Epidemiological burden of Listeria monocytogenes in Iran

Objective(s): Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogenic bacteria causing the infection listeriosis, which possibly affects all people, particularly immunocompromised persons and pregnant women. This microorganism can be found in several processed foods, dairy products, raw milk, meat and fish products, seafoods, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. This review discusses about the epidemiological significance, incidence, contamination routes of L. monocytogenes in different products and current data about listeriosis in the Iran. Materials and Methods: For accessing to relevant articles and studies, a search was done in main databases and also, almost all Iranian published articles were studied in this field.Results: Outbreaks of listeriosis have been reported in many parts of the worldwide, however there is scanty data about the prevalence of listeriosis in Iran. Accordingly, as a result of high incidence of L. monocytogenes in women with bad obstetric history or history of abortions, diagnosis procedures for detection of L. monocytogenes and timely treatment was suggested.Conclusion: In spite of low incidence of infection in the past, increased interest for lightly preserved and/or ready-to-eat (RTE) food products has recently led to increasing of L. monocytogenes prevalence which has become a public health concern. Subsequently, further researches about the prevalence of L. monocytogenes and also antibiotic susceptibility testing is needed to enable the detection of the contaminated foods, as well as ensures the effective treatment

Ruta sencilla para la preparación de hidrogeles sensibles al pH mediante el uso de proteínas de clara huevo en soporte de alginato para la encapsulación de probióticos

Aims: In the present study, we evaluated the use of egg white proteins in alginate scaffolds and calcium alginate for the formulation of Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus acidophilus in the stomach acidic conditions. Material and Methods: after microorganism’s encapsulation in egg white proteins in alginate, survival assays and release in different conditions were evaluated. Scanning electron microscope and Fourier- transform infrared spectroscopy were used for analysis. Results: The results showed the high potential of this type of formulation in protecting the probiotics from stomach acidic conditions that is due to the significant increase in survival of the bacteria. Our study showed that the viability of the L. casei to free L. acidophilus had much less, however, with the encapsulation of the bacteria Egg white proteins in Alginate increased their survival significantly. Specially for the L. casei. Swelling and shrinkage behavior of egg white proteins in alginate capsules in different pH showed that the swelling of the capsule in the distilled water in the neutral terms had more inflationcapacity than similar position in terms of gastric acidity. Conclusions: the use of egg white proteins-Alginate for encapsulation of probiotics enhanced the stability of these microorganisms in simulated gastric environments adverse conditions.Objetivos: En el presente trabajo se comparó el uso de proteínas de clara de huevo en soporte de alginato y alginato de calcio para la formulación. Material y Métodos: Tras la encapsulación de microorganismos en proteínas de clara de huevo en alginato, se evaluaron ensayos de supervivencia y liberación en diferentes condiciones. Para el análisis se han utilizado la microscopio electrónico con escáner y la espectroscopia infrarroja de transformada de Fourier. Resultados: Los resultados muestran el alto potencial de este tipo de formulación en la protección de los probióticos frente a las condiciones ácidas del estómago, por el aumento significativo en la supervivencia de las bacterias. Nuestro estudio demostró que la viabilidad de L. casei y L. acidophilus era mucho menor, sin embargo, con la encapsulación de las bacterias con proteínas de clara de huevo en alginato aumentaron significativamente su supervivencia especialmente para L. casei. La hinchazón y el comportamiento de contracción de las proteínas de clara de huevo en cápsulas de alginato en diferentes pH mostraron que la hinchazón de la cápsula en el agua destilada en términos neutros tenía más capacidad de inflación que una posición similar en términos de acidez gástrica. Conclusion: el uso de proteínas de clara de huevo-alginato para la encapsulación de probióticos mejora la estabilidad de estos microorganismos en condiciones adversas simuladas del medio gástrico.This study was granted by Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and approved by Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Author Thank all staff of Biomedicine (Medical Biology) Research Institute

High prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli strains isolated from urine clinical samples

Background: Fluoroquinolone resistant Escherichia coli isolates have become an important challenge in healthcare settings in Iran. In this study, we have determined Fluoroquinolone resistant E.coli isolates (from both outpatients and inpatients) and evaluated mutations of gyrA and parC within the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDR) of these clinical isolates. Materials and Method: A total of 135 E.coli clinical isolates were recovered from urine of 135 patients (91 outpatients and 44 inpatients) admitted at Alzahra hospital, Iran, between September and February 2013. We assessed antimicrobial susceptibility of all isolates and determined mutations in QRDR of gyrA and parC genes from 13 fluoroquinolone-resistant isolates by DNA sequencing. Results: In this study resistance rate of fluoroquinolones (Ciprofloxacin, Norfloxacin and Ofloxacin) were 45.2%. Two E.coli isolates were shown just a single mutation, but other isolates possessed 2,3,4 and 5 mutations in gyrA and parC genes. Mutations in the QRDR regions of gyrA were at positions Ser83 and Asp87 and parC at positions Ser80, Glu84, Gly78. Conclusions: Ciprofloxacin is the most common antimicrobial agent used for treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) in healthcare settings in Iran. Accumulation of different substitutions in the QRDR regions of gyrA and parC confers high-level resistance of fluoroquinolones in clinical isolates

EXTENDED-SPECTRUM BETA-LACTAMASE PRODUCING GRAM NEGATIVE BACTERIA IN IRAN

Background: The emergence and spread of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Gram- negative bacteria (GNB), particularly in Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, have increased all over the world. ESBLs are characterized by their ability to hydrolyze β-lactams, early cephalosporins, oxyimino-thiazolyl cephalosporins, and monobactams, but not cephamycins or carbapenems. The rate of nosocomial infections caused by ESBL-producing GNB in Asia Pacific has increased and several studies have identified their prevalence in the region. The aim of this study is to review the prevalence of ESBL-producing GNB in the West Asia and the Middle East with a particular focus on Iran. Materials and Methods: The available evidence from various studies (Microbia and clinical studies, retrieved from the PubMed, and Scopus databases) regarding the ESBL producing Gram negative bacteria in Iran were evaluated. Results: In almost all parts of the country, high resistance has been observed, especially in the central part of Iran. Up to 89.8% Escherichia coli, 72.1% Klebsiella pneumonia, 84.2% Acinetobacter baumannii, and 83.8% Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates are ESBL positive. Conclusion: The present study showed the increasing prevalence of ESBLs in different regions of Iran, which could be useful to strategic policy towards reducing reduce their prevalence

The effect of polyclonal and monoclonal based antibodies as promising potential therapy for treatment of sepsis: A systematic review

While mortality caused by sepsis remains an unsolved problem, studies showed conflicting results about effectiveness of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies in patients suffering sepsis. For this reason, this current study provides an update of review clinical randomized trial studies until March 2024. The main object of this study is to determine effects of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies on mortality rate and hospitalization of patients suffering sepsis. Search of Scopus, Web of science, EMBASE, PubMed and Cochrane were performed and randomized controlled trials which conducted in patients with septic shock or bacterial sepsis were included. Two reviewers assessed all searched trials for eligibility according to already defined criteria and did data collection and analyses afterwards. Present study showed monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies are a safe strategy with mild-to-moderate adverse effects. However, most studies indicate no significant change among inter-and intra-group comparison (p > 0.05) and further studies are needed, results showed an increase in survival rate, ventilator-and ICU-free days, resolve organ dysfunction, mediating inflammation related cytokines

Trends in the discovery of new drugs for Mycobacterium tuberculosis therapy with a glance at resistance

International audienceDespite the low expensive and effective four-drug treatment regimen (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol) was introduced 40 years ago, TB continues to cause considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide. In 2015, the WHO estimated a total of 10.4 million new tuberculosis (TB) cases worldwide. Currently, the increased number of multidrug-resistant (MDR-TB), extensively-drug resistant (XDR-TB) and in some recent reports, totally drug-resistant TB (TDR-TB) cases raises concerns about this disease. MDR-TB and XDR-TB have lower cure rates and higher mortality levels due to treatment problems. Novel drugs and regimens for all forms of TB have emerged in recent years. Moreover, scientific interest has recently increased in the field of hostdirected therapies (HDTs) in order to identify new treatments for MDR-TB. In this review, we offer an update on the discovery of new drugs for TB therapy with a glance at molecular mechanisms leading to drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Assessing the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in infertile male patients in Tabriz, northwest Iran

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is an infrequent, but one of the most successful bacteria that associated with infertility and are able to spermatozoa immobilization and agglutination. Objective: The aim of present study was to determine the frequency of S. aureus in semen obtained from infertile male patients in northwest Iran. Materials and Methods: Seminal fluids of 100 infertile men were evaluated. Standard semen examination was done according to World Health Organization guidelines. After isolation and identification of S. aureus isolates according to reference methods, determination of susceptibility against important antibiotics and polymerase chain reaction were performed to identify mecA and tst genes. Results: Data obtained from the present study shows that 16% of infertile male patients were colonized by S. aureus. Ten (62.5%) of the individuals had abnormal seminal fluid sperm motility and morphology and three (18.8%) of them had an abnormal seminal fluid density, whereas after washing with albumin-saline declined to 5 (31.3%), 4 (25%) and 1 (6.3%), respectively. The antibiogram results showed that, except penicillin, other antibiotics have high activity on isolates. Regarding polymerase chain reaction results, mecA sequences were detected in 3 (18.7%) strains, whilst the tst gene encoding TSST-1 was not detected in any of clinical strains. Conclusion: It would appear that the S. aureus may be an additional negative factor worsening sperm quality and affecting male fertility. Therefore, it demands that all the patients attending in infertility treatment facilities be investigated thoroughly