Antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of thermophilic campylobacters isolated from patients in the town of Niš

Background/Aim. In some clinical forms of human Campylobacter infections, such as prolonged diarrhea or associated with postinfections sequels, antibacterial treatment is necessary. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility of thermophilic Campylobacter strains isolated from patients with diarrhea, as well as from patients with diarrhea followed by postinfections sequels, to drugs used in the therapy of enterocolitis, and to nalidixic acid used in laboratory identification and differentiation of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. Methods. We studied the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of 131 Campylobacter strains isolated from patients with diarrhea (122 strains), diarrhea associated with rheumatic disorders (8 strains), and one strain isolated from a patient with Guillain-Barré Syndrome following Campylobacter enterocolitis. Susceptibility testing to erythromycin, gentamicin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid was performed by the agar dilution method. Results. In the strains we investigated, resistance to gentamicin and chloramphenicol was not recorded, whereas a low rate of strains resistant to erythromycin (2.4%), a higher prevalence of strains resistant to tetracycline (9.9%), and a high level of resistance to ciprofloxacin (29.8%) and nalidixic acid (33.3%) were registered. All strains resistant to nalidixic acid were also resistant to ciprofloxacin. In addition, there was no difference in the occurrence of resistance between strains isolated from patients with diarrhea as compared to those isolated from patients with diarrhea followed by postinfection disorders. Conclusion. The fact that the most of Campylobacter strains were sensitive to erythromycin and all to gentamicin, makes erythromycin an antibiotic of choice in the treatment of Campylobacter diarrhea and gentamicin when parenteral therapy should be administered. Resistance to tetracycline and, especially, ciprofloxacin, necessitates antibiotic susceptibility testing

PRESENCE OF RESISTANCE IN CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI AND CAMPYLOBACTER COLI

There are 18 species belonging to the genus of Campylobacter (rRNK group I), of which thermophilic ones are the following: Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, Campylobacter lari and Campylobacter upsaliensis. The aim of our research was to determine the sensitivity of Campylobacter species, isolated from human feces, to antibiotics being used in practice. The study involved 50 human strains of C. jejuni/coli isolated from feces in the Center for Microbiology in the Public Health Institute Nis. Sensitivity was tested by applying the disk diffusion method on seven antibiotics (erythromycin, gentamicin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, hloramphenicol, cephalexin and nalidixic acid). Our results showed low resistance to erythromycin, gentamicin and tetracycline (2%), which corresponds to the studies conducted in the world. Moreover, these findings indicate that erythromycin may be considered the drug of choice in the treatment of Campylobacter diarrhea in this region. Resistance to fluoroquinolone and nalidixic acid was 44%, and C. coli showed higher resistance compared to C. jejuni, though statistical significance was not proved

Susceptibility of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from animals and humans to tetracycline

Fifty five thermophilic Campylobacter spp. strains were isolated from cecum of broilers, cecum and colon of pigs and from human feces. The strains were identified as Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. The more prevalent species in broilers and humans was C. jejuni and in pigs C. coli. In the framework of this study, sensitivity to tetracycline in isolated strains of C. jejuni and C. coli was tested by E-test. In 16 tested strains isolated from broilers, 56.25% were resistant to tetracycline. Resistance occured more frequent in C. coli strains (66.67%). In 15 strains of termophilic Campylobacter spp. isolated from pigs the percentage of resistant strains was 80%. Resistance was detected more often in C. coli (90.00%) isolates. The percentage of resistant C. jejuni strains from pigs was 60.00%. Resistance to tetracycline occurred in 29.17% of 24 thermophilic Campylobacter spp. strains isolated from humans. Generally, strains of thermophilic campylobacters, especially C. coli isolated in pigs are more frequent resistant to tetracycline than strains isolated in poultry and human. Therefore, attention should be directed to the tetracycline application monitoring in swine farming in order to prevent resistance appearance in animal strains and its subsequent spread to human strains

Successful isolation of Helicobacter pylori after prolonged incubation: A case report of prolonged incubation for H. pylori

The culture of Helicobacter pylori from a gastric biopsy is the “gold standard” in the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. However, the primary isolation of H. pylori from gastric biopsies is rather demanding. The duration of incubation for the isolation of H. pylori has been recommended to be five to seven days: in the present case, we found that a prolonged incubation period allowed the successful isolation of H. pylori from a patient with ulcus ventriculi. Biopsies were placed directly into transport medium and processed for culture within two hours. On day 14, one suspected H. pylori-like colony appeared on one of the plates. The isolate was confirmed to be H. pylori based on its typical colony morphology, negative Gram stain, and positive urease, catalase and oxidase tests. The isolate, requiring 14 days recovery, later exhibited the normal growth characteristics of H. pylori strains, indicating its unusually long incubation requirement was a temporary predicament

Resistance to erythromycin of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from animals and humans

The sensititivity of thermophilic Campylobacter strains isolated from caecum of broiler chickens as well as caecum and colon of pigs and human stools, were tested against erythromycin. In 16 strains isolated in broiler chickens, resistance rate was found to be 12.50%. Three of 10 strains of Campylobacter jejuni and one of 6 strains of Campylobacter coli isolated from broiler chickens were resistant to erythromycin. In 15 strains of thermophilic Campylobacters isolated from pigs, resistance rate to erythromycin was 40.00%. Resistance was exhibited more often in C. coli (50.00%) as compared to C. jejuni (20.00%). In 24 strains isolated from humans, resistance was demonstrated at the rate of 12.50%. Out of 17 strains of C. jejuni isolated from humans, resistance was exhibited in 17.65% strains. None of 7 strains of C. coli isolated from humans exhibited resistance to erythromycin. Thermophilic campylobacters, especially C. coli isolated from pigs were more resistant to erythromycin than strains isolated from humans and broiler chickens. Therefore, a great attention should be directed to the macrolides monitoring in swine farming in order to prevent resistance in animals and its subsequent spread to human

High-density cervical ureaplasma urealyticum colonization in pregnant women

Background/aim: Ureaplasma urealyticum, a common commensal of the female lower genital tract, has been observed as an important opportunistic pathogen during pregnancy. The aims of this study were to determine the degree of cervical colonization with U. urealyticum in pregnant women with risk pregnancy and in pregnant women with normal term delivery and to evaluate the correlation between high-density cervical U. urealyticum colonization and premature rupture of membranes (PROM) as well. Methods. This research was conducted on the samples comprising 130 hospitalized pregnant women with threatening preterm delivery and premature rupture of membranes. The control group consisted of 39 pregnant women with term delivery without PROM. In addition to standard bacteriological examination and performing direct immunofluorescence test to detect Chlamydia trachomatis, cervical swabs were also examined for the presence of U. urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis by commercially available Mycofast Evolution 2 test (International Microbio, France). Results. The number of findings with isolated high-density U. urealyticum in the target group was 69 (53.08%), while in the control group was 14 (35.90%). Premature rupture of membranes (PROM) occurred in 43 (33.08%) examinees: 29 were pPROM, and 14 were PROM. The finding of U.urealyticum ≥104 was determined in 25 (58.14%) pregnant women with rupture, 17 were pPROM, and 8 were PROM. There was statistically significant difference in the finding of high-density U. urealyticum between the pregnant women with PROM and the control group (χ² = 4.06, p < 0.05). U. urealyticum was predominant bacterial species found in 62.79% of isolates in the PROM cases, while in 32.56% it was isolated alone. Among the 49 pregnant women with preterm delivery, pPROM occurred in 29 (59.18%) examinees, and in 70.83% of pregnant women with findings of high-density U. urealyticum pPROM was observed. Conclusion. Cervical colonization with U. urealyticum ≥ 104 is more frequent in pregnant women with risk pregnancy than in pregnant women with normal term delivery. High-density cervical U. urealyticum colonization should be observed as a possible etiological factor for PROM

Characterization of antibiotic resistance phenotypes and resistance genes in enterococcus spp. Isolated from cheeses

Strains of Enterococcus spp. isolated from a collection of 123 artisanal and industrial cheese samples were studied for the phenotypic and genotypic assessment of antibiotic resistance. A total of 226 isolates included 119 E. faecium (52.65%), 40 E. durans (17.7%), 37 E. hirae (16.37%), 29 E. faecalis (12.83%) and 1 E. gallinarum (0.44%). Out of 61 tested strains, 15 (24.59%) strains exhibited resistance to one or more tested antibiotics, as determined by the disc diffusion method. The resistance phenotypes were as follows: gentamicin (45.45%), tetracycline (31.82%), erythromycin (9.09%), vancomycin (9.09%) and penicillin (4.55%). The presence of tetracycline and erythromycin resistance genes [tet(M), tet(L) and erm(B), respectively] and integrase gene (int), associated with Tn916-1545 transposon family, was detected by PCR procedures. The tet(M) gene was determined in all 7 tested strains, but none of the analyzed strains harbored tet(L) determinant. The erm(B) gene was not detected in 9 strains characterized by phenotypic resistance to erythromycin. All 16 strains were positive for the presence of the int gene. The presented results show the presence of antibiotic resistance genes and the transposon integrase gene associated with transferable resistance in enterococci, indicating a potential for gene transfer through the food chain

Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter spp.: A review of the literature

Campylobacter spp. are commensal organisms in the intestinal tract of food producing and companion animals. There is an increasing trend of human campylobacteriosis worldwide, including complicated cases that request treatment by antibiotics. Prevalence of resistance continually increases, especially to fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines. There are many reports on multiresistant strains of Campylobacter spp. In this work we present the available information about the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. worldwide, as well as studies from Serbia published in last two decades. Campylobacter strains isolated from animal samples in Serbia showed increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance to all clinically relevant antibiotics. Preliminary data (2014 2019) from Reference laboratory for Campylobacter and Helicobacter at the Institute of Public Health of Nis, Serbia show high resistance rates to ciprofloxacin (90%) and to tetracycline (50%) but low resistance to erythromycin (<5%) in human Campylobacter isolates

Inhibitory effects of different medicinal plants on Candida albicans growth

The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antifungal properties of ethanol extracts and essential oils of medicinal plants from Serbia against Candida albicans (C. albicans) ATCC 10231. Ethanol extracts of fifteen plants were investigated, and their effects were compared with those of three different essential oils. The sensitivity of C. albicans to all plants was tested by the agar dilution method. The assay plates were estimated to contain 300, 150, 75, and 37.5 mu g/ml of active extracts and 100, 50, 25, and 12.5 mu g/ml of active essential oils. Inocula were applied to agar surfaces, giving approximately 10(6) cfu/ml of C. albicans. No inhibitory effects were observed for ethanol extracts of Hypericum perforatum and Salvia officinalis (MIC > 300 mu g/ml). The most effective were the ethanol extract of Aesculus hippocastanum (MIC = 37.5 mu g/ml) and the essential oil of Satureja kitaibelii (MIC = 12.5 mu g/ml). Other plants showed MIC from 25 to 300 mu g/ml. As far as we know, the inhibitory effects of these medicinal plants against the reference strain of C. albicans have not been commonly investigated in our country. Although the essential oil of Satureja kitaibelii shows strong activity against C. albicans, these results need clinical evaluation