pISSN: 2251-8649
eISSN: 2322-2581
Editor-in-Chief:
Dr. Mohammad Reza Pourshafie
Vol 12 No 1 (2024)
Original Articles
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Background: Infectious diarrhea in young goats is one of the most common and serious threats to the animals' health, influencing the profitability of the goat industry. Considering the need to investigate the factors involved in the occurrence of neonatal diseases, especially diarrhea, to improve livestock health and increase productivity, especially in Iran, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the bacterial agents involved in the diarrhea of Alpine and Saanen kids.
Methods: Between 1421 goats (714 Saanen and 704 Alpine) under the supervision, 254 goats (17.8%) of different ages died due to diarrhea sign. Samples from the liver, heart, and lungs were taken during the necropsy process, and bacteriological examinations were performed.
Results: Forty-four kids died of non-infectious cause. Diarrhea caused by bacterial agents (10.9%) was much more than non-infectious agents (3.1%). Significantly more so than at other ages, the bacterial agent was isolated from the age of less than 2 months. Isolated bacterial agents included Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus (12.3%), Pseudomonas (7.1%), Bacillus (11%) and Klebsiella (2.6%). E. coli was isolated frequently (63.2%) , and mostly at the age of less than 2 months. The highest rate of isolation of bacterial agents was from the heart, especially E. coli.
Conclusion: The findings of the current research showed that in Saanen and Alpine goats reared in intensive rearing systems, E. coli bacteria has a high contribution to the occurrence of digestive problems and diarrhea, which can be avoided by controlling environmental health, improvement and preventing the density of parturitions in a short time.
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Background: Considering the role of Helicobacter pylori in various diseases such as chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer and malignancies, this study was performed to evaluate the level of anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies in the serum of the population of Chalous and then its relationship with demographic characteristics.
Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in the department of Microbiology in a tertiary care teaching hospital during December 2019 to May 2021. All hospitalized patients with diarrhea, who had a history of exposure to antibiotic drugs and all patients with IBD were included in the study. Stool samples were collected from all patients with diarrhea who have been on antibiotic or anticancer drug during last 6weeks or previously diagnosed case. Patient’s demographic features and clinical details were collected from medical records.
Results: About 78% of people had IgA positive titer and about 48% had IgG positive titer. Serum IgA level in patients with bloating (P = 0.005) and in patients with nausea (P = 0.016) was statistically significant. Also, in patients studied there was a significant relationship between bloating (p = > 0.001), nausea (0.013) was seen with a serum IgG level .
Conclusion: Due to the high percentage of positive titers of anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies, especially IgA in the sample population, it seems that the follow-up of positive serological titers will help to prevent and control the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection.
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Background: This study was performed to determine the magnitude of Clostridioides difficile
infection (CDI) in a tertiary care hospital in patients with antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD) and to
study the risk factors associated with this disease.
Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in the department of Microbiology in a tertiary care
hospital during December 2019 to May 2021. Stool samples were collected from patients with signs
and symptoms of AAD who had been consuming antibiotic or anticancer drugs durng six weeks before
the sampling. The samples were subjected to C. difficile glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) enzyme and
CD toxin A & B detection by Enzyme Linked Fluorescent Assay (ELFA). Patient’s demographic
features and clinical details were noted and statistically correlated with the test results.
Results: Among the total 70 samples tested 20 (28%) were positive for GDH alone and 12 (17%) were
positive for both GDH and CD toxin A and B. Fluoroquinolones was a significant risk factor in the
study. Sepsis and colitis was found to have significant association with C.difficile infection in our study.
The crude mortality rate was 17%.
Conclusion: Prompt and precise diagnosis and knowledge about the risk factors of CDI helps in
effective management and prevention of CDI. -
Background: Urinary tract infection is the most common bacterial infection in children and adults, especially females. Among urinary tract infection caused by bacteria, Streptococcus agalactiae can cause periodic, temporary, or persistent infection in women. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of S. agalactiae isolated from urine samples in pregnant women referred to Qom hospitals, Iran.
Methods: In this descriptive study, 1264 pregnant women suspected for urinary tract infection were assessed. Midstream urine specimens collected from pregnant individuals in Ali-ibn-AbiTaleb hospital medical laboratory were passaged on blood agar media. Streptococcus agalactiae was detected using phenotype-based tests. Then, antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted using the disc diffusion method according to CLSI protocols.
Results: Out of 1264 pregnant patients, 17.64% were diagnosed with beta-hemolytic Streptococcus, and 13.37% were diagnosed with S. agalactiae. The highest rates of antibiotic resistance were found for Clindamycin and Erythromycin. In place, the lowest resistance rate was detected for Nitrofurantoin. The prevalence of resistance to Penicillin was about 33%.
Conclusion: Regarding the results of this research, it would be better to perform urine culture tests before week 34 of pregnancy and the last weeks of pregnancy. Also, our results showed that Penicillin can be replaced by alternative antibiotics before week 34 of pregnancy to prevent further S. agalactiae antibiotic resistance.
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Background: Considering the wide spread of covid-19 and its high death rate, it is very important to find a sensitive and accurate diagnostic method. Thus, this study compared two main diagnostic approaches; PCR and ELISA, to detect COVID-19.
Methods: Fifty patients admitted to Baghiyatalah Hospital were examined to detect COVID-19 RNA by Real-time PCR method, as well as for the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies by ELISA method. The results were statistically analysed by SPSS software.
Results: The mean age of patients is 38.4 years old. The percentage of positive cases of COVID-19 in the studied patients according to PCR and ELISA tests was 66% and 70%, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between positive cases of COVID-19 detected by PCR and ELISA with emerging fever, weakness, and lethargy . The diagnostic value of ELISA versus PCR showed that the sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and true positive rate were 100%, 88.2%, 8.5, and 94.29%, respectively.
Conclusion: Although the sensitivity of detection in Real-time PCR is higher than that in ELISA, there is a high agreement between the two methods when used for diagnosis of COVID-19.
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Background: This study explores the impact of Lucilia sericata maggots on the development and eradication of biofilms created by the pathogenic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Methods: We assessed the influence of Lucilia sericata maggot extract on the viability of planktonic bacteria, the formation and disruption of biofilms, bacterial metabolic activity. Also the effect of simultaneous ES-antibiotic treatment in biofilm elimination was investigated. Additionally, the expression levels of genes associated with biofilm formation, namely LasI, psLA, agrA, and icaD was studied.
Results: The results showed that ES can reduce the viability of planktonic S. aureus, significantly. Furthermore, ES of larvae fed on S. aureus-infected meat displayed the most substantial inhibition of biofilm formation (62.11% and 75.04% inhibition for S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, respectively). A similar trend was observed in biofilm destruction, with values of 56.67% and 68.50% inhibition for S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, respectively. The simultaneous application of ES of larvae that fed on S. aureus-infected meat and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of gentamicin resulted in 100% inhibition of biofilm formation by S. aureus. Notably, the group treated with ES of larvae fed on S. aureus-infected meat exhibited the most significant reduction in metabolic activity, with values of 95.03% and 68.25% for S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, respectively. The expression of LAsI and pslA genes in P. aeruginosa and the expression of agrA and icaD genes in S. aureus has decreased
Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that maggot extract has not only impacted the formation, but also eliminated the biofilms of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa.
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Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important pathogen in healthcare settings that poses significant challenges due to its ability to rapidly develop antibiotic resistance. Its propensity to form biofilms and adapt to host defenses makes it even more difficult to treat, leading to prolonged and debilitating illnesses. So, it is vital to prioritize efforts to develop new strategies for treating infections caused by this pathogen. In the present work, morphological and biological characteristics of vB_PaeS_TUMS_P6 (P6), a lytic phage against P. aeruginosa, belonging to the genus Luzseptimavirus were fully described.
Methods: P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 was used for propagation and biological characterization of P6. Its morphology was assessed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Adsorption rate assay, one-step growth curve analysis and time-kill experiment were analyzed. Host Range of P6, as well as pH and thermal stability were also determined.
Results: The results showed that it was of classic podovirus morphology and had a short latent period. It could kill bacteria at multiplicity of infection as low as 0.01 and also infect some multidrug-resistant clinical isolates. Stability data suggested that P6 remained stable in various temperatures and pH levels, which is a beneficial characteristic for phage therapy in different situations.
Conclusion: This study presents promising data supporting the future use of P6 as a candidate for phage therapy.
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Background: A. baumannii is a gram-negative pathogen that has become one of the most important challenges in the world due to its high antibiotic resistance, and today many efforts are being made to treat infections caused by it. In recent years, there have been many concerns about increasing resistance to the beta-lactam antibiotic, carbapenem. Because resistance to these antibiotics greatly narrows the treatment options for the infections. The main source of carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii is the production of class D carbapenemase enzymes.
Methods: In this study, 27 plant ligands that have been shown to have antibacterial effects against A. baumannii and other resistant bacteria were selected. The chemical structure of the ligands and the three-dimensional structure of carbapenemase OXA-58 were extracted. The requirements of oral consumption of ligands were examined and ligand and OXA-58 docking were performed. 9 ligands including baicalein, berberine, curcumin, ellagic acid, epicatechin, honokiol, magnolol, norwogonin, and thymol, which met the requirements of Rule 5 and had better binding affinity than 6-alpha- hydroxymethyl penicillanate were selected. Redocking with a focus on the active position was performed by AutoDock software.
Results: The amino acids involved in the hydrogen bonding of an antibiotic-representative ligand to the receptor were identified. Ligands that bind to at least one of these amino acids at the binding site by hydrogen bond were selected. Pharmacological and toxicity studies were performed and finally, the epicatechin ligand was introduced as the best ligand.
Conclusion: Plant ligands can be further investigated as promising antibiotic adjuvants and used in the future.
