title: Probable laboratory contamination of clinical specimens with Leptospira meyeri.
abstract: Leptospira meyeri were isolated from the blood or the pleural effusion cultures of four patients at a commercial clinical laboratory. All isolates were identical in their 16S rDNA sequences and NotI or SfiI restriction profiles of the chromosome DNA on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. However, intraperitoneal inoculation of the isolate (NIID1) failed to kill hamsters and none of the patients' sera reacted with L. meyeri strains isolated, indicating leptospiral contamination occurred during laboratory investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawabata
authors.forename: Haruo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D003470:Culture Media; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field / Q000379:methods; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005374:Filtration / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007919:Leptospira / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods; D013048:Specimen Handling
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media