No abstract

The presence of Staphylococcus aureus producing toxic shock toxin (TST) and the absence of antibody to TST (anti-TST) in acute-phase sera are markers for toxic shock syndrome (TSS). We used radioimmunoassay methods to examine 133 acute-phase and 277 convalescent-phase serum specimens from 181 patients with TSS for anti-TST. Among confirmed menstrual cases, nine (9.5%) of 95 patients had demonstrable anti-TST in acute-phase sera obtained during the first seven days of illness; patients with probable or non-menstrual TSS had a higher prevalence of anti-TST in acute-phase sera. Five (33.3%) of 15 individuals with confirmed menstrual TSS developed anti-TST as early as seven to nine days after TSS onset; 32 (62.7%) of 51 patients had demonstrable anti-TST in sera obtained more than one year after their episode of TSS. This study demonstrates a gradual rate and low magnitude of development of anti-TST after TSS and supports the diagnostic usefulness of measuring anti-TST levels in sera from patients suspected of having TSS.

Tolerance to vancomycin exists in the population of pneumococci. Tolerant isolates are associated with meningitis of increased mortality, and these isolates can be tracked by specific marker sequences in 2 genes.

Acute encephalitis and postinfectious encephalopathy have been reported infrequently in association with influenza A and B virus infections. We report herein a case of a 6-year-old girl with acute influenza B virus encephalitis resulting in neurological sequelae. The diagnosis was made by isolation of influenza B virus from the nasopharynx, seroconversion to influenza B, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) identification of the virus from the patient's cerebrospinal fluid. Direct sequencing of viral RNA from the patient's nasopharynx and cerebrospinal fluid revealed identical nucleotide sequences in the HA1 region of the hemagglutinin gene. This is the first report of influenza B virus encephalitis diagnosed by use of RT-PCR and illustrates the need for increased awareness of influenza virus as a cause of acute encephalitis. PCR may be a useful tool for diagnosing future cases.