Actinomycosis (with antibiotic resistance) Species/Genus Testing Conditions and Incidence
Dear Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board,
Dear Freedom of Information Enquiries
I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information from NHS Forth Valley Health Board, and/or/including information from Clinical Testing Laboratories and Sample Collection Vehicle Conditions
I ask for information regarding for testing for the following bacterium species affecting Humans – Actinomyces israelii and Actinomyces gerencseria and other Actinomyces Genus which are antibiotic resistant. Also can the following be tested for -Propionibacterium propionicus which can often minic Acinomycisis infections
The Actonomyces Bacterium degrade extreme quickly upon exposure to oxygen thus rendering testing impossible.
“Cultures should be placed immediately under anaerobic conditions and incubated for 48 hours or longer; the isolation and definitive identification of actinomycetes may require 2-3 weeks” - From
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/21...
To this regard
Question 1
Do the NHS vans that transport samples have a vacuum chamber contained within for such delicate samples?
Question 2
What conditions are the samples held in once arriving at the Clinical Testing Laboratory
Question 3
Does the Clinical Testing Laboratories have a vacuum chamber for such delicate samples.
Question 4
Does the Clinical Testing Laboratories use an electron microscope to identify pathogens.
Question 5
The woman who I believe I passed Actinomycosis to (via sexual intercourse or via oral sex) only had Actinomycosis identified by use of an electron Microscope at Infectious Diseases and Communicable Laboratories in Edinburgh.
Are suspected cases of Actinomycoses infections, Maxiofacial, Thoracic, Pelvic and Gastroenteral routinely sent to Infectious and Communicable Diseases Laboratories in your area?
Question 7
To my knowledge Culture Testing for Actinomycois infections require up to three weeks. Please explain why NHS Laboratories only test cultures for one week in total? Quote from my own test result 24/02/17 - “Culture – No Growth. Culture will be incubated for 7 days in total. No further report will be issued unless culture becomes positive”
Question 8
In the UK Actinomycosis with antibiotic resistance incidence is quoted on NHS website as 1:300000. In Holland and Germany the incidence is quoted as 1:100000. In Pelvic Actinomycosis in the UK (female infections) the IUD is blamed as causation in 10% of cases yet in the USA it is (One Tenth of One Percent).
Please provide the figures of cases of Actinomycosis with antibiotic resistance identified in both men and women in NHS Forth Valley from 2000 to 2016
Please provide the information in the form of written reply or to my email address below
If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under your Section 16 obligations, as to how I can refine my request to be included in the scope of the Act.
In any case, if you can identify ways that my request could be refined please provide further advice and assistance to indicate this.
I look forward to your response within 20 working days, as stipulated by the Act.
If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact me via email or phone and I will be happy to clarify what I am asking for, my details are outlined below.
Yours faithfully,
C N Bruce
Dear Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board,
Dear Borders NHS Board,
Please provide the figures of cases of Actinomycosis with antibiotic resistance identified in both men and women in NHS Forth Valley from 2000 to 2016 - Please disregard NHS Forth Valley and include figures for NHS Ayrshire and Arran NHS
Yours faithfully,
C N Bruce
Yours faithfully,
C N Bruce
Thank you for your email.
We are obliged under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to
provide any recorded information, we hold, (subject to exemptions) as
quickly as possible and in all cases, within 20 working days.
We will respond as soon as possible.
For more information on the Act and to use the response calculator, please
visit [1]http://www.itspublicknowledge.info
Kind Regards
Tara Palmer
Information Governance Analyst
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
14 Lister Street, University Hospital Crosshouse
Kilmarnock KA2 0BE
Telephone : 01563 826721 Ext (26721)
E-mail: [email address]
The information contained in this email is confidential and is intended
only for the named recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient you
must not copy, distribute or take any action on or place any reliance on.
If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender. Any
unauthorised disclosure of the information contained in the email is
strictly prohibited.
Thank you for your email. As your previous email included one of your
questions below we are treating this as the same request.
We are obliged under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to
provide any recorded information, we hold, (subject to exemptions) as
quickly as possible and in all cases, within 20 working days.
We will respond as soon as possible.
For more information on the Act and to use the response calculator, please
visit [1]http://www.itspublicknowledge.info
Kind Regards
Tara Palmer
Information Governance Analyst
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
14 Lister Street, University Hospital Crosshouse
Kilmarnock KA2 0BE
Telephone : 01563 826721 Ext (26721)
E-mail: [email address]
The information contained in this email is confidential and is intended
only for the named recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient you
must not copy, distribute or take any action on or place any reliance on.
If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender. Any
unauthorised disclosure of the information contained in the email is
strictly prohibited.
Thank you for your email. As your previous email included one of your
questions below we are treating this as the same request.
We are obliged under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to
provide any recorded information, we hold, (subject to exemptions) as
quickly as possible and in all cases, within 20 working days.
We will respond as soon as possible.
For more information on the Act and to use the response calculator, please
visit [1]http://www.itspublicknowledge.info
Kind Regards
Tara Palmer
Information Governance Analyst
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
14 Lister Street, University Hospital Crosshouse
Kilmarnock KA2 0BE
Telephone : 01563 826721 Ext (26721)
E-mail: [email address]
The information contained in this email is confidential and is intended
only for the named recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient you
must not copy, distribute or take any action on or place any reliance on.
If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender. Any
unauthorised disclosure of the information contained in the email is
strictly prohibited.
Good Afternoon,
Thank-you for your Freedom of Information request, please see the response
to your request below:
Q1. Do the NHS vans that transport samples have a vacuum chamber contained
within for such delicate samples?
A1. No. Our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is derived from the UK
Standards for Microbiology Investigations (SMI) B 28 which makes no
recommendations regarding vacuum transport mechanisms.
Q2. What conditions are the samples held in once arriving at the Clinical
Testing Laboratory.
A2. Those arriving before 9 a.m. and before 9 p.m. are processed that
day. If they arrive after 9 p.m. they are held at room temp until 9 a.m.
the following day.
Q3. Does the Clinical Testing Laboratories have a vacuum chamber for such
delicate samples.
A3. No. Again, this is not recommended by SMI B 28.
Q4. Does the Clinical Testing Laboratories use an electron microscope to
identify pathogens.
A4. No. NHS Ayrshire and Arran uses proteomic mass spectrometry to
identify most pathogens.
Q5. Are suspected cases of Actinomycoses infections, Maxiofacial,
Thoracic, Pelvic and Gastroenteral routinely sent to Infectious and
Communicable Diseases Laboratories in your area?
A5. Any specimens taken would be sent to University Hospital Crosshouse
Microbiology.
Q6. To my knowledge Culture Testing for Actinomycois infections require up
to three weeks. Please explain why NHS Laboratories only test cultures for
one week in total? Quote from my own test result - “Culture – No Growth.
Culture will be incubated for 7 days in total. No further report will be
issued unless culture becomes positive”
A6. Our SOP is derived from the UK Standards for Microbiology
Investigations B 28 which recommends incubation for a total of 10 days
with examination at >40 hours, 7 and 10 days.
Q7. Please provide the figures of cases of Actinomycosis with antibiotic
resistance identified in both men and women in NHS Ayrshire & Arran from
2000 to 2016.
(In the UK Actinomycosis with antibiotic resistance incidence is quoted on
NHS website as 1:300000. In Holland and Germany the incidence is quoted as
1:100000. In Pelvic Actinomycosis in the UK (female infections) the IUD is
blamed as causation in 10% of cases yet in the USA it is (One Tenth of One
Percent).)
A7. Susceptibility testing would only be undertaken by a specialist
laboratory in the case of treatment failure. As we do not hold this
information it is classed as an exclusion under section 17 (1) of the
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
I trust this response is helpful. However, under the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002 if you are dissatisfied with our response
you are entitled to request a review. A request for a review must be made
in writing to Mrs Jillian Neilson, Head of Information Governance, NHS
Ayrshire & Arran, 14 Lister Street, University Hospital Crosshouse,
Kilmarnock, KA2 0BB or email [1][email address],
no later than 40 working days from 07 April 2017. You must provide your
name, an address for correspondence, details of your original request and
say why you want a review. If our decision is unchanged following a review
and you remain dissatisfied with this, you then have the right to make a
formal appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner at
[2]www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further advice
or assistance.
Tara Palmer (on behalf of Ann Wilson)
Ann Catherine Wilson L.L.B
Freedom of Information Officer
Information Governance
14 Lister Street
University Hospital Crosshouse
Kilmarnock
KA2 0BE
Telephone: 01563 826112
Email: [3][NHS Ayrshire and Arran request email]
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