[The man and the sea: marine phytoplancton and public health].

The progressive, world-wide emergence of the natural phenomenon "red tide" normally ignored because of the exceptionality or exotic nature of its sanitary and medical formation, is a risk already present in Spain and Europe, with a certain repetition and under some of the ethiological and clinical forms which were previously unknown to us. Today under the conventional denomination of "Harmful Algae Blooms" (HABs) they have given rise to an extensive investigation, to much bibliography and an almost universal sanitary legislation, as well as a preventive preoccupation of the some states which have become aware that this is a potential and practically unavoidable risk. In this work the basic facts of HABs, their eco-epidemiology and the knowledge of toxic syndroms produced by the marine phytoplancton, represented by some Dinoflagellates and Diatomeas, and Cyanobacteria, are reviewed.

[The gas-liquid cromatography with mass spectrometry for the identification of yeasts].

Methods based on gas chromatography, have been used for identification of the yeasts. In order to know the value of the patterns obtained by this method, we have used this technique and mass spectrometry on 44 strains belonging to 16 genus and 21 species of collection yeasts, identifying the corresponding peaks to 22 fatty acids methyl esters by means of the reaction times of the corresponding standards and the confirmation of molecular weigh by mass spectrometry. The correlation coefficient was of 0.

[Evaluation of an applied program for the prevention and control of tuberculosis].

Background: To evaluate the efficacy of a tuberculosis prevention and control program applied in the health care area of Cadiz (Spain).

Materials And Methods: Tuberculosis cases diagnosed by microbiological criteria (Ziehl-Neelsen/auramine smear and/or culture in Löwenstein-Jensen medium) from 1996 to 2000 were analyzed in relation to epidemiologic characteristics of the patients. Susceptibility studies were performed from 1997 onwards using the proportion method described by Canetti, Rist and Grosset.

Microbiological characteristics and susceptibility patterns of strains of Rhodotorula isolated from clinical samples.

The members of the genus Rhodotorula show a marked ubiquity. In man, they have been isolated from faeces, nails, skin, sputum, digestive tract and adenoids, forming part of the normal human flora, although in recent years cases have been reported of both local and systemic infection by this yeast. There are virtually no studies in the literature on the sensitivity of this genus to the antifungal agents in common clinical use.

[Usefulness of the CHROM-agar Candida culture medium in the differentiation and presumed identification of yeast of clinical interest].

Background: The efficiency of a novel differential culture medium, CHROM-agar Candida, is evaluated in order to differentiation and presumptive identification of clinically important yeasts.

Methods: We studied 600 clinical yeast strains, pertaining to 8 genera (Candida, Cryptococcus, Geotrichum, Rhodotorula, Trichosporon, Kluyveromyces, Pichia and Saccharomyces) and 27 species. Strains were previously identified by conventional methods and by commercial system ATB ID32C (Bio-Mérieux).

Identification of yeasts by hydrolysis of amides.

We analysed the hydrolysis of 23 amides by 500 yeast and yeast-like strains isolated from clinical specimens, identified to species level by conventional methods, in order to verify the validity of this method of species identification. The results show that 10 of these amides (acetamide, acrylamide, alaninamide, formamide, glycinamide, propionamide, urea, thioacetamide, thiourea and valeramide) are sufficient to differentiate seven genera and 19 species, with an occasional requirement for three additional tests: cycloheximide susceptibility, surface film formation on liquid medium and ascospore formation. The study of the amidase activity in yeasts and yeast-like fungi seems to be a promising method of identifying strains isolated from clinical samples.

Identification of species of the Genus listeria by fermentation of carbohydrates and enzymatic patterns.

Patterns of carbohydrates and determination of API ZYM and API oxidases can be considered a useful way to differentiate the strains of Listeria. With all this information it is possible to work out a schematic table that allows the identification of Listeria strains with a remarkable certainty. By numerical analysis four differentiated clusters have been demonstrated.

[Prevalence of hepatitis B markers in the personnel of psychiatric hospitals].

The current rules and regulations in Spain state that those working in closed institutions, helping mentally disturbed patients, are considered personnel at risk for acquiring hepatitis B virus infection, without drawing distintions between professions and fields of work. The immunological state against HBV has been studied in a representative population group of workers of the Cadiz Provincial Psychiatric Hospital (82.90%).