The prevalence of Giardia intestinalis and Entamoeba histolytica/dispar in Van Regional Training and Research Hospital: A four-year monitoring

Objective: The aim of this retrospective study was to determinethe frequency rates of Giardia and E.histolytica/E.dispar and their distribution by years as well as agegroups and gender distribution during a four-year period.Materials and methods: A total of 9911 stool samplessent to our laboratory between January 2008 and December2011 were tested for parasites. Native-Lugol and formolethyl acetate sedimentation methods were utilized formicroscopic identification of Entamoeba sp. and Giardiatrophozoites and cysts in fresh stool samples. Additionally,trichrome staining was performed in stool sampleswhere the distinctive diagnosis could not be confirmed.Results: From a total of 9911 stool samples analyzedduring the study, 4.7% were positive for Giardia and 6.2%were positive for Entemoeba histolytica/ Entemoeba dispar.Of Giardia-positive patients 57% were male and 43%female. Similarly, 56% of Entemoeba histolytica/ Entemoebadispar positive patients were male and 44% werefemale. Both parasites’ higher frequency rates seen inmale groups were found statistically significant (p<0.01).Conclusion: It is seen that intestinal protozoon infectionsare still present as an important public health problemin our region. In order to prevent this problem, personalhygiene and sanitation rules education for community aswell as infrastructure improvements are necessary.Key words: Giardia, Entemoeba histolytica/ Entemoeba dispar, prevalenc

Distribution of anti-HAV IgM positivity according to age and months of a year in Van region,Turkey

Objectives: In this study we investigated the anti-HAVIgM positivity rates and their distribution according to ageand season of a year in Van region of Turkey.Materials and methods: During five-year period between2006-2010, the presence of anti-HAV IgM weredetermined in the serum samples sent to our laboratorythat have prediagnosis of hepatitis A by ELISA test, usingAxSYM (Abbott Diagnostics, Germany) and i2000SR Architect(Abbott Diagnostics, Germany) analyzers. For statisticalanalyze of Anti-HAV IgM positivity rates, patients’age and gender and time of year when specimen wasobtain were compared.Results: The presence of anti-HAV IgM was investigatedin a total of 8851 patients, including 5303 (60%) childrenand 3548 (40%) adults. Anti-HAV IgM in children and adultpatients were determined as 9.8% and 2.6%, respectively,and this difference was found statistically significant (p<0.01). Anti-HAV IgM positivity rate began to rise in August,reached the highest level in November-Decemberand decreased to the initial level in January. The highestfrequency detected during the November-December periodwas statistically significantly higher than rates foundduring other months.Conclusions: The prevalence of Hepatitis A was found tobe similar with previous studies performed in our country.The prevalence of disease was significantly increased especiallybetween November and December.Key words: Anti-HAV IgM, seasonal distribution, seroprevalence,ag

Van depreminin su-kaynaklı bazı bulaşıcı hastalıklar üzerine etkisi

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to compare the isolation frequency of some water-borne disease causing microorganisms in pediatric patients before and after Van earthquake in order to determine the potential impact of earthquake on those selected infectious diseases. Methods: The laboratory test results of Adenovirus, Rotavirus, Hepatitis A virus (HAV), Giardia intestinalis and E.histolytica/dispar which were requested from 0-14 years old children, during six months before and six months after Van earthquake which took place on 23 October 2011, were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Adenovirus, Rotavirus, Anti HAV IgM and E.histolytica/dispar showed reduction in the isolation frequency rate during the six months period after the earthquake compared with the same period of previous year. The reduction rates in the isolation frequencies of Rotavirus and E.histolytica/dispar were found to be statistically significant (p<0.001). In contrast, Giardia intestinalis isolation frequency was significantly higher in the six months period after the earthquake (<0.001). Conclusion: Disaster management programme which was conducted after Van earthquake have been shown to be effective in preventing water-borne infectious diseases. Taking special precautions against Giardia spp. after earthquakes should be kept in mind

Antibiotics resistance of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strains isolated from various clinical specimens

Background: A limited number of antibiotics are recommended for the therapy of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infections due to therapy difficulties caused by its numerous mechanisms of resistance.Objectives: In this study conducted over a period of approximately 5 years we aimed to determine resistance rates of S. maltophilia based on drug classification recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.Methods: A total of 118 S. maltophilia strains isolated from various clinical specimens between January 2006 and June 2012 were included in the study. BD Phoenixautomated microbiology system (Becton Dickinson, USA) was utilized for species level identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing.Results: Sixty seven of S. maltophilia strains were isolated from tracheal aspirate isolates, 17 from blood, 10 from sputum, 10 from wound and 14 from other clinical specimens. Levofloxacin was found to be the most effective antibiotic against S. maltophilia strains with resistance rate of 7.6%. The resistance rates to other antibiotics were as follows: chloramphenicol 18.2%, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole 20.3% and ceftazidime 72%.Conclusion: The study revealed that S. maltophilia is resistant to many antibiotics. The treatment of infections caused by S. maltophilia should be preferred primarily as levofloxacin, chloramphenicol, and TMP-SXT, respectively.Keywords: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, antibiotic, resistanc

Molecular subtyping of vancomycin resistant enterococcus: A comparison of two molecular methods

Introduction: Arbitrarily Primed-Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR) and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) are widely used genotyping methods for investigating outbreaks of infections. The aim of this research is to compare AP-PCR with PFGE, which is known as the gold standard method, and to determine if AP-PCR is suitable for use in outbreaks.Materials and methods: Between 2001 and 2009, 664 isolated vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE) strains were determined at the Bacteriology Laboratory, Department of Medical Microbiology. During nine years study 5 peak periods were identified. In each peak period of 3 months, 83 VRE strains were selected from the 664 for this research. For all isolates a comparison of AP-PCR and PFGE using 83 VRE strains was performed.Results: Enterococcus faecium was found to be the dominant species in all VRE isolated from hospitalized patients. 83 strains of E. faecium were included in the study, which were isolated from 5 different possible epidemic periods over 9 years. 15 different clonal strains were collected using the AP-PCR method and 11 using PFGE.Conclusion: AP-PCR was found to be repeatable and had a better separation power than PFGE. FPGE though is a simpler, cheaper and faster method and can be used for VRE epidemics as an alternative method. In future epidemiological outbreaks the comparative molecular methods are more reliable than a single method.Sağlık Bakanlığı. Halk Sağlığı Genel Müdürlüğ