Report of the Commissioner of Public Health / Western Australia.

  • Western Australia. Public Health Department
Date:
[1964]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Commissioner of Public Health / Western Australia. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/94 (page 17)
    UNCLASSIFIED MYCOBACTERIA ISOLATED FROM 638 PERSONS (GROUP III : 478 PERSONS) 1955-1956 1957-1958 1959-1960 1961 Specimen Group Group Group Group II III ! iv II 111 IV II III IV | II III 1 IV Sputum .... 18 3 13 2 24 341 14 21 388 31 Bronchial Lavage 12 1 i Laryngeal Swabs 2 Gastric Contents l 26 2 i 8 4 22 2 1 4 2 Pus l Urine .... 4 .... 5 i 2 Resected Lung Tissue .... .... .... 3 2 Lung Tissue ] 8 7 Lymph Node > Taken at P.M. 1 Bone Marrow J 1 Faeces 1 Pleural Fluid .... 1 Gland 3 Seminal Fluid .... .... .... 1 Total .... l 48' 5 15 10 • 28 398 18 24 404 34 Grand Total 1 49 30 | 444 462 1962 1963 1964 Specimen Group Group Group Total I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV Sputum 5 12 1 311 17 8 28 347 12 9 68 426 13 2,111 Bronchial Lavage 1 2 4 3 24 Laryngeal Swabs 2 Gastric Contents .... 5 2 1 2 2 85 Pus . .... 3 4 Urine .... 2 2 .... 5 2 23 Resected Lung Tissue .... i 2 I .... 9 Lung Tissue ^ .... ii 2 3 31 Lymph Node > Taken at P.M. .... .... .... 1 Bone Marrow j .... 1 2 Faeces .... .... .... _ _ 4 2 7 Pleural Fluid .... . i Gland .... 2 3 3 2 13 Seminal Fluid ... .... .... 1 Total... 5 14 334 19 8 28 363 13 9 74 447 15 2,314 Grand Total 372 412 545 2,314 (Gr. Ill, i 1962) From material received from other States in Australia and from England 58 M. avian strains weie isolated. From a water survey (reservoirs, swimming pools, etc.) 58 group II strains (scotochromogenic) were iso¬ lated, and from a swimming pool one sensitive M. tuberculosis with low virulence was cultured. There is no question but that the high numbers of isolations is very largely a matter of attention to detail. In our routine investigations six tubes of media were used for each specimen : these were two of Kirchner medium, two of Gerloff medium and two of blood medium. One tube of each of these was prepared without glycerol. In the culture of M. bovis both the Kirshner and the blood media without glycerol gave significantly better results than the Gerloff medium without glycerol. Glycerol concentrations as low as 0.1% interfere with the growth of bovine tubercle bacilli and growth was completely inhibited in specimens from animal organs. Our media without glycerol will allow good growth of M. tuberculosis yet the advantage of glycerol is evident in the cultures of unclassified mycobacteria. Battey bacilli and group II (scotochro¬ mogenic) strains show better growth in a glycerol medium than one without glycerol. For examinations on the occurrence of mycobacteria in the environment of man, i.e., examinations of samples of dust, soil and milk, parallel cultures at 30°C were run in parallel with cultures at 37°C. Almost all the group II strains isolated from water were grown at 30 °C only. l2>—27105