Abstract Background: Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS), a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality, is transmitted from mother to neonate via placenta or during birth. Biofilm formation is an important factor in GBS pathogenesis. This study aimed to determine effects of pH, different culture media and nutritional composition on in vitro biofilm forming ability of GBS isolated from pregnant women. Methods: A total of 30 confirmed isolates of GBS from pregnant women were tested for biofilm formation in Todd Hewitt Broth (THB) at pH 4.5,6 and 7. Ten of these isolates were tested for biofilm formation in growth media THB, brain heart infusion broth, tryptic soy broth, Mueller Hinton broth and nutrient broth. Further they were tested for influence of glucose on biofilm formation using crystal violet and MTT assay. Results: Of 30 GBS isolates strong biofilm formation (SBF) was observed at pH 7 in 56.6 %(n=17) while 36.6%(n=11) isolates showed weak biofilm formation (WBF). At pH 4.5, 43.3% (n=13) were non biofilm formers. In THB without glucose, all 10 isolates were SBF while THB with 1% glucose, 3(30%) isolates were SBF, 5(50%) isolates were moderate biofilm producers and 2(20%) isolates were WBF. Ten isolates tested in 5 types of growth media did not show statistically significant difference in biofilm forming ability. Conclusion: All tested vaginal GBS isolates were able to produce biofilms, maximum biofilm formation of GBS was at pH 7.0. and pH 4.5 is not favorable, thus in normal vaginal pH (3.5 - 4.5), GBS finds it difficult to grow biofilms.

BACKGROUND Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are increasingly being used in medical applications. Therefore, cost effective and green methods for generating AgNPs are required. OBJECTIVES This study aimed towards the biosynthesis, characterisation, and determination of antimicrobial activity of AgNPs produced using Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. METHODS Culture conditions (AgNO3 concentration, pH, and incubation temperature and time) were optimized to achieve maximum AgNP production. The characterisation of AgNPs and their stability were evaluated by UV-visible spectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy. FINDINGS The characteristic UV-visible absorbance peak was observed in the 420–430 nm range. Most of the particles were spherical in shape within a size range of 33–300 nm. The biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited higher stability than that exhibited by chemically synthesized AgNPs in the presence of electrolytes. The biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, P. aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Candida albicans. MAIN CONCLUSION As compared to the tested Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria required higher contact time to achieve 100% reduction of colony forming units when treated with biosynthesized AgNPs produced using P. aeruginosa.

As there are sparse data on the impact of growth media on the phenomenon of biofilm development for Candida we evaluated the efficacy of three culture media on growth, adhesion and biofilm formation of two pathogenic yeasts, Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. The planktonic phase yeast growth, either as monocultures or mixed cultures, in sabouraud dextrose broth (SDB), yeast nitrogen base (YNB), and RPMI 1640 was compared, and adhesion as well as biofilm formation were monitored using MTT and crystal violet (CV) assays and scanning electron microscopy. Planktonic cells of C. albicans, C. tropicalis and their 1:1 co-culture showed maximal growth in SDB. C. albicans/C. tropicalis adhesion was significantly facilitated in RPMI 1640 although the YNB elicited the maximum growth for C. tropicalis. Similarly, the biofilm growth was uniformly higher for both species in RPMI 1640, and C. tropicalis was the slower biofilm former in all three media. Scanning electron microscopy images tended to confirm the results of MTT and CV assay. Taken together, our data indicate that researchers should pay heed to the choice of laboratory culture media when comparing relative planktonic/biofilm growth of Candida. There is also a need for standardisation of biofilm development media so as to facilitate cross comparisons between laboratories.

Leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease all over the world, important in tropical and subtropical areas. A majority of leptospirosis infected patients present as subclinical or mild disease while 5-10% may develop severe infection requiring hospitalisation and critical care. It is possible that several factors, such as the infecting serovar, level of leptospiraemia, host genetic factors and host immune response, may be important in predisposition towards severe disease. Different Leptospirastrains circulate in different geographical regions contributing to variable disease severity. Therefore, it is important to investigate the circulating strains at geographical locations during each outbreak for epidemiological studies and to support the clinical management of the patients. In this study immunochromatography, microscopic agglutination test and polymerase chain reaction were used to diagnose leptospirosis. Further restriction fragment length polymorphism and DNA sequencing methods were used to identify the circulating strains in two selected geographical regions of Sri Lanka.Leptospira interrogans, Leptospira borgpeterseniiandLeptospira kirschneristrains were identified to be circulating in western and southern provinces. L. interroganswas the predominant species circulating in western and southern provinces in 2013 and its presence was mainly associated with renal failure.

We studied the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in patients with leprosy and the effects of co-infection on the immune response to Helicobacter antigens in the polar groups of leprosy (lepromatous and tuberculoid). We showed that there is no difference in the prevalence of H. pylori in patients with leprosy as compared to a non-leprosy population. We also demonstrated that the immune response to low molecular weight H. pylori antigens (35, 26 and 19 kDa) differs in patients with lepromatous as compared to those with tuberculoid leprosy. In lepromatous leprosy, we show that there is a higher prevalence of the 35 and 26 kDa antigens, but a lower prevalence of the 19 kDa antigen. These immunological results are consistent with previous histopathological studies illustrating a more severe gastrointestinal inflammation in lepromatous patients; importantly, a response to the 35 kDa antigen is recognized as a marker for the development of ulcerative disease.