Background: Meningoencephalitic listeriosis is a significant disease affecting goats and sheep, with potential implications for public health. This study aimed to investigate and report the occurrence, clinical manifestation, laboratory findings, and further understanding of neurolisteriosis in the goat and sheep populations in Tehran, Qazvin, and Kurdistan provinces of Iran.

Methods: From 2018 to 2021, a program was implemented to monitor multiple flocks for meningoencephalitic listeriosis. Clinical manifestations of animals that showed suspected neurological signs of listeriosis (19 animals) were recorded, and necropsies were performed. Sampling of the brain tissue of infected animals was done. The specimens underwent a 'cold-enrichment' procedure, and subsequent culture and biochemical tests were conducted to confirm the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Results: According to the clinical and bacteriological findings, 19 animals were diagnosed with neurolisteriosis. The affected animals exhibited various signs of the disease, including head deviation, head tilt, head pressing, mouthfuls, walking in circles, drooping of the ear, and unilateral hypalgesia. L. monocytogenes was isolated from brain samples of 11 animals.

Conclusion: The study revealed potential indications of meningoencephalitic listeriosis in certain breeds of goats and sheep. Recognizing these typical signs can contribute to early detection, diagnosis, and proper management of listeriosis cases, improving welfare and health outcomes for affected animals. The results underscore the importance of strengthened disease surveillance, prevention, and control strategies.

Background:   In 2019, the first cases of an acute respiratory infectious disease were announced in the city of Wuhan, China. In places where the speed of transmission and the resulting high prevalence and death from this virus is high, it is important to find things that help prevent and reduce the symptoms and complications of the disease, one of these things. Things are serum levels of vitamin D. As a result of this study, serum levels of vitamin D were measured in patients with Covid-19.

Methods:   From December to March of 1400, 100 samples of people hospitalized in Khurshid laboratory were examined to identify the RNA of the Covid-19 virus by Real Time PCR method and at the same time to check the serum levels of vitamin D. The data was statistically analyzed using SPSS software.

Results:   The average age of the patients was between 12.45 and 40.8 years. Comparison the two Covid-19 positive and negative groups in terms of symptoms, it was found that the patients with RH positive had more positive PCR percentage and a significant difference was reported between RH positive and Covid-19 (p=0.006). In comparing the relationship between disease symptoms and the rate of PCR positive reports of gastrointestinal symptoms, history of significant disease, cough, fever, a significant difference was reported (p<0.001). Also, 50% of the samples were PCR positive. Based on the t-test, a significant difference was reported between the serum levels of vitamin D and  Covid-19 (p<0.001).

Conclusion:   The results showed that the vitamin D is an acceptable protective factor against  Covid-19 infection and its deficiency increases the probability of infection.

Background:   Chlamydia trachomatis is the commonest cause of bacterial sexually transmitted infections. This research aimed at scrutinizing the Chlamydia trachomatis screening tests with vaginal samples and at investigating the correlation between Chlamydia trachomatis infection and the abortion incidence.

Methods:    The current Cross sectional study was done at gynecology clinic of Razi Hospital in Chalus, Iran between August 2017 and January 2018. Fifty vaginal swabs were collected and detecting C. trachomatis DNA was done. Chi-square test and Independent t-test compared the variables. P <0.001 was significant.

Results:    The total C. trachomatis infection prevalence was 5(10%) in endocervical swabs. A significant difference was found between duration of sexual activity and Chlamydia infection. No significant difference was detected between detection of Chlamydia l and abnormal vaginal discharged.

Conclusion:    Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infection of the women experiencing a miscarriage should be done and, if positive, they should be treated to inhibit recurrent miscarriages.

Background: ABO blood types are not known to cause diseases directly, but they can be vulnerable and surrender to diseases and health problems. This study aimed to evaluate the susceptibility to COVID-19 in individuals with different blood groups at different ages.

Methods: An electronic health record was used in this retrospective cohort study at Shahid Beheshti Hospital. We studied 858 patients who were referred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital, we identified 434 of them as COVID-19 patients using RT-PCR. An analysis of the electronic record involved collecting retrospective laboratory data and demographic information, including age, sex, and blood type. Next, we examined the differences between the ABO blood groups of COVID-19 patients and the control group (1991 case). We used SPSS26 for statistical computations. Data were scrutinizeed with the χ2 test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically outstanding.

Results: Based on the distribution of ABO blood groups in 434 COVID-19 patients, it was revealed that 288 of them were male and 146 were female, and the majority of them were in their third decade of life. A total of 159 patients (36.6%) had type B blood, 116 had type A (26.7%), 109 had type O (25.1%), and 50 had type AB (11.5%). COVID-19 patients had a higher percentage of type B and AB blood than the control group.

Conclusion: Our study found that the frequency ratio of blood group B was remarkably higher in patients than in the control group, which indicates that the blood group B may play a pivotal role in COVID-19  disease.

Background:   Since HCV virus is the primary cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer, prompt diagnosis and timely treatment of this disease can prevent many complications. Due to the importance and necessity of this study, it aims to comparatively evaluate RT-PCR and ELISA methods in order to detect the presence of HCV infection in patients admitted to Baghiyatallah Hospital.

Methods:   Sera of 49 patients admitted to Baghiyatallah Hospital since September, 2019 to August, 2020, were tested for RNA detection of HCV virus using RT-PCR and for the presence of anti-HCV antibody at the same time.

Results:   In this study, the mean age of patients was approximately 38.3+6.3. The percentage of positive cases of HCV virus in the studied patients according to ELISA test and PCR test were 28.6% and 20.4%, respectively. Percentage of HCV positive cases had p = 0.001 based on PCR and ELISA tests by age group, number of sexual partners, history previous HCV infection, liver cirrhosis, addiction and treatment of previous HCV infection which was significantly different; However, it was not significant in terms of gender (p = 0.5232). According to Kappa coefficient, the percentage of agreement is 91.8 in both methods which indicates that the two models are consistent (P = 0.001) and the diagnostic value of ELISA versus PCR with sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 89.7%, respectively.

Conclusion:   ELISA susceptibility to anti-HCV antibody is more than 99%, but its specificity is low compared to RT-PCR method. On the other hand, these tests show only hepatitis C affection and does not distinguish between chronic acute or improved infection. It is not able to detect patients in the window phase, so the simultaneous application of ELISA and molecular methods is recommended to diagnose and follow the treatment of HCV virus.

Background: Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the most common cause of urinary tract infection in humans including cystitis and pyelonephritis. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in UPEC is one of the global public challenges that is due to prevalent use of antibiotics in healthcare setting.  Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the frequency and antibiotic resistance pattern of UPEC isolated from patients admitted to Modares Hospital in Saveh, Iran.

Methods& Materials: In this study, in total 633 isolates were evaluated. UPEC isolates were obtained from patients with urinary tract infection and identified using conventional microbiological protocols. Antibiotic resistance pattern of UPEC against different antibiotic were determined using disk diffusion method. SPSSTM software was used for statistical analysis.

Results: In this study, the most sample was related to outpatients and the lowest sample was related to the CCU wards.  The highest antibiotic resistance showed against cephalothin (63.8%) and nalidixic acid (62.2%) antibiotics. The highest effective antibiotics for the tested UPEC was nitrofurantoin (90.7%) and gentamicin (77.3%). Cephalothin and nalidixic acid in hospitalized patients in ICU and emergency wards, respectively, showed the highest antibiotic resistance. Out of 633 UPEC, the rate of Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) isolates were 343 (54.2%).

Conclusion: The result of this study highlighted the role of UPEC as one of the important cause of UTI in individuals. Also, nitrofurantoin then gentamicin are the most effective antibiotics against UPEC infections. Logical prescription of antibiotics and infection control strategies are needed for prevention and control of nosocomial infections especially urinary tract infection.

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Background:   This article examines the possible correlation between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and alopecia areata, a condition characterized by hair loss. Despite H. pylori's conventional association with gastrointestinal problems, recent investigations have explored its potential links to autoimmune disorders, including alopecia areata. Early research suggested a higher prevalence of H. pylori in alopecia patients, but subsequent studies presented conflicting findings. Some studies measured H. pylori surface antigen (HpSag) in stool samples, yielding diverse outcomes. Another study used the urea breath test (UBT) and found a significant association between H. pylori and alopecia areata. A unique case demonstrated symptom control and disease remission following H. pylori eradication. However, the article highlights the inconclusive nature of existing research, the limitations of study designs and the absence of post-eradication data on alopecia symptoms.

Conclusion:   The need for more advanced studies is emphasized, along with the importance of exploring therapeutic implications. The article concludes that while intriguing, the potential link between H. pylori and alopecia areata requires more comprehensive research, especially in diverse demographic groups, to gain a better understanding of its universality and broader implications.