Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology
Volume:11 Issue: 5, May 2018

Context: Information on the measles vaccine is important for future measles control policies. Vaccination history and laboratory confirmation during the development of the AIK measles vaccine in Iran is surveyed in this article. In addition, the production results and effectiveness of the Razi AIK-C/MRC-5 measles strain are compared with other vaccine strains.
Evidence Acquisition: The current study was carried out to aim local measles vaccine manufacturing and consequences of that in Iran, using various search engines. Almost complete search carried out in medical databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Scientific Information Database, IranMedex, Magiran and Google Scholar.
The morbidity rate of measles during the pre-vaccine era of this disease was 10,000 cases/year in 1970 - 1972. In 1997, the rate was 24 in 1000 cases. After using the high quality Razi measles vaccine between 1995 and 2013, the number of measles-positive cases declined to a maximum of 35 cases per year, while the country’s population increased by more than 2.5 times. The median of the Razi measles vaccine efficacy (VE) was > 92.1% compared with that of the pre-vaccine era. For patients who received 2 doses of the measles vaccine at either 6 and 12 months or 9 and 18 months of age, the median VEs were > 90.0% (interquartile range [IQR], 83% - 97%) and 92.0% (IQR, 86% - 98%), respectively. The age at vaccination and strain type used in the vaccines are reviewed in this article.
The effectiveness of the local Razi measles vaccine resulted in a significant decline in measles mortality and morbidity in Iran. Two doses of the Razi measles (MR) or measles combination (MMR) vaccine provided excellent protection against measles. The seroprevalance of the measles vaccine in Iran revealed that more than 90% of Iranians are seropositive for the measles virus.

Group A streptococci (GAS) are notorious bacteria causing a wide variety of clinical manifestations ranging from mild, acute streptococcal pharyngitis to chronic non-suppurative diseases and immunological sequelae. They are further complicated by the global rise on the emergence of macrolide resistance among these bacteria in which several M protein gene (emm) and sequence types are associated with invasive diseases.
The current study aimed at determining the erythromycin resistance patterns and molecular characteristics of GAS clinical strains by emm and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) methods.
Thirty-five GAS clinical isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing by disk diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of erythromycin against GAS by E-test was determined. Clinical and laboratory standards institute (CLSI) guideline was used for the interpretation of results. Detection of ermA, ermB, and mefA genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed and emm typing was done by amplification and sequencing of emm genes per standard protocol. Allele and sequence type (ST) of GAS were obtained using the S. pyogenes MLST database.
All the isolates were sensitive to erythromycin, penicillin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, and vancomycin (100%). Resistance to tetracycline was 54.3%. The mefA gene was found in one erythromycin susceptible isolate. No other erythromycin resistance genes were detected in the isolates. Twenty different emm types were found and the most frequent emm types/subtypes detected were emm1, emm18.21, emm28.5, emm97.4, and emm102.2 (each 8.6%). However, no new emm type was detected. A total of 15 sequence types (STs), eight clonal clusters (CCs), and eight singletons were identified among 21 representative isolates. Three isolates exhibited CC1 (ST28/emm1).
High susceptibility of GAS isolates against erythromycin could be due to low antibiotic selective pressure in Malaysian clinical settings. High diversity of emm and ST types revealed the heterogenic nature of the strains circulating in Malaysian hospitals. Continuous epidemiological monitoring by molecular typing methods is warranted to improve the management strategies of GAS infections in future.

Cryptosporidium spp. is an ubiquitous intracellular protozoan parasite that affect a wide range of vertebrates like humans and livestock.
The current survey was aimed to determine the prevalence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in cattle of Ahvaz city, southwest of Iran.
In total, 240 cattle fecal specimens were collected from 5 geographical regions of Ahvaz city and microscopically tested for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts. Then, all positive samples were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) to detect and genotyping of Cryptosporidium spp., respectively. Finally, the obtained results were sequenced.
The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection by modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining and nested-PCR methods were 2.1% (5/240) in cattle. Digestion of secondary PCR products using the RFLP method and employing SspI and VspI enzymes, revealed C. parvum pattern in all positive cases and also confirmed by sequencing.
Current finding suggests that C. parvum is the main species in cattle of Ahvaz city and could be considered as an important reservoir for zoonotic infection.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most frequent types of infections in community and hospital settings.
The aim of the present study was to investigate antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and also to determine spa and SCCmec types of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from patients with UTI.
During a 12-month period, 863 urine samples were investigated. In vitro susceptibility of isolates was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Moreover, conventional PCR was performed to detect mecA, nucA, spa, and toxin (pvl, tst) genes as well as Multiplex PCR to determine SCCmec types.
A total of 90 isolates (10.4%) were analyzed in the present survey. Methicillin resistance was observed in 61.1% of the isolates. In total, 25 isolates (27.8%) were positive for the pvl-encoding gene and 40 (44.4%) for tst-1 encoding gene. Based on a multiplex PCR assay, the 4 different SCCmec types were detected as type III (38.9%), followed by type II (31.1%), type IV (28.9%), and type I (1.1%). Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) positive isolates belonged to SCCmec type IV (14.4%) and II (13.3%). The 90 S. aureus isolates were classified to 10 spa types t037 (23.3%), t924 (15.6%), t383 (15.6%), t426 (12.2%), t044 (12.2%), t790 (6.7%), t084 (4.4%), t021 (4.4%), t7580 (4.4%), and t064 (1.2%). The spa types t044, t790, and t084 were obtained from methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains and spa types t924 and t7580 from methicillin-sensitive S. aureus strains.
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study on spa types t426 and t021 in Iran. Since the majority of strains isolated from patients with UTI were MRSA, detection of MRSA clones and their characteristics is necessary.

Resistant and virulent strains of Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are one of the main prevalence sources of food infection due to consumption of meat, milk, and vegetables.
This study was conducted to assess the frequency of virulence factors and phenotypes of antibiotic- resistant STEC bacteria recovered from meat, milk, and vegetable samples.
In this study, 280 samples were assessed. Escherichia coli isolates were assessed by PCR and disk diffusion.
Out of 280 samples, 59 (21.07%) were contaminated with E. coli. Vegetables had the highest prevalence (31.25%), while raw meat (14%) had the lowest. Stx1, eae, and ehly genes were found in all enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) bacteria. Moreover, 21 out of 59 E. coli strains were STEC (35.59%). Shiga toxin producing E. coli strains showed the most resistance against ampicillin (100%), gentamycin (90.47%), tetracycline (85.71%), and ciprofloxacin (71.42%). Shiga toxin producing E. coli strains harbored resistance to at least 2 antibiotics (100%).
Judicious prescription of imipenem and cotrimoxazole based on the results of disk diffusion and also proper washing of the vegetables, cooking of the meat, and boiling of the milk before consumption can control and reduce the risk of incidence of food poisoning due to the virulent and resistant STEC strains.

Due to long-term treatment of dermatophytic lesions, such as tinea unguium and using antifungal drugs, which cause side effects, it is essential to investigate new antifungal drugs with greater absorption and fewer side effects, such as nano-drugs. Trichophyton rubrum and Microsporum canis are important dermatophyte ýspecies. To investigate new strategy treatment, researchers have tried to find a new drug with extensive therapeutic effects and short-duration treatment. In this context, nano-drugs have gained great interest in improving the efficacy of antifungal properties compared to commercial drugs.
The aim of this study was to compare the effects of free terbinafine and nano-liposomal terbinafine on growth of clinical isolates of T. rubrum and M. canis.
In this study, 120 isolates of T. rubrum and M. canis were separated from dermatophytosis lesions. Diagnosis of the strains was based on the morphological structure and molecular identification. Nano-liposomal terbinafine was prepared and analyzed. Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by broth micro dilution CLSI M 38-A method to compare inhibitory growth effects of nano-liposomal characteristics of terbinafine and free terbinafine.
The results showed that the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values of terbinafine against T. rubrum and M. canis strains were 0.0625 to 1 μ/mL and 0.0313 to 0.5 μ/mL, respectively. Also, the MIC values of nano-liposomal terbinafine against T. rubrum and M. canis were 0.0156 to 0.25 μ/mL and 0.0078 to 0.125 μ/mL, respectively.
Comparison of the antifungal effects of nano-liposomal terbinafine and free terbinafine against T. rubrum and M. canis isolates showed that the nanopartilces of terbinafine had a greater antifungal activity against the studied isolates and can be used as an alternative agent for dermatophytosis treatments.

Viral hepatitis has emerged as a major public health problem leading to disproportionate degrees of morbidity and mortality worldwide.
This study describes epidemiology of hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV), and associated risk factors in patients with acute hepatitis symptoms in southwest of Iran (Ahvaz).
A total of 150 serum samples from patients with elevated serum aminotransferase levels were subjected to serological and molecular assays.
The sero-prevalence of HAV, HBV, and HCV was 79.3%. Furthermore, HAV, HBV, and HCV nucleic acids were detected in 28%, 18.7%, and 22.7% of samples, respectively. All HAV cases were categorized in the IB genotype and HBV isolates belonged to genotype D. Hepatitis C virus RNA-positive samples were clustered in genotypes 1a (38.3%) and 3a (61.7%). The authors found that some risk factors, such tattooing and traveling to endemic areas, had a crucial role in rising of viral hepatitis frequency in Ahvaz city.
These results document the prevalence of circulating viral hepatitis in Ahvaz city and may draw attention to the necessity for a comprehensive program to control viral hepatitis in this region.

The importance of Candida albicans as the most common cause of fungal infections in humans is undeniable. Genotyping methods have been developed as useful tools to differentiate between fungal strains isolated from various infections. Several molecular typing methods have been described for C. albicans, and fragment length analysis of microsatellites called microsatellite fragment length polymorphism (MLP) is one of the most accurate genotyping methods.
The present study aimed at evaluating the genetic diversity and genetic relationships among C. albicans isolates recovered from HIV-positive patients with oral candidiasis in Iran using MLP.
We analyzed 30 isolates of C. albicans obtained from HIV-positive patients in Tehran. Genotypes of C. albicans isolates associated with oropharyngeal candidiasis were determined using microsatellite length polymorphism analysis. Three loci including EF3, CDC3, and HIS3 were amplified using multiplex PCR. After amplification, the product was run on an automated single-capillary genetic analyzer, and band sizes (known as alleles) were calculated with gene scan mapper.
PCR MLP typing of the 30 isolates under study yielded 27 different profiles, and the discriminatory power index was obtained as 0.993. Ten alleles and 18 different combinations were detected for the EF3 gene, 7 alleles and 18 combinations for the EF3 gene, and 10 alleles and 14 combinations for the HIS3 gene. Only 2 isolates were homozygous in all the 3 loci. To identify the origin of superficial infections in 6 patients, C. albicans isolates from the superficial as well as oral samples were simultaneously genotyped. Results showed the identity of genotypes in 4 of these patients. For 1 patient, the C. albicans genotype of the nails was different from the genotype observed in the oral cavity, which raised the possibility of an exogenous source for the superficial infection. Also, there were changes at only 1 or 2 alleles, which represented microevolution in some isolates.
The high variation of genotypes throughout the population of C. albicans suggested that the microsatellite fragment length polymorphism using multiplex PCR-based system provided high-speed genotyping, indicating its usefulness in molecular epidemiological evaluation.