Isolation of mycobacterial phage from the laboratory strain Mycobacterium leprae murium "Douglas".

The colony microstructure of the laboratory strain Mycobacterium leprae murium "Douglas" cultivated on Ogawa's egg medium was examined. A bioptical sample from the liver of a white mouse subcutaneously infected and observed for ten months was used as inoculum. The inoculum contained 5.

Lytic potency against various mycobacterial strains of the phage isolated from Mycobacterium leprae murium "Douglas".

The lytic potency of a newly isolated phage Al-1 obtained from the laboratory strain M. leprae murium "Douglas" was examined. The phage was multiplied on the laboratory strain M.

[Incidence of phagotypes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Czechoslovakia and East Germany and of Mycobacterium bovis in Czechoslovakia and Argentina].

The following study gives review of the results of the phagetyping of M. tuberculosis strains in different localities of Czechoslovakia and German Democratic Republic (165 strains from Czechoslovakia and 102 strains from GDR) and the comparison of the occurrence of phage subgroups of M. bovis strains in two different localities of Czechoslovakia (62 strains) and Argentina (93 strains).

Stimulating effects of a weak constant magnetic field (0.8 Gauss) on the growth of two mycobacterial phages no 308 and 33d.

A liquid culture of ATCC 607 infected with two mycobacterial phages and exposed to constant magnetic fields 0.8 G for 48 hours was replanted on simple agar media without oleic acidalbumin enrichment. In both phages a pronounced stimulating effect was observed demonstrated in the phage No.

The microscopical pattern of growth of Mycobacterium leprae-murium "Douglas" in microcolonies.

A thin section technique of Ogawa egg yolk culture medium inoculated with Mycobacterium leprae-murium was found to reveal microscopical growth of the strain which could not be demonstrated by macroscopical examination. A peculiar structure of the growth, characterized by many lytic spots different in size, was observed indicating the possible presence of a temperate phage which may interfere with the synthesis of nucleic acids needed for the active multiplication of M. leprae-murium.

[The survival of D-29 and MyF2 P/59-mycobacteriophages in continuous cultures].

The cultivation technique of two mycobacteriophages (D-29 and MyF2 P/59) in continuous cultures with a simple synthetic medium is described. The ATCC-607-strain (M. smegmatis) was used as a host strain.

Therapy of experimental tuberculosis in guinea pigs with mycobacterial phages DS-6A, GR-21 T, My-327.

Guinea pigs, weighing 250-350 g, were infected with approximately 5,000 of live germs M- tuberculosis H 37 Rv grown 10 days in deep culture of liquid semisynthetic medium according to Sula. The infection was performed subcutaneously in inquinal region. For the therapy following phages were used: DS-6A, GR-21/T, My-327 injected twice a week subcutaneously in the dose of 10(6)/1 ml of live particles for 10 weeks.

The colonial microtexture of human mycobacterial strains isolated in Burma.

Sixteen strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated in Burma were investigated for microcolonial texture using the thin section technique developed at the WHO Collaborating Centre in Prague. The strains were grown in deep (Sula's liquid medium) and surface cultures (Loevenstein-Jensen medium). Their colonies killed by 10% formol were embedded in 2% agar and paraffin, cut by a Reichert microtome and stained by the Ziehl-Neelsen technique.

Morphological and cytoenzymatic characteristics of peripheral zone of lytic plaques induced by mycobacterial phages.

Morphology and cytoenzymatic characteristics were studied using potassium tellurite, of peripheral zones of lytic plaques in fast growing mycobacteria (ATCC 607, Redmond No 521, Penso S1P) exposed to various mycobacterial phages and slowly growing M. bovis BCG, H37RV 50 gamma INH resistant strains. The latter revealed on borders of lytic plaques a bright tellurite-negative zone of variable width, macroscopically undemonstrable in culture free from potassium tellurite.

Accidental contamination of diagnostic cultures of mycobacteria and phage identification of the contaminating strain.

Phage typing of mycobacteria is a new technique not yet widely used for classification and intraspecies differentiation. Systematic long-term studies organized by the WHO have succeeded, using a battery of 11 different mycobacterial phages, in dividing M. tuberculosis into 3 different phage sub-groups, preliminarily labelled as A, B and C.

Self-inoculation with Mycobacterium tuberculosis Weiszfeiler W-115.

After intracutaneous self-inoculation with 0.05 mg (wet weight) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis W-115 containing approximately 600 000 viable units, the local reaction was observed during a period of 9 weeks. No adverse effects or general reaction were observed.

Use of pyridine for differentiating Mycobacterium leprae from other mycobacteria in direct microscopy.

The loss of acid-fastness by M. leprae after two-hour pyridine extractions, reportedly a specific test for differentiating M. leprae from all other mycobacteria, was verified on different materials obtained from leprosy patients, histologic sections from a fatal post-BCG vaccination case and smears prepared from pure cultures of 32 strains of 18 different mycobacterial species.

Fatal generalized BCG histiocytosis.

An infant was vaccinated at the age of 3 days with BCG vaccine. At the age of 3 years 10 months he developed an infection by Salmonella typhimurium. The infection persisted with recurrent episodes of fever, peri-nephritic abscess, abscesses of lymph nodes, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly and paravertebral and retro-peritoneal abscesses, from which Salmonella were isolated.

World Health Organization studies on bacteriophage typing of mycobacteria. Subdivision of the species Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The ability of lytic mycobacteriophages to subdivide the species Mycobacterium tuberculosis reliably has been studied using a series of 100 strains isolated from cases of tuberculosis in the Netherlands. Techniques for the propagation and application of the viruses have been standardized, as have the conditions for growth and preparation of bacterial strains. On the basis of lytic results with 11 mycobacteriophages, it is proposed that the species Mycobacterium tuverculosis may be subdivided into at least 3 major phage types, A, B, and C, and into 2 subjects, Ax and A2.

Ultrastructure of rabbit lung intravenously infected with Mycobacterium simiae "Weiszfeiler" no 52.

M. simiae "Weiszfeiler" strain No. 52 belongs to the second Runyon Group of Atypical Mycobacteria characterized by rough, eugonic, yellow-orange pellicle grown on Sauton medium incubated for 14 days at 37 degrees C.