Avicenna Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infection
Volume:2 Issue: 4, Nov 2015

Enteritis caused by Campylobacter is considered as the most common acute bacterial diarrhea around the world. In most cases, infection occurs as a result of consuming contaminated water or food, especially raw meat of fowls..

The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of campylobacter species among pediatrics of Hamadan city, Iran..Patients and

A total of 120 stool samples from children less than 10 years old were examined from January 2013 to December 2014 in Hamadan, Iran. The samples were incubated in Campy-Thio enrichment medium for 1 - 2 hours and then cultured on a specific medium; after that, the suspected colonies were analyzed for Campylobacter spp. identification by conventional tests. The identified species by biochemical methods were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disk agar diffusion (DAD) method..

Twelve (10%) Campylobacter spp. from 120 stool samples were isolated including C. coli and C. jejuni. In the antibiotic susceptibility test, the most frequent resistance was observed to ciprofloxacin 8 (88.8%), followed by 7 (77.7%) resistant strains to tetracycline, 7 (77.7%) to erythromycin, 6 (66.6%) to clindamycin, 5 (55.5%) to meropenem, 4 (44.4%) to gentamicin, 3 (33.3%) to nalidixicacid and only 1 (11.1%) to chloramphenicol..

Campylobacter is responsible for some important clinical problems such as enteritis and is also associated with meningitis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome. It is imperative to monitor the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter spp. as well as other the zoonotic bacteria..

Some freshwater snails are acting as intermediate hosts for digenetic trematodes. Studies on distribution of freshwater snails are important to determine the transmission patterns of the trematoda.. The current study aimed to identify medically important snails of Miangran Lake in Izeh, Khuzestan province, Iran.. Sampling was conducted in fourteen sites around Miangran Lake in 2014. The collected samples were placed in plastic containers containing 70% ethyl alcohol, prior to consideration. The identification was carried out according to shell characteristics. Data were analyzed descriptively.. All sampling sites were positive for medically important snails. Overall, nine genera and thirteen species were identified. The most diversity in genus was found in Melanopsis. Five genera of snails detected in the study with known medical importance include: Bithynia spp., Bulinus spp., Lymnaea spp., Melanoides spp. and Melanopsis spp. Melanoides spp. was observed in thirteen and Bellamya spp. was identified in two sites. Also, in this study Melanoides spp., Bulinus spp., and Lymnaea spp. were widespread snails around Miangran Lake.. The reason for difference in the detected snail genera in sampling sites may be due to various physicochemical factors. According to the current study, medically important snails exist in Miangran Lake and they could be a source of trematode infections for the local people. Controlling measures after comprehensive studies should be applied

Acinetobacter baumannii is the most clinically prominent species of the Acinetobacter genus and is commonly found in hospital environments. In mammals, the iron element is virtually unavailable to invading bacteria, being mainly incorporated into iron transport and storage proteins. Therefore, iron acquisition systems are important factors for the pathogenicity of A. baumannii strains.. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of iron acquisition genes among A. baumannii isolates, collected from patients with urinary tract infections, for the first time in Iran..Patients and A total of 100 A. baumannii isolates were collected from patients with urinary tract infections in Zabol, southeast of Iran. All isolates were evaluated to determine the prevalence of iron acquisition genes, including tonB (TonB-dependent receptor), barA (acinetobactin ABC transporter), feoB (ferrous iron transport protein B), entA (acinetobactin siderophore precursor), A1S_2563 (siderophore-interacting protein), and hemO (heme oxygenase) using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.. A high prevalence of genes encoding iron acquisition systems were observed in A. baumannii isolates. The frequency of tonB, barA, feoB, entA, A1S_2563, and hemO genes were 85, 97, 99, 98, 99, and 95%, respectively. Based on the distribution of the various iron acquisition genes, all the studied isolates exhibited seven gene profile patterns.. This is the first report on the prevalence of iron acquisition genes among A. baumannii isolates collected from patients with urinary tract infections. The high prevalence of iron acquisition genes in A. baumannii isolates suggests that these virulence factors play an important role in the development of urinary tract infections..

Although many food-borne pathogens may generally cause illness, Listeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic organism that causes harm to individuals who are particularly vulnerable to disease. Unlike organic pollutants, heavy metals do not decay and thus pose a different kind of challenge for remediation. Microbial bioremediation is an efficient strategy due to its low cost and efficient targeting of heavy metals.. The aim of this work was evaluate the growth, surface structure and biochemical features of L. monocytogenes PTCC 1297 endured to toxic heavy metals for humans.. The effects of various concentrations of mercury (II) bromide (HgBr2), lead (II) oxide (PbO), and cadmium sulfate (CdSO4) (0.1% - 0.5% wt/vol) were evaluated. All stresses were applied to exponential phase cells whereas non-stressed exponential phase cells served as a control and the cells were allowed to grow for 24 hours. For evaluating the growth of L. monocytogenes PTCC 1297 after the inoculation procedure and exposure of cells to selected stresses, the colony count method was used. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to visualize the surface structure of bacteria.. The amount of HgBr2 (0.1% wt/vol) and CdSO4 (0.2% wt/vol) were considered as lethal doses for L. monocytogenes PTCC 1297 (Serotype 4a). Different concentrations of PbO could not kill bacteria yet decreased their growth. The bacteria showed different morphologic and biochemical characteristics under each stressor.. It can be concluded that L. monocytogenes PTCC 1297 can be resistant to lead..

Fresh herbs are a crucial part of a good diet. However, they can easily become contaminated with food-borne pathogens. Eating fresh unwashed or improperly washed herbs has a major role in transmission of some important parasitic diseases.. This study was carried out to evaluate parasitic pollution in fresh unwashed herbs sold in Izeh city, Iran.. Four hundred samples of fresh unwashed herbs were purchased from a distributor in Izeh city during January 2014 to April 2015. Detergent solution was added to 240 g of each sample. The mixture was shaken and washed solution was filtered through 0.2 µm bottle-top filter. The filtrate was discarded and filter was placed in a 50 mL conical screw cap tube. Then, the detergent solution was added. Following vortex, filter was discarded. The sediment was examined by light microscope after centrifuge. Finally, data descriptive analyses were carried out.. Parasitic pollution was detected in 3.5% of the examined samples, including Cryptosporidium spp. oocyst (1.5%), Giardia spp. cyst (1%), Blastocystis spp. cyst (0.5%) and Taenia spp. egg (0.5%).. Parasitic contamination of fresh herbs sold in Izeh may pose a health risk to consumers if eaten as unwashed or improperly washed..

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common infectious diseases in Bangladesh where Escherichia coli is the prevalent organism and responsible for most of the infections. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is known to act as a major virulence factor of E. coli.. The present study aimed to purify, extract and visualize LPS of E. coli clinical isolates from urine samples of patients with UTI..Patients and The E. coli strain was isolated from the urine samples of 10 patients with UTI and then the antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the isolates was determined. The purification of LPS was carried out using the hot aqueous-phenol method and separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which was directly stained using the modified silver staining method and Coomassie blue.. The silver-stained gel demonstrated both smooth and rough type LPS by showing trail-like band patterns with the presence and lacking O-antigen region, respectively. Coomassie blue staining showed no band assuring the absence of any contaminating protein.. Our successful extraction of purified LPS from E. coli isolates of UTI patients’ urine samples can be an important step to understand the UTI disease conditions..

Diarrhoea is considered as the most widespread illness occurring in Bangladesh. In addition, the growing antimicrobial resistance of diarrhoeal pathogens in this developing country hardens physicians to supervise patients effectively.. In our study, we retrospectively analysed the data of a diarrhoeal pathogens and their antimicrobial resistant patterns isolated from diarrhoeal patients attending Dhaka Hospital, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr, b), Dhaka and domiciliary patients of Dhaka city of Bangladesh..Patients and During a six-year period (2009 - 2014), a total of 90207 diarrhoeal specimens were collected from patients to screen bacterial etiology by standard culture methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed for culture-positive selected diarrhoeal pathogens using disk diffusion method.. One or more potential pathogens were identified in 20467 (23%) patients, more often from under-five children. The most predominant etiological agent was Vibrio spp. (33.23%), followed by Campylobacter spp. (26.04%), Shigella spp. (19.12%), Aeromonas spp. (12.21%), Salmonella spp. (6.74%) and Plesiomonas shigelloides (2.66%). Among children under the age of five, Campylobacter spp., Vibrio spp. and Shigella spp. were more common. V. cholerae O1 El Tor biotype was the predominant pathogen (90.75%) among all the Vibrio spp. isolated. High prevalence of multiple antibiotic resistances towards ampicillin (AM), ciprofloxacin (CIP) and co-trimoxazole (SXT) was common among Vibrio spp., Shigella spp. and Campylobacter spp. Beside, correlation with previous data from 2005 - 2008 showed that resistant percentages of Shigella spp., Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp. to these antibiotics are increasing with time (P < 0.001).. These findings underscored the importance of monitoring and developing guidelines for better management of infectious diarrhoea in Bangladesh and elsewhere

Bacterial and fungal infections are an emerging public health concern, especially in the context of nosocomial infections. This study discusses the use of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) methanolic extract against bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus and fungal species such as Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton verrucosum, and Candida albicans.. This research aimed to investigate the inhibitory potential of M. piperita methanolic extract against some bacteria and fungi isolated from humans.. The methanolic extract was prepared by standard procedure, and total phenol, total flavonoid, and total anthocyanin content were determined using a spectrophotometer. Antimicrobial activity against the aforementioned bacteria and fungi strains was evaluated using the disc diffusion method.. The contents of total phenol, flavonoid, and anthocyanin as well as antimicrobial activities and antifungal properties were enhanced by the increase of extract concentration. The results showed that the antimicrobial activity of leaf extract was more powerful against Bacillus subtilis (1.39 mm) than Staphylococcus aureus (1.29 mm), Escherichia coli (1.20 mm), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1.10 mm) based on the growth inhabitation zone. The most powerful antifungal activity of peppermint extract was observed against Trichophyton verrucosum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (1.49 and 1.48 mm, respectively).. Due to phenolic content, methanolic extract of M. piperita has moderate antibacterial and antifungal properties against the aforementioned gram positive and gram negative bacteria and fungi strains..