Prevalence of Measles Antibodies in Medical Students in Bushehr

Background: Measles is one of the most highly communicable of all infectious diseases in healthcare settings, and may transmit to medical personnel. This study was designed to assess measles immunity in a group of healthcare workers (medical students) and its relationship with age, sex and duration of working in hospital. Material and Methods: All medical students of the clinical courses were informed of the study in spring and summer of 2016. After collecting demographic information, 5 ml of blood was drawn from each student. Serum level of measles IgG was measured using IBL-America enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays kits in the laboratory of the Persian Gulf Research Center for Infectious Diseases. Results: A total of 90 students with a mean age of 25±3.2 years were included. All students had a history of one shot of measles vaccination. The positivity rate of measles antibody was found 48.9% (44 cases) while 12.2% (11 cases) had borderline titers and 35 (38.9%) were reported negative. No relationship was observed between positivity of measles antibody and the variables of age, sex and duration of working in hospital. Conclusion: This study demonstrates more than one-third of medical students were at risk of measles, which mandates periodic surveillance and revaccination of susceptible healthcare workers. Furthermore, adequate respiratory precautions should be taken when visiting patients with febrile exanthema and cough

Seroepidemiology of Chlamydia pneumoniae in community-acquired pneumonia in Bushehr Province

Chlamydia pneumonia is a common etiologic agent of community-acquired pneumonia. In a prospective study, the frequency of Chlamydia pneumonia was investigated in 95 admitted subjects in a university hospital in Bushehr port during autumn and spring of 2005. Age range of the patients was 16 to 95 years. The acute and convalescent sera for IgG titer were examined by ELISA method. A four-fold rising in antibody or >=1/1200 titer was defined acute infection with Chlamydia pneumonia and a titer of >=1/100 was also defined as seroprevalence of the organism. The prevalence of acute infection and seroprevalence of Chlamydia pneumonia were 25 and 71 percent, respectively. The prevalence of acute infection with the organism was 28.6 and 11.8 percent in COPD and asthma groups, respectively. In conclusion, Chlamydia pneumonia is a prevalent etiologic agent

Effects of cultured shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) consumption on serum lipoproteins of healthy normolipidemic men

Background: It has been suggested that moderate shrimp consumption in normolipidemic subjects will not adversely affect the overall lipoprotein profile. Hence, shrimp consumption can be included in &ldquo;healthy heart&quot; nutritional guidelines. However, the effects of cultured shrimp on serum lipoproteins of normal subjects have not yet investigated. Material and Methods: Twenty-five healthy normolipidemic men who were workers of a shrimp farm in Bushehr province participated in a quasi-experimental study. In a crossover six weeks trial, the effect of three days per week diet (containing 300 g cultured shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei /day) on serum lipid profile was compared with a zero-marine baseline diet. Results: After six weeks trial, serum triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol levels were not significantly changed from the baseline levels (p>0.05). However, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels, total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol ratios were significantly increased (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Moderate cultured shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) consumption can increase total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels in normolipidemic men. Although a diet containing native shrimp has many benefits for healthy persons, but we do not recommend cultured shrimp in a healthy heart diet for persons with dyslipidemia or cardiovascular diseases

Reference range of serum homocysteine level for the northern Persian Gulf

Background: Homocysteine (Hcy), an intermediate form generated during the metabolism of methionine, is associated with cardiovascular diseases. There is little information available about serum concentration of Hcy in healthy Iranian population. In the present study, we assessed the reference range of serum Hcy level among inhabitants of the northern Persian Gulf. Methods: In the Persian Gulf Healthy Heart Study (PGHHS) which used a multistage, stratified, clustered sampling, we measured fasting serum Hcy level using enzyme immunoassay method with an accuracy limit of 1 µmol/ L. Confounding factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, drugs and chronic diseases were eliminated. Reference range for homocysteine level was considered between 5 and 95 percentiles. Results: A total of 886 participants (39.3% female, 60.7% male) were evaluated. Mean plasma Hcy level was 14.58 ± 7.29 µmol/ L and was higher in men than women. Reference range for Hcy level was 8.35-31.1 µmol/ L in males and 2.39-24.31 µmol/ L in females. There was no difference among age groups for serum Hcy level. Conclusion: The Hcy level in the northern Persian Gulf general population is high. Since high Hcy level has been shown as a risk factor of cardiovascular diseases in various studies, it is essential to study the reasons of this high level of Hcy in this region

Association between H. pylori infection & hypertension in the residents of the Northern Persian Gulf

Background: Due to presence of confounding factors in contemporary studies, there are controversial data on correlation between hypertension and chronic H. pylori infection. In our study which was conducted for the first time in the Western Asia, we tried to find any correlation between hypertension and positive H. pylori seropositivity after correction for the confounding factors. Methods: To evaluate any correlation between H. pylori infection and hypertension, the randomized multistage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select 1752 subjects from Northern Persian Gulf (Bushehr, Genaveh and Dailam). Hypertension was defined according to WHO criteria. ELISA method was used for seropositivity of H. pylori infection. Results: The prevalence of hypertension and positive H. pylori seropositivity were 26.3% and 61.6%, respectively. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, we observed correlation between hypertension and positive H. pylori seropositivity, independent of type II diabetes, high LDL cholesterol, smoking, and high BMI [OR=1.49 CI (1.18-1.89) P= 0.001]. Conclusion: There is an association between H. pylori infection and hypertension in the residents of the Northern Persian Gulf after adjustment of demographic and metabolic factors

Risk factors of cardiovascular diseases in Bushehr Port on the basis of The WHO MONICA Project The Persian Gulf Healthy Heart Project

The majority of all deaths attributable to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are in developing countries. There is now a pressing need for developing countries to define and implement preventive interventions for CVDs. We used WHO MONICA Project protocols to measure trends in coronary risk factors in Bushehr Port in the Persian Gulf Healthy Heart Project. Coronary risk factors of 2092 , aged >= 25 years men and women were evaluated in a cross-sectional study. Of the studied population, 97.7% had at least one coronary risk factor, 44.3% of men and 69% of women had at least two coronary risk factors. The high prevalence rates of diabetes mellitus (8.6%), central obesity (59.4%), obesity (26.8%), hypertension (24.5%), smoking (15.7%), physical inactivity (71.1%), hypercholesterolemia (24%) and low HDL-cholesterol (61.5%) showed that coronary risk factors prevail in Bushehr Port. Therefore, preventive strategies should be implemented immediately to avoid cardiovascular epidemic in the near future

A sero-epidemiological survey on leptospirosis in the livestock breeders during the outbreak of haemorrhagic fever in domestic animals of the Helleh River area in 2004

Background: Leptospirosis is an infectious disease of animals and Man caused by a spiral-shaped organism (spirochete) of the genus Leptospira. Following torrential rains on Jan 2004, the Helleh River area was flooded and it was followed by an outbreak of haemorrhagic fever in domestic animals with a high fatality rate. Methods: Sera of all (58 cases) livestock breeders of the Helleh River area and 359 livestock breeders from the surrounding villages (as a control group) were collected and tested for anti-leptospiral antibodies using ELISA method for Leptospira IgG/IgM. Results: IgM antibodies for leptospira were detected in 29.3% of cases and in 15.0% of control group (p=0.01). However, there was no significant difference for seropositivity of IgG (15.5% in cases and 8.4% for controls). 12.1% of cases and 2.5% of control group also were positive for both IgG & IgM antibodies (p=0.001). Fourteen livestock breeders of Helleh River had symptoms of fever, headache, low back pain and myalgia. Conclusion: Leptospirosis was the etiologic agent of the haemorrhagic fever in Helleh River area. It should be considered in the differential diagnosis of haemorrhagic fever in domestic animals. Leptospirosis should also be suspected in febrile cases with contact with flood water