need to be done in various geographical regions of the country to better define the epidemiology, mechanism of vancomycin resistance in S. aureus and its clinical implications.

Bacilli were purified from the 23 cases of multi bacillary type of leprosy. The ATP content of these bacilli was assayed by a firefly bioluminescent technique which is capable of detecting a very small number of cultivable mycobacteria as assessed by colony counts. The A TP content was compared with morphological index (MI) and FDA-EB staining of bacilli from the same specimens. It was observed that when MI was I % or more, the A TP content/solid bacillus was fairly constant in 15 cases studied. It ranged from 2•02 x 10-1 5 g to 5•60 X-I S g/solid bacillus (mean 3•46 x 10-1 5 g) and was in the same range as A TP content of viable cultivable mycobacteria. In the same IS cases, when the green-staining bacilli was considered as 'supposedly viable bacilli', ATP content/green-staining bacillus varied up to 9-fold (0•22-1 5 x g to 1•98 X 10-15 g/green-staining bacillus) and this did not correlate. The percentage of green-staining bacilli (FDA-EB) and solid staining bacilli (MI) was different in all the cases. In 2 cases with 0% MI in which ATP levels were also zero, 7•5% and 21•5% green-staining bacilli were present which implies that the enzymes responsible for green-staining character may persist for some time after death. Three cases with 0% MI had also 0% green staining bacilli and zero A TP levels, whereas in another 3 cases with zero MI significantly high levels of A TP were detected. It is inferred that solid-staining bacilli may be the viable bacilli but when MI is 0% (I % or less) sampling error or clumping may be responsible for missing out the solid bacilli in some cases. It is concluded that the ATP content of M. /eprae appears to be an easy, rapid and sensitive tool for determining the viability fo r monitoring the therapy. On the other hand MI and FDA-EB staining appear to have their limitations. As My cobacterium /eprae can not be cultivated in in vitro systems, there is a strong need to develop other rapid screening methods for monitoring the effect of therapy as growth in the mouse fo otpad

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common medical complications of pregnancy together with anaemia and hypertension and it occurs approximately in 5%-10% of all pregnancies. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of UTI and prevalence of uropathogens among pregnant women. During the study period from December 2009 to August 2010, 417 urine samples were analyzed. UTI was diagnosed by growth of at least 10 5 CFU/ml of a urinary tract pathogen in a culture of a midstream urine sample. The isolated bacteria were identified by biochemical tests. The results showed that 49.4% of pregnant women have UTI. E. coli which was the most frequently isolated organism (56.79%), followed by Klebsiella sps (19.9%), Pseudomonas sps (6.3%), and Proteus sps (5.8%). Other pathogens isolated were Enterobacter (3.8%), Citrobacter (1.4%) and Enterococcus sps (0.9%). Of the variables examined, the highest prevalence rate was observed where, 53.3% of the infected women were in the age group 36 to 40 years, 54.15% were in their 3 rd trimester; also the highest infection rate (70.2%) was observed in 7 th month of pregnancy, concluding that old age pregnancy increased parity prone for UTI apart from individual hygiene and economical status.

A potential bacterial strain GSM2, capable of degrading an azo dye Reactive Violet 5 as a sole source of carbon, was isolated from textile mill effluent from Solapur, India. The 16S rDNA sequence and phenotypic characteristics indicated an isolated organism as Paracoccus sp. GSM2. This strain exhibited complete decolorization of Reactive Violet 5 (100 mg/L) within 16 h, while maximally it could decolorize 800 mg/L of dye within 38 h with 73% decolorization under static condition. For color removal, the most suitable pH and temperature were pH 6.0–9.0 and 25–40°C, respectively. The isolate was able to decolorize more than 70% of five structurally different azo dyes within 38 h. The isolate is salt tolerant as it can bring out more than 90% decolorization up to a salt concentration of 2% (w/v). UV-Visible absorption spectra before and after decolorization suggested that decolorization was due to biodegradation and was further confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. Overall results indicate the effectiveness of the strain GSM2 explored for the treatment of textile industry effluents containing various azo dyes. To our knowledge, this could be the first report on biodegradation of Reactive Violet 5 by Paracoccus sp. GSM2.

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