Avicenna Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infection
Volume:9 Issue: 3, Sep 2022

The emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis tuberculosis (MDR-TB) poses a significant danger to Nigeria’s TB control efforts. Nigeria records 570000 new TB cases each year, and it is one of the world’s greatest TB-burden countries as well as one of the top ten countries with MDR-TB. This study aimed to determine the MDR prevalence, phylogenetic analysis, and molecular mapping as well as the link between MDR prevalence and demographic data.

The study comprised 100 TB patients recruited consecutively. The proportion method on Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium was used for drug susceptibility testing. Conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used, and the rrs genes were amplified and sequenced. Multiple sequence alignment techniques were used to compare the PCR product sequences to reference sequences retrieved from GenBank.

Rifampicin (RIF) resistance was found in 29% (22.75), ethambutol resistance was found in 20% (15.75), and isoniazid (INH) resistance was found in 28% (21.75). Further, RIF and INH resistance were found in 20% (15.75) of the samples. At nucleotide position 892, four isolates (31%) contained a G-A transition, and the most prevalent mutation found in the rrs gene was S531L (80%, 12.15). The phylogenetic analysis indicated that three of the Sokoto isolates are closely linked to reference isolates from Iran, Germany, China, and Sudan in terms of geographical relatedness.

The obtained data revealed that acquired resistance is a major factor in the establishment of MDR-TB in Sokoto, which could be owing to poor adherence to medication or poor treatment of TB patients.

 Lactobacilli are among the most important known probiotic species, and efforts are underway to isolate them from various sources. The beneficial effect of probiotics on health is the main reason for their wide use in dairy products, including yogurt. This research was conducted to isolate and identify Lactobacillus species present in traditional Iranian yogurt.

 Thirty samples of traditional yogurt were collected from different regions of the Gachsaran district south of Iran. Bacterial isolations were performed according to the standard international protocols. Following successive culturing on selective media, obtaining typical colonies, and conducting microscopic examinations, five isolates were selected and analyzed for anti-microbial activities against three bacteria and two pathogenic fungi. To confirm biochemical results, three bacterial isolates were selected for molecular analysis and identified by 16S rRNA sequencing.

 Lactobacillus paracasei JCM1171 with 1384 nucleotides and Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. Plantarum.A1 with 1380 nucleotides were isolated based on investigations. The most anti-microbial activities were related to strain A, and the least effects belonged to strain X3. Moreover, among the applied pathogenic microorganisms, Staphylococcus aureus and the fungus, Aspergillus niger had the highest sensitivity.

 Probiotic bacteria have highly beneficial effects on the host, and their mechanism of action is through functions such as the production of bioactive compounds. In addition to dairy products, this bacterium has the potential to be isolated from non-dairy products and even plant products, and this issue can be an idea to isolate this bacterium from other sources and even identify new species with probiotic potential.

Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogenic bacterium that forms biofilms on biotic and abiotic surfaces. Biofilm formation is important for researchers because it increases the risk of food contamination in the food industry, increases the pathogenicity of bacteria, and damages the equipment. The main purpose of this study was to find out the antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties of Oliveria decumbens essential oil (Od-EO) against Staphylococcus aureus.

In this study, the antibacterial and anti-biofilm properties of Od-EO were tested against four strong biofilm producers. S. aureus isolates were obtained from food and humans. The antibacterial properties of Od-EO on planktonic S. aureus were investigated using the disk diffusion method; further, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined. The microtiter plate (MTP) method and slime production evaluation were used to assess the inhibitory effect of Od-EO on S. aureus biofilm formation.

Od-EO indicated strong antimicrobial activity against planktonic S. aureus. After performing tests related to the anti-biofilm activity of Od-EO, it was found that Od-EO significantly reduced slime production and thus inhibited biofilm formation.

Od-EO and its components can be used as a new anti-biofilm agent in medical, dental, and food industry equipment.

Chemokines, cytokines, and their related molecules play crucial roles in the fight against the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and its related complications. Royal jelly (RJ) is considered an immunomodulatory factor for humans. This clinical trial study aimed to explore the RJ effects on the relative expression of CCL2, CCL3, CCL8, IFN-β, NANOG, OCT4, BAX, and MAVS in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.

The CHB patients were under one month of RJ treatment, 1 g/d. The relative expressions of CCL2, CCL3, CCL8, IFN-β, NANOG, OCT4, BAX, and MAVS were evaluated using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique.

RJ feeding significantly increased the expression of BAX in the peripheral blood immune cells of CHB patients. However, relative expressions of CCL2, CCL3, CCL8, IFN-β, NANOG, OCT4, and MAVS were not altered following RJ feeding.

RJ can modulate immune responses via induction of homeostasis in the peripheral blood immune cells of CHB patients. Reduced inflammation following RJ feeding may be a result of homeostasis in the peripheral blood immune cells.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) remains a major health threatening disease in Iran and many countries around the world. Antimony compounds are currently used to treat CL. Due to the side effects and high resistance, the use of alternative therapies, especially the use of nanoparticles, has been considered by researchers. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-leishmanial activity of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) on Leishmania major in vitro.

In this experimental study, the anti-leishmanial activity of the SeNPs was evaluated at concentrations of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 µg/mL at exposure times of 24, 48, and 72 hours on 106 live parasites. Then, the number of live parasites was counted by trypan blue using a neobar slide and light microscope (Hemocytometer method). Glucantime and distilled water were considered positive and negative controls, respectively. Then, 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were calculated by SigmaPlot™ 13 software. All reactions were performed in triplicate, and the results were considered as average.

The results of this study revealed that all concentrations of SeNPs have anti-leishmanial activity. The concentration of 100 µg/mL of SeNPs had the highest anti-leishmanial effect (100%) after 72 hours of exposure. Further, the IC50 content of SeNPs on L. major after 24, 48, and 72 hours was calculated to be 42.76, 34.53, and 22.69 µg/mL, respectively.

The results indicated that SeNPs in different concentrations has an inhibitory effect on the growth of L. major. However, further investigations are required to determine the efficacy of SeNPs in vivo.

Viral gastroenteritis infection, a prevalent condition in adolescents and children, is still a rigid and serious problem among humans. This disease is responsible for up to three million fatalities nationwide. noroviruses, rotaviruses, astroviruses, adenoviruses, and sapoviruses are the most common and well-known pathogens associated with viral gastroenteritis agents. In this systematic review, we extracted all original articles and data on viral gastroenteritis that were performed on the Iranian pediatric population.

To investigate the viral agent pathogens of gastroenteritis in Iran, 48 articles on the identification of viral gastroenteritis were gathered from the existing data. Viral gastroenteritis was detected in fourteen provinces, including the southern and northern parts of Iran. The seasonal distribution in Iran was analyzed as well. Finally, all the data from 1978-2021, along with their detailed information, were summarized, including the number of patients, the number of positive cases, applied technics, and the region of the studied cases in Iran.

Based on the results, most of the viral detection was associated with Rotavirus, the major pathogen responsible for gastroenteritis disease, followed by Adenovirus, Norovirus, Parechovirus, Bocavirus, Astrovirus, Aichivirus, Sapovirus, and three case reports of SARS-CoV-2 that were associated with viral gastroenteritis.

Different studies conducted over Iran, including the northern, southern, and central regions, were obtained based on the data. Most studies had been merely dedicated to rotavirus, which had the highest prevalence of all other viral gastroenteritis. Our review clearly demonstrated that Rotavirus genotype G1P [8] is the dominating sereotype among the other studied gastroenteritis viral agents in Iran in which the most frequency rate was during the winter (44.26%), while the least frequency rate was observed during summer (8.96%).