Genomic detection of Coxiella burnetii in cattle milk samples by Nested-PCR method, Iran

Background and Aim: Q fever is a febrile disease which may be appeared as abrupt symptoms such as chills, pain behind the eyes (retrobulbar), malaise, disorder, and profuse perspiration. Since this bacterium is mostly common in animals and it is possible to transfer it from contaminated milk, this study aimed to determine the prevalent rate of Coxiella burentii in raw milk samples obtained from dairy cattles in AjabShir-Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out from May 2014 to October 2014. Eighty milk samples were collected from 8 dairy cattle breeding complexes and the diagnosis of Coxiella burnetii was confirmed by Nested-PCR method. Results and Conclusion: In this study, 20 out of 80 milk samples (25%) were positive in terms of Coxiella burnetii.  Considering the importance of the bacterium, Coxiella burnetii, rapid and accurate diagnosis is of great significance. Molecular techniques, due to its high accuracy and high speed, are mostly effective in the diagnosis. The localization of molecular techniques in the diagnosis of Q fever is highly recommended. The results indicated that Cattle's milk could be a potential reservoir of C. burnetii in Iran

Comparison of antibacterial activity of four cultivars of olive (Olea europaea) leaf extract on Bacillus cereus

In recent years, plant extracts have been used as antimicrobial agents. One of these extracts is olive leaf extract, which has antimicrobial properties due to its phenolic compounds. In current study the leaf extract of four olive (Olea europaea) cultivars (Shiraz, Zard, Roghani and Dezfool) was extracted by different solvents (acetone, methanol and ethanol) using microwave-assisted extraction method. Then the antibacterial activity of the extracts was assessed on Bacillus cereus. The antibacterial activity of the extracts was determined using the standard and micro broth-dilution methods. All experiments were carried out in triplicate. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of eleven extracts was estimated as 20 mg/ml, and only MIC of the methanolic extract of Roghani cultivar was 10 mg/ml. Bacterial growth curve of B. cereus in the presence of olive leaf extracts was drawn after 24 h incubation at 37 °C and the mean percentage of growth inhibition of each extract was measured after 24 hours. The results showed that in comparison with the other cultivars, the methanolic extract of Roghani cultivar with the percentage of growth inhibition of 91.3% and 87.8% (in the concentrations of 10 and 20 mg/ml, respectively), demonstrated stronger antibacterial effect on B. cereus. This study indicated that olive leaf extract from inexpensive agricultural waste might be a valuable bioactive source with antibacterial activity, and seem to be applicable as a safe food additive