Bacteriological and Molecular Identification of Thermophilic Campylobacters of Animal and Human Origins in Beni-Suef Governorate, Egypt

Thermophilic species of the genus Campylobacter are generally considered commensals of livestock and the leading cause of bacterial food-borne zoonoses. The present study was delineated to clarify the role of Campylobacter species as a diarrheagenic pathogen in animals and man and to investigate the fecal carriage rate of Campylobacters in animals and in-contact humans. A total number of 78 fecal samples were collected from diarrheic and non-diarrheic cattle (n=26), sheep (n=28) and humans (n=24). Samples were enriched in Preston broth, followed by streaking on selective Campylobacter agar base medium. The suspected colonies were tested morphologically and biochemically. Campylobacter spp. was recovered from 29 (37.17%) out of 78 fecal samples (34.61%, 42.85% and 33.33%) for cattle, sheep and humans, respectively. Positive correlation between the occurrence of diarrhea and the isolation of Campylobacters was observed in samples of human origin while in adult ruminants particularly sheep, high fecal carriage rate was observed in non-diarrheic animals. The isolates were identified to genus and species levels by polymerase chain reaction targeting the 16S rRNA gene, the mapA gene and the ceuE gene which revealed that all of isolates were Campylobacter jejuni. These findings pose a significant epidemiological implication where cattle and sheep act as vehicles of, and excrete Campylobacter jejuni which is capable of causing disease in the local community in the area of investigation

Efficacy of threshold inspiratory muscle trainer versus diaphragmatic plus pursed lip breathing in occupational COPD

Abstract Background Smoking mainly induces COPD, but occupational threats play a significant role in the development of COPD. Previous studies concerning pulmonary rehabilitation mainly focus on COPD caused by smoking, but COPD induced by occupational hazards has not been studied yet. We aimed to identify the efficacy of IMT (Inspiratory Muscle training) using classic POWERbreathe versus DB (Diaphragmatic breathing) plus PLB (Pursed-lip Breathing) exercise in dyspnea, exercise capacity and pulmonary function parameters in occupational COPD farmers with moderate-to-severe COPD (GOLD II–III) FEV1% 30–79%. Methods A prospective supervised RCT (Randomized Controlled Trial) included 60 farmers with COPD assigned randomly into two groups; Group A performed IMT using a classic POWERbreathe, and Group B performed DB plus PLB. Both groups completed two daily sessions for three months, seven days/week. Results Between-group differences outcome scores were compared, and there was a more remarkable significant improvement in exercise capacity, lung parameters, and dyspnea using the mMRC scale in the IMT group compared to DB plus PLB group. The 6MWT distance (effect size Cohen’s d: 1.69), FEV1 (effect size Cohen’s d: 0.78), FEV1/FVC (effect size Cohen’s d: 0.86), FVC (effect size Cohen’s d: 1.01), and mMRC score (effect size Cohen's d: 1.12) were significantly improved in group A (p < 0.05). Conclusion This study demonstrated that the IMT group showed better exercise capacity, dyspnea, and pulmonary function outcomes in occupational COPD farmers. Further studies require COPD patients from different occupations

HIGH PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS ASSOCIATED B-CELL LYMPHOMA IN MANSOURA REGION (EGYPT), ANRS 12263 STUDY

Abstract :  Background: The prevalence of Hepatitis C virus in Egypt reaches 15%, which is considered the highest in the world. Genotype 4 represents 93 % of Egyptian HCV infections. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the 5th most common cancer in Egypt. The association between HCV infection and occurrence of B-cell NHL is well known while data are scarce in Eastern countries. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HCV infection among patients with B-cell NHL and the clinical characteristics of HCV associated B-cell NHL in Delta region (Mansoura-Egypt). Methods: Between March 2012 and March 2013, 110 adult patients newly diagnosed with B-cell NHL were enrolled in the current study. This study was carried out at Oncology Center, Mansoura University. Study subjects provided serum for HCV testing and for HCV RNA. Results: The prevalence of HCV infection among these patients was 61% (67/110 patients) which is the highest reported value in literature. Among them, 80% (32/40 tested patients) presented with viremia. Contrasting with the histological distribution previously described in Northern regions, the majority of HCV associated lymphomas were DLBCLs (72 %) followed by SLL/CLL (13 %), follicular lymphomas (7.5%) and 7.5% of marginal zone lymphomas. In conclusion:  B-cell lymphomas are highly associated with HCV infection in Egypt. Further developments are needed to give access to antiviral treatment for those patients in Delta region

In Vitro and Randomized Controlled Clinical Study of Natural Constituents’ Anti-HPV Potential for Treatment of Plantar Warts Supported with In Silico Studies and Network Analysis

The aim of this study is to evaluate the anti-HPV potential of a Moringa olifera Lam seed, Nigella sativa L. seed, and Musa Acuminata peel herbal mixture in the form of polymer film-forming systems. A clinical trial conducted in outpatient clinics showed that the most significant outcome was wart size and quantity. Compared to the placebo group, the intervention group’s size and number of warts were considerably better according to the results. Chemical profiling assisted by LC-HRMS led to the dereplication of 49 metabolites. Furthermore, network pharmacology was established for the mixture of three plants; each plant was studied separately to find out the annotated target genes, and then, we combined all annotated genes of all plants and filtered the genes to specify the genes related to human papilloma virus. In a backward step, the 24 configured genes related to HPV were used to specify only 30 compounds involved in HPV infection based on target genes. CA2 and EGFR were the top identified genes with 16 and 12 edges followed by PTGS2, CA9, and MMP9 genes with 11 edges each. A molecular docking study for the top active identified compounds of each species was conducted in the top target HPV genes, CA2 and EGFR, to investigate the mode of interaction between these compounds and the targets’ active sites

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium report, data summary of 50 countries for 2010-2015: Device-associated module

•We report INICC device-associated module data of 50 countries from 2010-2015.•We collected prospective data from 861,284 patients in 703 ICUs for 3,506,562 days.•DA-HAI rates and bacterial resistance were higher in the INICC ICUs than in CDC-NHSN's.•Device utilization ratio in the INICC ICUs was similar to CDC-NHSN's. Background: We report the results of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2010-December 2015 in 703 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific. Methods: During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 861,284 patients hospitalized in INICC hospital ICUs for an aggregate of 3,506,562 days. Results: Although device use in INICC ICUs was similar to that reported from CDC-NHSN ICUs, DA-HAI rates were higher in the INICC ICUs: in the INICC medical-surgical ICUs, the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection, 4.1 per 1,000 central line-days, was nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.8 per 1,000 central line-days reported from comparable US ICUs, the overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher, 13.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 ventilator-days, as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection, 5.07 versus 1.7 per 1,000 catheter-days. From blood cultures samples, frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (29.87% vs 10%) and to imipenem (44.3% vs 26.1%), and of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (73.2% vs 28.8%) and to imipenem (43.27% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC ICUs compared with CDC-NHSN ICUs. Conclusions: Although DA-HAIs in INICC ICU patients continue to be higher than the rates reported in CDC-NSHN ICUs representing the developed world, we have observed a significant trend toward the reduction of DA-HAI rates in INICC ICUs as shown in each international report. It is INICC's main goal to continue facilitating education, training, and basic and cost-effective tools and resources, such as standardized forms and an online platform, to tackle this problem effectively and systematically