International Journal of Enteric Pathogens
Volume:10 Issue: 4, Nov 2022

 Enterococci bacteria are part of the intestinal microbial flora of humans and animals. However, the widespread use of antibiotics causes antibiotic resistance among these bacteria, making it necessary to identify effective antimicrobial agents against them.

 This study aimed to investigate the phenotypic prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in the clinical samples of patients admitted to Beheshti hospital in Kashan.

 This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 110 enterococci isolated from the clinical samples of hospitalized patients during 2017-2018. Vancomycin-resistant cases were identified and recorded after recording clinical and demographic information. Finally, the groups were statistically compared using chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests.

 The present study findings demonstrated that the prevalence of VRE was 37.3%. There was a significant association between the prevalence of VRE and older age, diabetes, history of antibiotic use, and more extended hospital stays. Conversely, no significant relationship was found between VRE prevalence and gender, blood pressure, heart disease, year of sampling, and type of clinical sample.

 Overall, the incidence of vancomycin resistance in enterococci is increasing, which can be reduced by identifying effective antimicrobial agents and providing appropriate training to the medical staff and the general public.

 Patients with cancer is considered highly susceptible group to both nosocomial and community-acquired infections.

 In the present research, we aimed to determine the rate of nasal and oral colonization and expression level of Als3p and mecA genes among Candida spp. and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in co-colonization and single colonization conditions.

 In total, 110 oral swab samples and 110 nasal swab samples were gathered from patients with lung cancer. The frequency of MRSA isolates (oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) was determined using the disk diffusion method. In addition, the frequency and expression levels of Als3p and mecA genes among MRSA and Candida spp. isolates were determined and compared using PCR and qRT-PCR methods, respectively.

 Candida spp. and S. aureus were found in 42.7% (n=47/110), and 9.1% (n=10/110) of oral samples, respectively, while Candida spp. and S. aureus were found in 5.5% (n=6/110) and 16.4% (n=18/110) of nasal samples, respectively. Additionally, 55.5% (n=10/18) of S. aureus isolates obtained from nasal samples were MRSA. Candida albicans (n=23/110; 20.9%) had the highest frequency among Candida species. In all MRSA and Candida spp. isolates, the Als3p and mecA gene expression increased two and three times in co-colonization condition compared to single colonization condition, respectively.

 The present study revealed that co-colonization has a synergistic effect on the expression level of mecA and Als3p genes. Our finding suggested that co-colonization can facilitate the invasion of S. aureus and leads to systemic and severe infections in co-colonized patients.

 Blastocystis is an anaerobic gastrointestinal protozoan that causes infections in humans and a wide range of animals. It was found that the host specificity and the pathogenic potential of different isolates are correlated with sequence variations in the SSU-rRNA gene. The identification of the organism at the species level is still an unclear challenge. The use of natural nature substances against infectious organisms has been promising, and the optimization of these substances in the direction of better delivery such as the form of nanoparticles (NPs) of natural substances has recently been considered.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of silver, chitosan, and curcumin NPs on Blastocystis spp. and compare it with metronidazole in vitro conditions.

 The parasite was cultivated in Robinson’s medium and was then identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the subtype of the parasite was determined, which was subtype 3. Then, the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) test was performed to determine the toxicity level of the prepared drugs/substances using Caco2 cells. This study investigated the concentrations of silver NPs (10, 25, and 50 µg/mL), chitosan (75, 50, 25, and 12.5 µg/mL), and curcumin (250, 500, and 1000 µg/mL), and their effect on 24- and 48-hour time points after exposure to the parasite. Then, the final number of parasites was counted after staining with trypan blue by a Neubauer slide, and the values of IC50 and selectivity index (SI) were calculated for each substance.

 Chitosan and curcumin NPs had SI of 2.04 and 13.15, respectively, which were more effective than metronidazole, and silver NP was 0.143. However, chitosan NP had the best antiparasitic effect. Based on the obtained results, chitosan and curcumin NPs were more effective against blastocystis than against metronidazole.

 Chitosan and curcumin NPs (liposomal curcumin) have a good inhibitory effect on blastocystis compared to metronidazole, but silver NP did not perform better than metronidazole.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused the outbreak of viral pneumonia in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It is principally identified with respiratory disease and pulmonary manifestations. However, based on various reports, COVID-19 infection not only affects the respiratory system but also infects other organs. Cardiac manifestations, gastrointestinal complications, liver dysfunction, musculoskeletal disorders, ocular findings, and hematological manifestations are among the published extrapulmonary clinical manifestations. Lack of awareness and attention to these extrapulmonary features might result in misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, incorrect treatment, and eventually an increase in the spread of the virus by unidentified individuals to others in the community. Therefore, the current study comprehensively reviews and discusses the extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19 in mild or severe patients.

At the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, highly accurate information about the clinical manifestations of the disease was not available, and the reported symptoms were non-specific and more related to respiratory symptoms such as fever, dry cough, fatigue, and sputum production. As time has passed, skin manifestations have been proposed as one of the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in some patients. Among all reported lesions, livedoid lesions appeared simultaneously with the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2, mainly in elderly people with severe infections, and were associated with the highest risk of the mortality of all skin lesions. Knowledge of the skin manifestations that may be the only symptoms of COVID-19 may help in early diagnosis and specific treatment. In the current review, the skin findings of patients in association with COVID-19 were summarized into the categories of maculopapular or morbilliform lesions, urticarial lesions, chilblain-like lesions, vesicular lesions, petechiae or purpura lesions, and livedoid lesions.

 Leishmania is an intracellular protozoan parasite that enters and reproduces in macrophage cells. Macrophages are important immune cells that phagocyte many pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, and parasites such as Leishmania spp. but are incapable of killing this parasite, living in the phagosomes of infected macrophages, multiplying, and resulting in the divesting of infected macrophages and the appearance of Leishmania lesions. Many of the present drugs for Leishmania treatment have side effects, or parasites have resistance to some of these drugs. Therefore, there is a need for a better drug for Leishmania treatment. Magnesium oxide (MgO) is a metal nanoparticle (NP) with numerous biological applications, including antioxidant and antimicrobial effects on various pathogens such as some bacteria, fungi, and parasites, including Leishmania spp.

 Accordingly, this article has discussed the effects of MgO NPs on Leishmania tropica and Leishmania infantum and Leishmania-infected macrophages.

 The effect of various doses of MgO NPs on L. tropica and L. infantum promastigotes and amastigotes was studied in vitro. Flow cytometry and MTT were also utilized to assess the cytotoxic effects of MgO on L. tropica and L. infantum promastigotes, as well as the likelihood of apoptosis. Amastigote assay was employed to determine the infected macrophage percentage, and the number of parasites present in every macrophage cell.

 The percentage of macrophages contaminated with amastigotes of L. tropica and L. infantum that were treated with MgO NPs was 15% and 11%, respectively. Flow cytometry revealed that MgO NPs induced approximately 38.56% and 30.5% apoptosis on L. tropica and Leishmania infantum, respectively. The half maximal inhibitory concentration of MgO NPs to L. tropica and L. infantum according to promastigote assay for 72 hours was 7.32 μg/mL and 12.58 μg/mL, respectively.

 According to the findings, MgO NPs had a great in-vitro fatality effect on L. tropica and L. infantum promastigotes and amastigotes (inside leishmania-infected macrophages).