IRANIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY
Year:2018 | Volume:12 | Issue:1 |Papers Count:9

Brucellelosis has been almost eradicated in developed countries while in under developed areas from Mediterranean regions to Arabic countries and even in Indian subcontinental can cause serious health problems. This point can be found out easily in released reports. It is over a century that various serological methods have been introduced and applied for diagnosis of brucella infection, but all were not able to provide satisfactory results. Therefore, clinicians treat the patients with various unspecific treatment protocols based on clinical signs and symptoms, consequently causing treatment failure or possible relapse later on. This article aimed to have short survey on serological diagnosis of brucellosis and proposed an approach at present situation of brucellosis diagnostic specifically for local laboratories.

Background and Aims: As one of the fat-soluble vitamins, vitamin K, can in some cases have intrinsic inhibitory effects on the activity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The aim of this study, was to determine the effect of vitamin K2 on the expression of mecA and blaZ genes in Multi Drug Resistant Methicilin Resistance S. aureus isolates. Materials and Methods: 76 clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant S. aureus were isolated by phenotypic tests. For treatment of isolates, concentrations of 1, 10, 50, 100, 200, 300 and 500 μ g / ml of vitamin K2 and different time intervals were used. The q-PCR method was used to quantitatively evaluate the genes. It was also used to analyze the results of REST 2008 V3 and SPSS 16 software. Results: The expression of blaZ and mecA genes was reduced only at a concentration of 500 μ g / ml of vitamin K2. Additionally, the 48 and 72 hours incubation times had the best effect on the effect of vitamins on the genes studied. In the isolates from clinical specimens, ulcers and urine reduced the expression of mecA and blaZ genes. Also, there was a significant relationship between incubation time and clinical specimen type on decreasing the expression of the desired genes (P≤ 0. 01, P≤ 0. 05). Conclusions: In accordance to the results of this study, the use of vitamin K2 can play an important role in the control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains.

Background and Aims: Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen, which particularly its methicillin resistant strains, is responsible for a wide range of hospital and community acquired infections. Adhesion ability is one of the important virulence factors of this bacterium. In this study, the resistance to methicillin and the frequency of fnbA and fnbB adhesion genes in clinical isolates of S. aureus were investigated. Materials and Methods: Isolates of S. aureus were collected from clinical samples of patients referred to Rasht medical diagnostic laboratories. Resistance of isolates to methicillin was investigated by disk diffusion method and determination of presence of mecA gene. Frequency of fnbA and fnbB adhesion genes in methicillin sensitive and methicillin resistant strains was determined using specific primers of these genes in PCR reaction and was compared using chi-square test. Results: Out of 90 isolates, 37 isolates (41%) were resistant to methicillin and mecA positive. Also, in the PCR reaction, fnbA and fnbB genes were identified in 59 (65. 5%) and 37 (43. 3%) isolates, respectively. The prevalence of fnb genes in Staphylococcus aureus methicillin-resistant strains was significantly higher than that of methicillin-susceptible strains (P<0. 05). Conclusions: The results of this study indicate high prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains in clinical isolates of S. aureus in Rasht and the frequency of fnb gene in these isolates.

Background and Aims: Although there are several ways of nanoparticles production, however the biological method of nanoparticles production is under attention of researchers due to its eco friendly and energy saving properties. In the present study biosynthesis of gold nanoparticle was done by Fusarium oxysporum fungus strain and the cytotoxicity of the obtained nanoparticles was evaluated in the cell culture. Materials and Methods: Fusarium oxysporum was purchased and cultured in Sabouraud dextrose broth medium. The culture supernatant was subjected to chloroauric acid solution at the final concentration of 1 mM. After nanoparticles production, the color changed reaction mixture was used for characterization with spectrophotometry, XRD and TEM microscopy. The obtained nanoparticles were washed and sterilized. Finally two cell lines (CIRC-HLF as normal and SW 872 as cancerous cell lines) were used for 3-(4, 5 dimethyl thiazol-2yl)-2, 5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results: The fungal supernatant color after 24 hours was changed from yellow to red. TEM images have shown the nanoparticles were spherical or hexagonal and their sizes were around 50-70 nanometer. MTT assay and cell culture assay showed that the produced GNPs had toxic effect when they were used at high concentrations and the CIRC-HLF cell line was more resistant than SW 872 one against the higher concentration of GNPs. Conclusions: It seems that the biological production of gold nanoparticles by Fusarium oxysporum can be done and can be easily produced, washed, sterilized and can be used in vivo.

Background and Aims: Aquatic feed consists of different components; the undesirable quality of each of them affects the quality of the meat produced. Fungi are agents of contamination and poison production in food. Aflatoxins are of particular importance among the toxins of fungi. This poison has the ability to transfer through feeds to fish and then humans. The aim of this study was to determine the amount of aflatoxin in the feed and to identify the fungal flora. Materials and Methods: In this study, 8 rainbow trout farms in Damghan city were evaluated for the assessment of fungal flora and total aflatoxin levels. 500 g sample of feed (pellet) was randomly prepared from the storeroom of the 8 fish farms. Fungi of Aspergillus Flavous and also fungal flora were isolated and identified by culture and slide culture method. Total aflatoxin measurement was performed using ELISA method. Results: A total of 11 genera (Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Mucor, Scopulariopsis, Chrysosporium, Rhizopus, Absidia, Ulocladium, Alternaria, Pseudallescheria) were identified. The genera of Rhizopus and Aspergillus were the highest with 20. 38% and 18. 47% respectively. Among Aspergillus species, Aspergillus flavus was the highest with 48. 44% and A. ochraceus had the lowest incidence of 10. 34%. A. niger was also reported with 24. 74% of the reported cases. The lowest frequency was found in the genus Chrysosporium with 1. 28%. The average of total aflatoxin concentration was 5. 36 ppb in the range of 2. 03-11. 64. Conclusions: The aflatoxin content in all samples from Rainbow trout consumption was less than the permitted level (20 ppb).

Background and Aims: Aflatoxins are a large group of mycotoxins and secondary metabolites of Aspergillus fungal species. aflR The interfering genes group in the transcription and production of aflatoxin plays an important role in Aspergillus fungi. In this study, the molecular identity of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp. in fresh pistachios in Sirjan city was investigated. Materials and Methods: In This study 100 samples of fungal infected pistachio were purposefully collected from pistachio warehouses in Sirjan city. Samples were transferred to the sabouraud dextrose broth medium. The positive control used in this study were generator genes of aflatoxin in Aspergillus strains and negative control were non Aspergillus fungal strains and non aflatoxic Aspergillus. DNA extraction were performed by kit and PCR method was used for identification of AflR gene in samples of fungal infected pistachio warehouses for confirmation of the presence of the generator genes of aflatoxin. Results: Molecular results showed that among 100 samples of fresh pistachio nuts that were purposefully selected, there were 10 healthy samples, and in 64 Aspergillus fungi ones, 18 samples contained pencillium, 1 sample mucor, 5 sample Saprophytic and 2 samples contained unknown fungal infection. Among Aspergillus, only in 7 cases were regulatory gene of aflatoxin. Conclusions: By studying this subject, factors affecting on ways to reduce aflatoxin can be found. Since most countries are sensitive on the issue of aflatoxin in terms of health, this research can play an important role in the ways of increasing exports to countries.

Background and Aims: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the major public health problems and the main causes of cervical cancer. The prevalence HPV infection in developing countries with low financial resources is high. This study aimed to determine the relative frequency of HPV genotypes and its sociodemographic characteristics in women referred to a general hospital in Tabriz, Iran from 2015-2016. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in 400 women with Pap smear samples, referring to to a general hospital in Tabriz, Iran from 2015-2016. The detection of 28 HPV genotypes was performed by using the PCR technique. The sociodemographic survey was conducted for each HPV positive woman. Results: HPV-positive infection was detected in 155 (38. 75%) women aged 17-85 years. HPV 16 (19. 1%) was the most prevalent type, followed by HPV 39 (12. 5%) and HPV 18 (8. 9%). The highest rate of HPV infection was observed at the age of 36 years (7. 7%). The level of education and economic situation of each woman were showed most of HPV-positive women had a high school diploma (34. 6%) and average economic situation (67, 9%). 60. 9% of these women were a housewife, and 67. 3% lived in the capital. Conclusions: Determination of HPV genotype and risk factor related to HPV infection in each geographical region can lead to the production of effective vaccines against the HPV virus. It can also be useful for disease management and high sensitivity diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Background and Aims: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Infectious agents such as herpes simplex virus (HSV) may be implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to survey the prevalence of IgG antibodies against HSV in patients with coronary artery disease and to determine the mean of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) in these patients. Materials and Methods: 40 patients being evaluated for atherosclerosis by coronary angiography along with 40 healthy individuals as a control group were examined in this research. Assessment of hs-CRP was carried out by nephelometry and virus-specific IgG antibodies by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Results and Conclusions: Results showed that the levels of hs-CRP were significantly higher among patients compared to that of control group (P<0. 05). Higher percentage of patients had anti-HSV (78. 4%) compared to healthy individuals (21. 6%). Significant correlation was detected between HSV seropositivity and CAD. The mean of hs-CRP was significantly higher in subjects with HSV positive serology. In conclusion, the seropositivity of HSV along with high levels of hs-CRP may be a risk factor for coronary atherosclerosis.