International Journal of Enteric Pathogens
Volume:9 Issue: 2, May 2021

Glioma is a type of the primary tumors that progresses in the spinal cord and brain. Probiotics have probably a protective impact against the disease, especially when treated as a microbial flora in the gut.

Given the effective role of microbiota in body function, this study aimed to investigate the frequency of Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Enterococcus faecalis in patients suffering from glioma compared to healthy subjects.

To achieve our study objectives, 20 patients with glioma tumors as well as 20 healthy individuals were enrolled. Stool samples were taken from the subjects and stored at minus 20 degrees after processing. Real-Time PCR technique was employed to assess the change in the copy number of L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, and E. faecalis in patients with glioma in comparison to healthy individuals.

The results showed significant difference between the population of L. plantarum in the patients and healthy individuals (P=0.0004). The patients with glioma were in the 35-60 age range and the mean age of healthy individuals was 45 years (P=0.48).

It was concluded that L. plantarum had potential for tumor induction.

Leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases, which is caused by a Spiral shaped bacterium called Leptospira. The recommended diagnosis method is to perform microscopic agglutination test (MAT) which is both hazardous, due to using live bacteria, and time-consuming. As a result, many attempts have been recently made to develop other serological methods, such as ELISA.

This study aimed to develop an indirect ELISA method using leptospiral whole antigens for diagnosing pathogenic Leptospira.

In this study, four pathogenic serovars of Leptospira were used and cultured in selective culture medium. The cultured bacteria were sonicated and the extracted antigens were used as captured antigen in ELISA method. A total of 74 samples from bovine suspected to leptospirosis and 43 samples from healthy animals were examined by MAT method.

According to the study results, 42 samples (56.7%) out of 74 suspected ones were found positive while 32 ones (43.2%) were determined negative by MAT analysis. All of the 43 negative control samples were found negative after performing MAT. The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA, compared to those of MAT, were measured as 87.5% and 84.2%, respectively.

Taking into account the high sensitivity and appropriate specificity of the developed indirect ELISA method, it was recommended that ELISA be employed as an accurate method for early and rapid diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis

Candida albicans is an organism most often associated with serious fungal infection, which has recently shown an increased resistance to commercial antifungal agents. As a result, using medicinal plants as an alternative method to address health problems has received a particular attention in developing countries.

This study aimed to examine the anti-Candidial potential of the extracts from Zataria multiflora Boiss (ZMB), Stachys acerosa Boiss (SAB), Prangos ferulacea (L.) Lindl (PFL), Tanacetum parthenium L. (TAPL), Teucrium polium L. (TEPL), and Cinnamomum zeylanicum L. (CZL) against three strains of Candida, including C. albicans, C. glabrata, and C. tropicalis.

To this end, several tests were performed to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) against Candida species, using the agar well diffusion method (AWDM).

According to our study results, the hydroethanolic extracts of six medicinal plants exhibited anti-Candidial activities. The extracts of ZMB, SAB, and CZL demonstrated strong antiCandidial activities, while the hydroethanolic extracts of PFL, TAPL, and TEPL revealed moderate anti-Candidial activities at any of the tested concentrations. The highest inhibitory activity (ZOI: 38 mm) was recorded for the effect of CZL on C. albicans with MIC=1.56 mg/mL, and the lowest anti-Candidial one (ZOI: 8 mm) was documented for the effect of T. parthenium on C. albicans with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)=50 mg/mL.

The ascending sequence of fungicidal growth inhibition zones was as follows: C. zeylanicum>Z. multiflora>S. acerosa>T. polium>T. parthenium and P. ferulacea.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that occurs in subtropical and tropical regions with approximately 350 million people worldwide and 2 million new cases annually. The annual increase in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is observed, especially in endemic areas such as Iran. Since there is no effective vaccine, the detection of natural anti-leishmanial products is essential.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro anti-leishmanial activity of two herbal medicine including Artemisia dracunculus L. and Heracleum persicum Desf. (Golpar).

The extracts of selected plants were obtained by maceration, and in vitro anti-leishmanial activity was assayed on Leishmania major and Leishmania infantum promastigotes using colorimetric MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay in comparison with glucantime as a reference.

Based on the results, 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of selected plants and glucantime solutions were determined at 24, 48, and 72 hours incubation. Further, the antileishmanial activity of the leaf extract of A. dracunculus with IC50 values of 1.85 and 3.5 µg/mL and the fruit extract of H. persicum with values of 31.32 and 11.7 µg/mL were evaluated against L. major and L. infantum promastigotes, respectively.

These results revealed anti-leishmania properties of the above-mentioned plants and the need to study the effects of these extracts on the Leishmania genus in animal models and in vivo assay in the future.

One of the common clinical manifestations of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis is tuberculous meningitis (TBM). New methods, which are simple and effective, are necessary for early diagnosis of TBM.

This study aimed to assess the use of fluorescence microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques targeting pncA and IS6110. PCR is a fast and reliable technique for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), particularly in paucibacillary specimens such as smear-negative sputum for diagnosing patients with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The pncA and IS6110 multiplex-PCR methods were applied to analyze sputum using a specific pair of primers designed to amplify the insertion sequence, pncA, and IS6110 in the M. tuberculosis genome. A total of 200 sputum samples were collected from patients with TB. Out of 200 patients, 54.0% (n=108) and 46.0% (n=92) were males and females at Fatima Jinnah General and Chest Hospital, Quetta, respectively.

M. tuberculosis was detected as 15 (16.3%) and 18 (16.7%) for pncA and IS6110 using PCR and fluorescence microscopy, respectively. M. tuberculosis DNA detected by PCR and smear-negative fluorescence microscopy was 16.50% (n=33) and 14.70% (n=18), respectively. In other words, PCR assay detected the increased prevalence of M. tuberculosis. Risk factors revealed high exposure to receiving TB infection which was associated with urban areas (OR=1.07, 95% CI: 0.34–3.35), TB in family (OR=1.22, 95% CI: 0.38-3.88), over crowdedness (OR=2.93, 95% CI: 0.37-23.7), malnutrition (OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 0.52-3.74), and rural areas (OR: 1.54, 95% CI: 0.72-3.31).

A wide range of molecular assays are now being developed and reviewed for detecting TB. We conclude that the use of pncA and IS6110 PCR assays is beneficial in the quick diagnosis of TB meningitis.

The pandemic of the novel human coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has become an evolving global health issue due to the high morbidity and mortality rate. Patients who have comorbidities (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular disease) are significantly at increased risk for admission into the intensive care unit, and this situation could affect the survival of the infected patients. Among the various comorbidities in this review, we focused on the diabetic patients who were highly affected because of increased viral entry into the cell via angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the respiratory system, leading to decreased immunity. Furthermore, several studies have been conducted on the beneficial effects of metformin in diabetic patients with COVID-19, but other studies have demonstrated the severe course of COVID-19 disease. Hence, further comprehensive studies are necessary in this regard. For these reasons, the prevention and management of COVID-19 in diabetic patients are essential and play a key role in reducing the fatality rate.

Since the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic, different cases with various diseases have been reported along with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although COVID-19 is less common among children than adults, herein we reported an 11-year-old child who was referred to the emergency room of our hospital with tachypnea and a decreased level of consciousness (GCS: 11-15), along with vomiting and abdominal pain as the first manifestations of type 1 diabetes. She had a 2-week history of polydipsia, polyuria, and nocturia and experienced a weight loss of 5kg during the past month. The result of the real-time polymerase chain reaction for COVID-19 was turned out to be positive. The computed tomography scan of the lung revealed subpleural ground-glass opacities that were compatible with COVID-19. Although it was found that diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is precipitated by various viral infections, it informs us once again that during this pandemic, there should be a high suspicion and awareness of COVID-19 infection in patients with DKA.