BACTERIA of the Mima-Herellea group were not recognized as distinct and remained undescribed until 1942, when De Bord1 suggested the name Mimeae for a new tribe of gram-negative, nonmotile organisms which resembled Neisseria morphologically, but differed in biochemical characteristics. He named the two new organisms Mima polymorpha and Herellea vaginicola.During subsequent years, other authors reported similar organisms but gave them different names so that the situation became extremely ...

Disability from skin diseases among American troops in Vietnam engaged in combat in warm wet areas is often the greatest medical cause of noneffectiveness. Infections are the leading causes of cutaneous disease.The most common infection is produced by a griseofulvin-sensitive elastase producing Trichophyton mentagrophytes but other dermatophytes and Candida albicans are also frequent.Modern treatment has reduced medical evacuation in comparison with World War II. The statistics give ...

An outbreak of dermatitis from contact with moths of the genus Hylesia prompted the clinical and histologic study of both naturally occurring and experimentally produced moth dermatitis. The histologic findings were considered incompatible with pure mechanical injury of the skin by the spinous structures of the scales of the moth, but were suggestive of a toxic injury as the principal cause of the dermatitis.

A new culture medium (DTM) has been devised for the simplified diagnosis of dermatophytosis. Results can be evaluated by a color change in the medium without detailed knowledge of colony morphology. Although microscopic features are required for positive botanical identification, the nonmycologist can now recognize a griseofulvin-sensitive infection quite well by noting the change of the color of the agar from yellow to red.The medium is superior to currently available commercial ...

Eleven volunteers wore a noninsulated boot on one foot and an insulated rubber boot filled with water on the other foot during 72 hours of immersion in swamps. Both feet were continuously wet, but the temperature of one foot of each man was approximately 20 F (11.2 C) higher than the other throughout the study. Results indicated that symptomatic tropical immersion foot can be produced without any element due to cold injury or heat loss, and that symptoms occurred more rapidly at the ...

Pitted keratolysis is a superficial infection of the skin confined to the stratum corneum. The causative organism has not been identified. The clinical syndrome is distinct and is characterized by pits and superficial erosions in the pressure areas of the soles and in the lateral surfaces of the toes. The histopathology of the lesions is presented and world literature is reviewed. It is concluded that this disease is not limited to the tropical climates, although cases tend to be more ...

Three hundred twenty-four cases of scalp ringworm among Negro school children were studied in Miami, Fla. Approximately one half of these were nonfluorescent infections due to Trichophyton tonsurans, the remainder being fluorescent Microsporum infections, of which one in every four cases was due to M rivalieri, a newly described African species closely related to M audouinii. In the T tonsurans infections, neither a single 3-gm dose of microcrystalline griseofulvin nor four 1-gm doses at ...

The authors have attempted to critically review the subject of mycetoma emphasizing clinical and laboratory aspects which will aid the clinician to correctly diagnose this entity. Specific laboratory techniques are presented, as well as latest therapeutic measures known for mycetoma.

The direct demonstration of fungi in skin, nail, or hair scrapings is facilitated by dissolving the alkaline clearing agent, potassium hydroxide (20%), in a solvent of 60% water and 40% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). With this reagent, hyphae can often be seen as well in one minute without heating as in 20 minutes or more with the classical plain aqueous alkaline solution. The DMSO-containing reagent is not recommended if more than 20 minutes will elapse between preparation of specimen and ...