International Journal of Infection
Volume:7 Issue: 2, Apr 2020

Tuberculosis is an infection caused by bacillus-type bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), primarily affecting the lungs in countless individuals on a daily basis. Healthcare professionals are the most significantly affected group by this infection, especially at the points where healthcare is provided to infected individuals. In order to protect healthcare professionals from tuberculosis, it is very important to eliminate the lack of knowledge and to provide the necessary personal protective equipment. In this context, there are important tasks for both healthcare system managers and employees for protection from tuberculosis. Specifically, there are administrative, environmental, and respiratory tract measures.

Toxoplasmosis is a serious infection, especially among the immune-compromised people such as HIV/AIDS patients.

This study assessed the seroprevalence and associated risk factors of toxoplasmosis among HIV patients and healthy volunteers or immuno-competent persons (IP) in Port Harcourt.

A total of 400 (200 per group) randomly-selected sera were tested for IgG and IgM T. gondii antibodies using ELISA technique. CD4 cell counts were also determined. Demographic and risk factors were determined using a well-structured questionnaire.

Overall seroprevalence for HIV and IP using IgG and IgM toxoplasma antibodies was 36.0%, 21.5%, and 1.5%, 7.0%, respectively. The age group f 40 years and above had the highest seroprevalence of 25.3% among the HIV positive persons, while the age groups 25 - 29 years had the highest seroprevalence of 20.0% among the IP. Traders’ positive with HIV had the highest seroprevalence of 30.0% and 0.9% for IgG and IgM toxoplasma antibodies, respectively. HIV subjects with a secondary education showed the highest seroprevalence of 20.0%. More HIV positive females were infected with toxoplasmosis 18.5%. In all, 6.7% (P > 0.05) of the seropositive patients had CD4 cell counts of less than 200 cells/µL, indicating no correlation between seroprevalence and CD4 cell counts of HIV/AIDS patients. Risk factors in this study included the history of living with pets, farming and eating improperly-washed fruits and vegetables.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis was high among HIV patients in Port Harcourt. It is suggested that the institutions included the Toxoplasmosis test as one of the routine tests for HIV patients.

Plasmodium is efficiently transmitted majorly by female Anopheline mosquitoes: Anopheles funestus and Anopheles gambiae sensus lato. A gap exists with respect to primary vector control strategies; indoor residual spray requires expertise while long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) cover early night sleepers.

To cover the time between dinner and bedtime, there are commercial insecticidal paints for control of the malaria vector. It is important to monitor the efficacy of such paints. Therefore, this study was geared toward assessing the efficacy of insecticidal paint and monitoring the potency of insecticide in the paint over time.

Four rooms were painted with an insecticidal paint, and another four rooms were painted with a non-insecticidal paint. Pyrethroid Spray Catch (PSC) was performed before the rooms were painted. Anopheles mosquito larvae collected from a breeding site were reared to adults in an insectary. Twenty-five-day-old non-blood fed female mosquitoes were exposed to the painted walls using a polyvinyl chloride cone. The knock-down of mosquitoes was monitored for 30 minutes. Mortality was decided by the inability of mosquitoes to move their legs or wings after 24 hours in the holding cup. A total of 11,520 mosquitoes were used for the study.

Five mosquitoes were collected from PSC prior to painting, and none were caught post painting. A 100% knock-down rate was observed for wild mosquitoes in the first two months of exposure. The efficacy of the paint decreased in the third month, with a knock-down rate of 92.5% in 10 minutes. Moreover, the knock-down rate was not significantly different (P > 0.05) between the Kisumu and wild strains. Although the knock-down duration increased over time, none of the exposed mosquitoes survived. Hence, the paint is considered effective in malaria control.

Genital tract infection is one of the main causes of male infertility. The increasing frequency of drug resistance and side effects of antibiotics have urged researchers to seek alternative sources of antimicrobial agents, such as medicinal herbs, for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections.

The present study aimed to determine the frequency of potentially pathogenic microorganisms in the semen of infertile men and investigate the antimicrobial activity of Silybum marianum extract against the isolates.

Semen samples were collected from 96 infertile men who referred to the Pasteur Laboratory in Gorgan, Iran. Semen samples were first analyzed according to the World Health Organization guidelines and then underwent microbiological tests to identify pathogens. Antimicrobial susceptibility to S. marianum extract was evaluated using the disk diffusion (Kirby-Bauer) method. Moreover, the active components of the extract were identified by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique.

In the semen analysis, 64% of the samples had problems in the parameters of sperm count, motility, and morphology. In addition, the bacterial contamination was observed in 36% of semen samples. The most and the least common isolates were Staphylococcus aureus (45%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (11%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (11%), respectively. In Gram-positive isolates, S. aureus was mostly resistant to azithromycin (57%). In Gram-negative isolates, Escherichia coli was mostly resistant to gentamicin (37%). The inhibitory activity of S. marianum flower extract was significantly higher than that of S. marianum leaf extract (P < 0.01). Silybin (2.64%) and silychristin (3.07%) were the most abundant constituents of S. marianum flower extract.

Bacterial infections play an important role in male infertility and S. marianum extract after purification can be potentially used for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant genital tract infections.

Linum usitatissimum Seed Essential Oil (LSEO) as an efficient antimicrobial compound contains various types of phytochemicals, such as lignans and phenols.

In the current study, we produced LSEO nanoemulsion (LSEO-NE) to study its antioxidant capacity and bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus.

The LSEO-NE was produced using the ultrasonication method and characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Then, we measured its antioxidant activity utilizing both ABTS and DPPH tests at four different LSEO-NE concentrations (200, 600, 800, and 1000 µg/mL) compared to glutathione. Finally, we evaluated its bactericidal activity on S. aureus by studying Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST) using LSEO-NE-smeared discs compared to non-smeared and kanamycin discs.

The 67.3 nm droplets of LSEO-NE with PDI of 0.452 exhibited strong antioxidant activity, similar to glutathione, in both ABTS (IC50 = 350 µg/mL) and DPPH (IC50 = 235 µg/mL) tests. Moreover, the AST results revealed the significant sensitivity of S. aureus to LSEO-NE-smeared discs when compared to non-smeared and kanamycin discs.

According to the results, LSEO-NE can be applied as a safe, natural, and effective antibiotic for bacterial infections caused by S. aureus in most organs, such as the respiratory system and skin. However, further in vivo studies are required to evaluate the LSEO-NE antibacterial efficiency against other pathogenic S. aureus strains.

The resistance of microorganisms to conventional antibiotics has prompted researchers to produce new antimicrobial compounds. Antimicrobial peptides can be alternatives to chemical antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides are produced approximately by all living organisms to fight infection. Lactoferrin is an iron glycoprotein that plays an important role in the immune system. Lactoferricin and lactoferrampine have stronger antimicrobial activities than lactoferrin. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of a combination of chimeric bovine lactoferricin and lactoferrampine on microorganisms including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Enterococcus faecalis, and Listeria monocytogenes, as well as plant pathogens including Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, Pseudomonas viridiflava, Xanthomonas translucens, Xanthomonas perforans, Erwinia amylovora, Pectobacterium carotovorum, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The results showed that chimeric bovine lactoferrin had a good inhibitory effect against pathogenic microorganisms and plant pathogens. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) for pathogenic microorganisms Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes were 7.562 µg/mL and 15.125 µg/mL, respectively, which showed the highest sensitivity to chimeric bovine lactoferrin. The MIC and MBC for plant pathogens were 0.497 µg/mL and 0.997 µg/mL, respectively, which were related to Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae and it showed the highest sensitivity to chimeric bovine lactoferrin.

Lemierre’s syndrome is an uncommon, life-threatening disease that develops as a severe complication of oropharyngeal infection. However, this syndrome has also been reported during anaerobic septicemia, originating from diverse sources of infection, such as the gastrointestinal system. The diagnosis of this syndrome remains challenging, and is often prompted by the detection of Fusobacterium necrophorum in blood culture, rather than with clinical signs or symptoms.

A previously healthy 38-year-old woman was hospitalized for a 6-day history of fever, watery diarrhea, and vomiting. Physical examination of the patient showed fever, pharyngitis, and diffuse abdominal tenderness. Laboratory investigations revealed elevated inflammatory markers, and two blood cultures revealed Fusobacterium necrophorum. An abdominal ultrasound showed a liver abscess and hepatic vein thrombosis. The thoracoabdominal and cerebral computed tomography scan confirmed the results of the abdominal ultrasound. It additionally revealed bilateral lung nodules and a parietal brain abscess. The patient’s general condition and her laboratory test results, improved after receiving treatment with ceftriaxone and metronidazole. She received antibiotics for three months, without anticoagulation therapy. Repeated computed tomography scans showed a resolution of the liver, pulmonary, and brain abscesses, as well as the recanalization of the hepatic vein.

Lemierre’s syndrome emerges as a result of septic illness and liver abscesses in case of gastrointestinal symptoms despite the lack of common presentation.