What does a positive Diphtheroids mean?
Diphtheroids are defined as aerobic, non-sporulating, pleomorphic Gram-positive bacilli which are more uniformly stained than Corynebacterium diphtheriae, lack the metachromatic granules and are arranged in a palisade manner. They are usually commensals of the skin and mucous membranes. They differ from C.
Do you treat Diphtheroids?
Diphtheroids. Antibiotics are the treatment of choice for nondiphtherial corynebacteria infections. Many species and groups are sensitive to various antibiotics, including penicillins, macrolide antibiotics, rifampin, and fluoroquinolones.
What bacteria are Diphtheroids?
Coryneform bacilli, also known as diphtheroids, are Gram-positive, irregular rod-shaped bacteria that encompass a wide range of genera, such as Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Dermabacter, Microbacterium, and Cellulomonas.
How is Corynebacterium useful?
Species of Corynebacterium have been used in the mass production of various amino acids including glutamic acid, a food additive that is made at a rate of 1.5 million tons/ year. The metabolic pathways of Corynebacterium have been further manipulated to produce lysine and threonine.
Are Diphtheroids bad?
urealyticum and other diphtheroids may be under reported as etiologic agents of disease for a number of reasons, including poor or slow growth on solid media, and not realizing that they may indeed be pathogens.
Where is Diphtheroids found?
Coryneform bacteria (“diphtheroids”) are ubiquitous in nature. They are found on human skin and mucous membranes, on plants, in soil, and in freshwater and saltwater. Humans are the only known reservoir of C. diphtheriae, although a novel strain was isolated from cats in West Virginia.
What part of the human body does Corynebacterium colonize?
C. diphtheriae usually colonize a local lesion in the upper respiratory tract (although cutaneous diphtheria can occur as well) where the toxin secreted by the bacteria cases necrotic injury to epithelial cells.
What do Diphtheroids do?
Diphtheroids and propionibacterium species are opportunistic pathogens that typically cause infection by colonising biomedical devices. They cause particular problems in: Prosthetic valve endocarditis. CSF shunt infections.
Is Corynebacterium Xerosis pathogenic?
Corynebacterium xerosis is a commensal organism normally present in skin and mucous membranes of humans and animals [1]. It is considered an unusual pathogen but it is able to cause endocarditis, skin infections and other illnesess [1–6].