No abstract

We report seven cases of endocarditis due to nontoxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae that occurred between October 1990 and September 1991. The patients all lived in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Three patients had preexisting cardiac abnormalities, and one patient used intravenous drugs regularly. The other three patients had no known risk factors for endocarditis. Notable clinical features were the aggressive nature of the infection, the occurrence of septic arthritis in four patients, and major vascular complications in four patients, one of whom died. One patient required urgent mitral valve replacement. All of the isolates were identified as non-toxigenic C. diphtheriae var gravis. Sporadic cases of endocarditis due to C. diphtheriae have rarely been reported; septic arthritis complicating endocarditis due to this organism has not previously been described. This report highlights the importance of identifying Corynebacterium isolates from normally sterile sites at the species level.

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry Number ACTRN12608000588392.

The objective of the study was to examine the appropriateness of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recommendations concerning pneumococcal vaccination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island adults. Laboratory surveillance of invasive pneumococcal disease identified 95 cases acquired by adults 15 years of age and over in Far North Queensland from 1992 to 1995. The most common diagnosis

In adolescent CF patients, colonization with the Hunter strain of B. cepacia was associated with a deterioration in some nutritional parameters but not with an accelerated decline in FEV1 over 4 years. As varying pathogenicity of B. cepacia strains may account for differing rates of pulmonary decline, further assessment of the consequences of colonization with certain strains of B. cepacia in CF is needed.