Genetic diversity of food originated Salmonella isolates

Currently, Salmonella enterica is the most common bacterial foodborne pathogen, causing serious extraintestinal disease. Typing methods play an important role on pathogens’ source tracking, knowing the source(s) of bacteria in pharmaceutical sciences, preventing and controlling the diarrhea and food-poisoning outbreaks. The purpose of this study is to use different moleculer typing methods to determine the genetic variability of 38 foodborne Salmonella isolates that were previously identified by biochemical tests. The methods were evaluated by four molecular techniques including 16S rRNA sequencing, PFGE, PCR-RFLP and invA-spvC PCR. 16S rRNA sequencing results showed that four of the 38 isolates were Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Citrobacter murliniae, and the others were Salmonella enterica. Thirty-eight strains were subtyped by XbaI-PFGE into 20 profiles with different clusters, while they were subtyped by 16S rRNA-RFLP into 9 profiles with a single cluster. Out of two Salmonella isolates, the invasion gene (invA) was detected in all other Salmonella isolates (94%) and the virulence gene (spvC) was detected in 11% of Salmonella isolates. Our results suggested that the PFGE subtyping is the prominent method for the evaluation and benchmarking of molecular subtyping

Effects of sub-MIC antibiotic concentrations on biofilm production of Salmonella Infantis

In the present study, 13 Salmonella Infantis strains, which have been originated from Turkey, were selected due to their clinical and industrial relevance, sufficient biofilm producing capability and multidrug resistance. Although all tested strains were built up of thin pellicle, optimum pellicle formation has occurred at 28 °C. All S. Infantis biofilms were categorized as ‘bdar’ morphotype following the incubation at both 20 and 28 °C, while they were categorized as ‘saw’ morphotype at 37 °C. Under a certain incubation temperature (28 °C), 84.62% of strains have formed strong biofilm structures. By using the disk diffusion method, high levels of resistance have been observed among tested bacteria against nalidixic acid (100%), spectinomycin (100%), streptomycin (92.3%), tetracycline (92.3%), kanamycin (76.9%) and neomycin (76.9%). Further studies were performed with S. Infantis DMC 12 strain, due to its capability to produce biofilm and multidrug resistance phenotype. Gentamycin (>64 µg/mL, 2 × MIC) and tetracycline (>128 µg/mL, 4 × MIC) were determined as the most effective antibiotics against biofilm formation. The biofilm forms have showed increased antimicrobial resistance when it was compared to the planktonic bacteria. The highest resistance rates of the biofilm bacteria were observed to neomycin (12 × MIC) followed by spectinomycin (10 × MIC) and streptomycin (10 × MIC). Biofilm structure was induced as a result of nalidixic acid, spectinomycin, tetracycline and neomycin treatment at sub-MIC concentrations of tested antibiotics

Unclear Issues Regarding COVID-19

Scientists from all over the world have been intensively working to discover different aspects of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since the first cluster of cases was reported in China. Herein, we aimed to investigate unclear issues related to transmission and pathogenesis of disease as well as accuracy of diagnostic tests and treatment modalities. A literature search on PubMed, Ovid, and EMBASE databases was conducted, and articles pertinent to identified search terms were extracted. A snow-ball search strategy was followed in order to retrieve additional relevant articles. It was reported that viral spread may occur during the asymptomatic phase of infection, and viral load was suggested to be a useful marker to assess disease severity. In contrast to immune response against viral infections, cytotoxic T lymphocytes decline in SARS-CoV-2 infection, which can be partially explained by direct invasion of T lymphocytes or apoptosis activated by SARS-CoV-2. Dysregulation of the urokinase pathway, cleavage of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein by FXa and FIIa, and consumption coagulopathy were the proposed mechanisms of the coagulation dysfunction in COVID-19. False-negative rates of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction varied between 3% and 41% across studies. The probability of the positive test was proposed to decrease with the number of days past from symptom onset. Safety issues related to infection spread limit the use of high flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in hypoxic patients. Further studies are required to elucidate the challenging issues, thus enhancing the management of COVID-19 patients

Perceived Need for Mental Health Services Among Healthcare Workers During the Coronavirus disease-19 Pandemic in Turkey: A Multicenter Cross-sectional Study.

Background: The coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic has contributed to work-related psychosocial risks in healthcare workers.Aims: To evaluate the perceived need for mental health services and related factors in Turkish healthcare workers practicing in pandemic hospitals.Study Design: Cross-sectional study.Methods: Data were collected from face-to-face interviews with healthcare workers at 19 pandemic hospitals in 13 provinces between September and November 2021. The study survey included the evaluation of the perceived need for and utilization of mental health services in the previous year, as well as sociodemographic, health-related, and work-related characteristics, the General Health Questionnaire-12, the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQoL-BREF) questionnaire, and the Fear of coronavirus disease-2019 scale (FCV-19S).Results: Of 1,556 participants, 522 (33.5%) reported a perceived need for mental health services, but only 133 (8.5%) reported receiving these services. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the perceived need for mental health services revealed significant relationships with lower age, female sex, being a current smoker, having a chronic disease, having a mental disorder, coronavirus disease-2019 contact within the last three months in settings other than the home or workplace, a positive coronavirus disease-2019 vaccination history, being a physician, being a non-physician healthcare professional, and coronavirus disease-2019 contact within the last three months at work. After adjustment for these characteristics, higher General Health Questionnaire-12 and FCV-19S scores and lower WHOQoL-BREF domain scores were related to the perceived need for mental health services in logistic regression analyses.Conclusion: The findings indicate a substantial need for mental health services amongst Turkish healthcare workers during the pandemic and outline participants' characteristics regarding high-priority groups for the intervention. Future research may focus on developing actions and evaluating their efficiency

Çocuklarda Yüksek Akım Nazal Kanül Oksijen Tedavisine Yanıtsızlığı Belirleyen Faktörler: Prospektif Çok Merkezli Çalışma

Giriş : Yüksek akım nazal kanül (YANK) oksijen tedavisi, akut solunum sıkıntısı olan çocuklarda kolay uygulanabilir bir tedavi seçeneğidir. Literatürde YANK oksijen tedavisinin entübasyon oranını, solunum sayısı, kalp tepe atım sayısını azalttığını ve klinik skorlarda iyileşme sağladığını gösteren çok sayıda çalışma mevcuttur. YANK oksijen tedavisine %6-19 oranında tedavi başarısızlığı bildirilmektedir. Bu çalışmada YANK oksijen tedavisine yanıtsızlığı öngören faktörlerin belirlenmesi amaçlanmaktadır.Gereç-Yöntem : Bu çalışmaya Eylül 2017- Eylül 2018 tarihleri arasında Türkiye’nin 7 farklı ilinden 9 çocuk acil ve 7 çocuk yoğun bakım ünitesi katılmıştır. YANK oksijen tedavisi uygulanan hastalara ait demografik bilgiler, başvuru anında ve YANK oksijen tedavisi sırasında vital bulgular, oksijen saturasyonu, S/F oranı, klinik skor (modified respiratory distress score ve pediatric respiratory severity score), laboratuvar ve görüntüleme sonuçları, uygulanan medikal tedaviler ve YANK oksijen tedavisine yanıt durumu değerlendirilmiştir. Veriler prospektif olarak toplanmıştır. Başka bir solunum destek tedavisine geçiş yanıtsızlık olarak değerlendirilmiştir.Bulgular : Toplam 475 veri kayıt formu değerlendirilmiştir. Doksan dokuz form veri eksikliği nedeniyle değerlendirme dışında bırakılmıştır. Kalan 356 hastaya ait veri kayıt formları incelenmiştir. Ekstübasyon sonrası YANK oksijen tedavisi uygulanan 20 hasta çalışmaya dahil edilmemiştir. Çalışmaya dahil edilen 356 hastanın 216’sı (%60.7) erkek ve ortanca yaş 9 aydır (ÇAA=4-27ay). Hastaların %39.0’ına akut bronşiolit (n=139), %36.2’sine atipik/viral pnömoni (n=129), %26.8’ine bakteriyel pnömoni (n=88) tanısıyla YANK oksijen tedavisi uygulanmıştır. Kırk altı (%12.9) hastada prematür doğum ve 143 (%40.2) hastada tekrarlayan hışıltı atağı öyküsü saptanmıştır. Hastaların %62.9’undan (n=224) solunum virüs PCR paneli çalışılmıştır. Bu hastaların 101’inde (%45.1) tek etken pozitifliği saptanırken 36 hastada ko-enfeksiyon gösterilmiştir. En sık görülen etkenler RSV ve rhinovirüstür. Başvurudan sonra ortanca YANK oksijen başlama süresi 2 saat (ÇAA= 30dk-6 sa) ve median tedavi uygulama süresi 48 saattir (ÇAA=24-96 sa). Tedavi sonrasında hastaların solunum sayısında (SS) belirgin azalma, oksijen saturasyonu (SpO₂) ve SF oranında istatistiksel anlamlı artış saptanmıştır (p&lt;0.001). Otuzyedi (%9.9) hastada tedaviye yanıt alınamamıştır. Median yanıtsızlık süresi 6.5 saattir (ÇAA=3.0-19.5sa). Tedaviye yanıt alınamayan hastalarda, başvuruda SpO₂, S/F oranı ve kan gazında pH daha düşük ve pCO₂’nin daha yüksek olduğu saptanmıştır (p=0.005, p=0.008, p=0.012 ve p=0.039 sırayla). Tedavi komplikasyonu olarak 2 hastada lokal cilt lezyonu ve 2 hastada pnömotoraks izlenmiştir. Yanıtsız hastaların 5’i mortalite ile sonuçlanmıştır. Sonuç : Çalışmamızda YANK oksijen tedavisine yanıtsızlık oranı %9.9 olarak saptanmıştır. Tedaviye yanıt alınamayan hastalarda, başvuruda SpO₂ ve SF oranının, kan gazında pH’nın daha düşük, pCO₂’nin ise yüksek olduğu bulunmuştur. Tedavi başlangıcında bu bulguları olan hastalar daha yakın takip edilmeli ve bir üst tedavi basamağına geçiş acısından dikkatli olunmalıdır.</p