Bacteria Isolated from Urinary Tract Infection among Patients and Determination of the Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of the Gram Negative Bacteria in Iran

Background: Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most frequent infecting organism in acute infection. So, knowledge about the frequency and distribution of urinary tract infection (UTI) is important to improve infection control measures. The aim of this research was to determine the prevalence of bacteria isolated from urinary tract infection (UTI) in patients and determination of the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the gram negative bacteria.Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed in Imam Reza hospital, Tabriz (northwest of Iran) during March 2012 to February 2013. We surveyed 8153 patients, who had clinical manifestations of UTI. 5093 (62.47%) of them were female and 3060 (37.53%) of them male. Urine specimens were cultured for isolation of the microbial agents of UTI. The isolated bacteria were identified using biochemical tests. Disk diffusion susceptibility test was used to determine antimicrobial susceptibility.Results: E. coli (55.38%) was the most common isolated pathogen, followed by Enterobacter spp. (29.61%), Pseudomonas spp. (4.9%), S. aureus (3.21%), Enterococcus spp. (2.3%),  fungi (1.5%) and Klebsiella (0.48%). The sensitivity rates of isolated gram negative bacteria were for Amikacin (95.7%), Nitrofurantoin (91.5%), Gentamicin (64.1%), Ceftizoxim (56.8%), Ciprofloxacin (37.6%), Cotrimoxazole (31.4%) and Nalidixic acid (23.5%).Conclusion: This study showed that the frequency of E. coli and  Enterobacter spp. increases the probability of urinary tract infection. Also this survey indicates the emergence of antibiotic resistant infections in the studied hospital. So, there is a need to improve the effectiveness of integrated infection control programs to control and manage nosocomial infections caused by highly resistant organisms

Survey of clinical features, pathogenesis and therapeutic options for Ebola haemorrhagic fever

      The genus Ebola virus first was recognized in 1976, when two outbreaks occurred in Zaire and Sudan. Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a highly contagious disease that can affect both human and nonhuman primates: Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV), Sudan ebolavirus (SEBOV), Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus (CEBOV), Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BEBOV) and Reston ebolavirus (REBOV) are five members of the Filoviridae family that can cause haemorrhagic fever. EVD is transmitted by direct contact with contaminated blood or other biological fluids of the infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest. Ebola is responsible for different clinical futures that can be ranged from fever, headache, arthralgia, myalgia, abdominal pain, anorexia and vomiting to severe respiratory disorders, viral hemorrhagic fever, cardio-vascular disorders and hypovolaemic shock.  Although there is no specific treatment for EVD, considerable advances like use of monoclonal antibody, intefron and Favipiravir/T-705 as effective chemotherapeutic agent in treatment of EBV have been made. To date, 25 outbreaks of EVD have been reported. Hence, EVD as a zoonotic disease should be more focused not only in endemic area but also in throughout the world. Awareness of the disease and routes of transmission and also continuous surveillance to combat disease and outbreaks is necessary

Spatial analysis of air quality in Tehran with emphasis on particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10)

Nowadays, the air of most of Iran's cities especially high population metropolises hasn’t an optimal quality. This adverse quality is due to various pollutant resources such as automobiles, industries, heating devices, construction, and commercial activities during recent decades and there are more concerns about it. Therefore, monitoring air pollutants and studying their seasonal and spatial variations are specifically important. The present study aimed to evaluate air quality and seasonal and spatial variations of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) in Tehran city. In this research, the AQI index has been used to determine the air quality of Tehran and to introduce the responsible pollutant. To investigate the variations of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) in seasonal and spatial scales, the data of air pollution monitoring stations (18 stations) of Air Quality Control Company was used in 2018 and 2019. Data were analyzed using Excel and SPSS software and results of statistical analysis of pollutants distribution in Temporal – spatial scales are provided and they are drawn using Arc GIS software and analytical function of inverse Distance Weighting interpolation (IDW) as maps, tables, and graphs. Based on the results, favorable and unfavorable air quality were respectively observed in 83.8 and 16.2% of days in 2018, as well as 76.4 and 23.6% of days in 2019, which can be related to the changes in rainfall rate and wind speed in the years. The maximum seasonal concentration of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) relates to summer and winter respectively and the minimum seasonal concentration of both pollutants relates to spring. Results of inverse Distance Weighting interpolation (IDW) also showed that the west, south, and central regions of Tehran got involved with particulate matter more than other regions

Evaluation of Hepatitis B Infection Prevalence in Institutionalized Intellectually Disabled Children

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes chronic infection in human population, with high mortality. One of the high risk communities is mentally retarded children, who are institutionalized. Special conditions in these centers predispose children for HBV infection and transmission to healthy people. In this study our objective was to determine the prevalence of HBV infection among institutionalized mentally retarded children and study its associated risk factors.Materials and Methods: In this study, 250 mentally retarded children (younger than 14 years old) were included. They were living in 5 nursing institutions, located in different parts of Tehran. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was measured in the sera of these patients by ELISA method.Results: Among 250 children, 20 children (8%) were HBsAg positive. HBV infection in girls was more than boys (11% to 5.6%). Among the types of mental retardation, children with cerebral palsy had the highest positive result for HBsAg. The most HBV infection (28.5%) was seen in children with longest duration of being institutionalized (10 to 11 years). Vaccinated children were more HBsAg positive (8.7%) than non-vaccinated children (5.3%). However, no significant relationship was observed between any of these factors and HBsAg positivity.Conclusion: Despite improvement of people’s health condition and implementation of HBV vaccination, the prevalence of HBV infection is increased in institutionalized mentally retarded children, which highlights the need for active measures to reduce this infection among this high risk populatio

Prevalence of Epstein–Barr virus, Human Papillomavirus and Porphyromonas Gingivalis in Oral Cancer

Background: Multiple risk factors are supposed to progress oral cavity carcinoma and among them, the role ofneither bacterial nor viral infections should be underestimated. Despite relentless efforts, the accelerating effectsof human papillomavirus (HPV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), and Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) onoral cancer has not yet been recognized successfully. Taking advantage of these facts, in this study we evaluatedthe prevalence of HPV, EBV, and P. gingivalis in oral cavity carcinoma.Materials and Methods: A total of 43 oral cavity cancerous tissues and 29 healthy oral ones were collected fromLoghman Hospital, Tehran, Iran, between 2016 and 2018. After DNA extraction, the prevalence of HPV, EBV,and P. gingivalis was evaluated by PCR.Results: There were 53.5 well-differentiated (15 male, 9 female), 41.8% moderate (10 male, 5 female), and4.7% poor (1 male, 3 female) adenocarcinoma paraffin-embedded tissue samples. PCR analysis has shownthat there were 1 HPV (age: 46; moderate adenocarcinoma) and 1 EBV (age: 62; moderate adenocarcinoma)positive in different samples. No P. gingivalis was found and there was not any infected tissue with both EBVand HPV. In 31% of control tissues, blisters were observed and in 51.7% there was no mucus. We did not findany association between age, sex, and HPV, EBV positive samples.Conclusion: As sample size can affect the results of epidemiological and clinical study, and due to the lownumber of positive samples in this study, we concluded that HPV, EBV, and P. gingivalis may not have adetrimental effect on the progression of oral cancer, but further studies are needed

Reprograming of gut microbiome energy metabolism by the FUT2 Crohn's disease risk polymorphism.

Fucosyltransferase 2 (FUT2) is an enzyme that is responsible for the synthesis of the H antigen in body fluids and on the intestinal mucosa. The H antigen is an oligosaccharide moiety that acts as both an attachment site and carbon source for intestinal bacteria. Non-secretors, who are homozygous for the loss-of-function alleles of FUT2 gene (sese), have increased susceptibility to Crohn's disease (CD). To characterize the effect of FUT2 polymorphism on the mucosal ecosystem, we profiled the microbiome, meta-proteome and meta-metabolome of 75 endoscopic lavage samples from the cecum and sigmoid of 39 healthy subjects (12 SeSe, 18 Sese and 9 sese). Imputed metagenomic analysis revealed perturbations of energy metabolism in the microbiome of non-secretor and heterozygote individuals, notably the enrichment of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, cofactor and vitamin metabolism and glycan biosynthesis and metabolism-related pathways, and the depletion of amino-acid biosynthesis and metabolism. Similar changes were observed in mice bearing the FUT2(-/-) genotype. Metabolomic analysis of human specimens revealed concordant as well as novel changes in the levels of several metabolites. Human metaproteomic analysis indicated that these functional changes were accompanied by sub-clinical levels of inflammation in the local intestinal mucosa. Therefore, the colonic microbiota of non-secretors is altered at both the compositional and functional levels, affecting the host mucosal state and potentially explaining the association of FUT2 genotype and CD susceptibility

Genetic Diversity Analysis of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Intensive Care Unit in Iran

Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus has emerged as a major public health concern. It is a common pathogen in high-risk hospital intensive care units (ICUs). We analyzed the molecular characteristics on the SCCmec and spa genes of S. aureus isolates gathered from ICUs. The antibiotic resistance patterns and carriage of resistance and virulence determinants were also identified. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 84 non-duplicated S. aureus strains isolated from ICU patients in were genotyped using SCCmec and spa typing. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion and micro-broth dilution methods were used to determine resistance patterns. Virulence and resistance gene profiling were also determined using the polymerase chain reaction technique. Results: All isolates were methicillin-resistant S. aureus and belonged to seven spa types: t388 (36.9%), t852 (14.3%), t924 (13.1%), t790 (11.9%), t064 (10.7%), t037 (9.5%), and t084 (3.6%). They differed in the carriage of resistance and toxin genes. The most common SCCmec type was III detected in 50 isolates (59.5%), followed by type IV in 34 isolates (40.5%). The pvl gene was detected in 14.3% (n = 12) of isolates, of which 66.7% (n = 8) belonged to t852 and 33.3% (n = 4) belonged to t790. Among the tested strains, 9.5% (n = 8) carried the mupA gene and belonged to the t064 spa type. Conclusions: The data revealed a high resistance rate to antibiotics, which could be a threat to ICU patients. It is necessary to detect antimicrobial resistance and resistance and toxin-encoding of gene profiles in different molecular types

Use of Complementary Medicine in SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV: a Narrative Review

Severe acute respiration syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is characterized by severe cytokine storm syndrome following inflammation. SARS-CoV-2 is the 7th coronavirus that causes infection in human bodies; SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 can purpose severe diseases. SARS-CoV-2 at once interacts with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptors inside the body and causes respiratory problems. Interestingly, complementary medicines and herbal drugs affect the expression of IgE and IgG antibodies and improve the immune system; for that reason, complementary medicine could be beneficial for infectious diseases like SARS-COV-2. In this review, we assessed some related articles to evaluate the effect of complementary medicine on SARS-COV2 and MERS-COV