Staphylococcal enterocolitis: Studies in bacteriophage typing patterns

Abstract

<h2>Summary</h2> Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from the stools of 55 patients with staphylococcal enterocolitis complicating antibiotic therapy during an 18 month period in 1960 and 1961 were tested with the phages from the Standard International Series and 36 (65.4 per cent) were found to be "untypable." When these 36 "untypable" isolates were tested further with the new bacteriophage types, UC-13, 14, 16, 18 and 20, recently isolated in the Research Surgical Bacteriology Laboratory of the University of Cincinnati, only 4 (11.1 per cent) remained "untypable." The composite patterns of the 55 strains tested with the Standard International Series and the UC phages revealed that 25 (45 per cent) were UC-18, 14 (25 per cent) were 53, 77 and 4 (7 per cent) were UC-13, UC-18. Only 4 (7 per cent) remained "untypable." During the following 12 month period 33 patients with staphylococcal enterocolitis showed an increasing incidence of UC-18 type isolates, the percentage being 72.7. None were of the standard phage groups. Of further interest has been the fact that 45 stool cultures of "normal" hospitalized patients revealed 11 (24 per cent) to contain the Staphylococcus aureus. None of these were of the UC-18 type nor "untypable." The majority were type UC-13. This investigation indicates that staphylococcal enterocolitis complicating antibiotic therapy in the Cincinnati area during the past two and one-half years has been caused predominantly by one specific strain of Staphylococcus aureus, identified as UC-18 phage type in over 70 per cent of the cases. The significance of this specific type in this disease in other geographic areas is under further study.