Prevalence, risk factors, and epidemiology of food-borne botulism in Iran

Background: Botulism is a severe neuroparalytic disease caused by toxins produced by several Clostridium species. This work presents the surveillance results of botulism in Iran, with the distribution of the cases by regions and by vehicle of transmission. Methods: We describe the findings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveillance on 2037 suspected cases of food-borne botulism during 2007�2017. Results: A total of 252 (12.3) cases were confirmed to food-borne botulism. The mean annual incidence per 100,000 Iranian Natives was 7.1 cases for male individuals and 3.3 cases for female individuals. All botulism events were confirmed to be foodborne. The most commonly implicated food was home-prepared traditional processed fish product, followed by the consumption of commercially canned products and non-pasteurized dairy products. Forty-eight (19) fatal botulism were reported which, the case-fatality rate declined from 4.5 to 0.7 during the study period. Conclusion: Laboratory-based diagnosis of botulism is an imperative procedure to elucidate cases, particularly food-borne botulism, to identify toxins in food and confirm clinical diagnosis, helping sanitary control measures. In addition, educational materials related to botulism prevention should be disseminated to different communities. © 2020 Atlantis Press

Fosfomycin: Mechanisms and the increasing prevalence of resistance

There are challenges regarding increased global rates of microbial resistance and the emergence of new mechanisms that result in microorganisms becoming resistant to antimicrobial drugs. Fosfomycin is a broad-spectrum bactericidal antibiotic effective against Gram-negative and certain Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococci, that interfere with cell wall synthesis. During the last 40 years, fosfomycin has been evaluated in a wide range of applications and fields. Although numerous studies have been done in this area, there remains limited information regarding the prevalence of resistance. Therefore, in this review, we focus on the available data concerning the mechanisms and increasing resistance regarding fosfomycin. © 2019 The Authors

Molecular mechanisms related to colistin resistance in enterobacteriaceae

Colistin is an effective antibiotic for treatment of most multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. It is used currently as a last-line drug for infections due to severe Gram-negative bacteria followed by an increase in resistance among Gram-negative bacteria. Colistin resistance is considered a serious problem, due to a lack of alternative antibiotics. Some bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterobacteriaceae members, such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Klebsiella spp. have an acquired resistance against colistin. However, other bacteria, including Serratia spp., Proteus spp. and Burkholderia spp. are naturally resistant to this antibiotic. In addition, clinicians should be alert to the possibility of colistin resistance among multidrug-resistant bacteria and development through mutation or adaptation mechanisms. Rapidly emerging bacterial resistance has made it harder for us to rely completely on the discovery of new antibiotics; therefore, we need to have logical approaches to use old antibiotics, such as colistin. This review presents current knowledge about the different mechanisms of colistin resistance. © 2019 Aghapour et al

Frequency of Metalo beta Lactamase genes, bla IMP1, INT 1 in Acinetobacter baumanii isolated from burn patients North of Iran

Objective: Acinetobacter baumanii is one of the most important pathogenic bacteria causing infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibiotic resistance and determine the frequency of β-lactamase and class I integron genes in clinical strains of Acinetobacter baumanii isolated from burn patients in Sari, North of Iran. Method: A. baumanii specimens were collected from 2016 to 2019. After culture in a standard medium, the presence of A. baumanii was confirmed by biochemical tests. Antibacterial sensitivity test against ciprofloxacin, imipenem, meropenem, Cefepime, ceftazidime, gentamicin, amikacin and colistin was performed using disc diffusion method on the Muller-Hinton agar medium. Finally, polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine the resistance genes. Results: A total of 150 A. baumanii were isolated. The results of the pattern of resistance of A. baumanii to the antibiotics tested were as follows: ceftazidime (100), cefepime (94), meropenem (91), imipenem (88), ciprofloxacin (80), amikacin (78), gentamicin (63), colistin (10). The study showed that 31 of the isolates produced the metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) enzyme. Finally, by PCR method, blaIMP, blaVIM and class I integron were identified in, 45, 35 and 60 of these isolates, respectively. Conclusion: This study revealed an increased frequency of MBL-encoding genes (VIM, IMP) and class I integron in A. baumannii isolates. Also, the results of this study showed that the rate of resistant to antibiotic among A. baumanii is high. In the present study, the only antibiotic that was suitable for the treatment of these patients was colistin. These results suggest further studies on the logical use of the drug in the treatment of A. baumanii. © 2020 Elsevier Inc

Clostridium difficile infection: A review

Clostridium difficile, as one of the main bacterial causes of diarrhea, is an important healthcare-associated pathogen. It is also the main causative agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis. The C. difficile infection is a life threatening disease, and there is an urgent need to control its spread in healthcare centers. This review summarizes the most recent work on epidemiology and interactions between host and C. difficile. © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc