Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology
Year:2012 | Volume:5 | Issue:2 (S.N. 16)|Papers Count:12

Although rare in industrialized countries, brucellosis continues to be a major public health problem in developing countries such as Iran. General physicians (GP) as well as health care workers (HCW) are concerned about brucellosis both as a public health problem as well as an occupational hazard. The aim of this article is to review the information about the epidemiology, immunopathogenesis, diagnosis and occupational risks associated with the prevention and treatment of brucellosis. Information obtained from previous investigations on brucellosis has yielded better knowledge about this illness.This information enables GPs to provide improved health services including preventive consultations, early diagnosis and treatment to attending people or patients at health care units.

Background: Adherence of Candida species, mainly C. albicans to denture surfaces, forms a biofilm which causes denture stomatitis in denture users. Removal of Candida plaque on dentures is essential to control the colonization of this yeast and to prevent infections related to C. albicans.Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of sodium hypochlorite with white vinegar for the disinfection of C.albicans from acrylic resin.Materials and Methods: 82, 10x10x1 mm acrylic resin plates were inoculated with 1x103C.albicans suspension for 24 hours to prepare experimental Candida biofilm. The total number of Candida cells which adhered to 10 acryl resin plates was determined and the remaining 72 plates were randomly divided into four groups. The test plates were immersed in a solution of 1% sodium hypochlorite, 5% or 10%white vinegar for a period of 8 hours and distilled water was used as the negative control group. The Candida removing ability of the 3 disinfectants and the negative control group was assessed by comparing the number of colony forming units per 1 mL of the plates washing solution before and after the removing protocol.Data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests.Results: Sodium hypochlorite (1%) and white vinegar (10%) removed 100% of the C. albicans cells, followed by white vinegar (5%), which removed 99% of the adhered C. albicans from the acrylic resin plates. There wasn’t any significant statistical difference found between the 5% and 10% white vinegar in removing Candida from the acryl resin plates (P=0.161).Conclusions: Overnight immersion of complete removable dentures in 10% or even a 5% white vinegar solution effectively removed C.albicans cells that had adhered to the denture surface and their removal properties the same as 1% sodium hypochlorite.

Background: Without doubt the problem of infertility is important not just for the individual couple, but in many cases it has a wider effect on human life which may lead to social disorganization if not addressed in the future if not addressed in the future.Objectives: Since the screening of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies of infertile couples has not been studied in our area; this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of HBsAg, HCV & HIV antibodies among infertile couples.Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective cross sectional study and its setting was an in vitro fertilization (IVF) ward. The population study included all of the couples (712) admitted to the infertility center of Ahvaz Imam Khomeini Hospital in 2007-2008 (12 month period). Intervention was an analysis of the data containing the patients’ demographic characteristics and included their HBsAg, HCV and HIV serostatus, which were routinely screened during this period. The main outcome measure was the prevalence of HBsAg, HCV and HIV antibodies among the infertile couples referred to the infertility center.Results: The age range of the men and women was 18 to 62 years and 16 to 46 years respectively.11(0.77 %) of the infertile couples, including 6 (0.8) women and 5(0.7%) men were HBsAg positive.9 (0.63 %) infertile couples, 6(0.8) women and 3(0.4%) men were HCV antibody positive. No cases of HIV were observed in this study.Conclusions: Although the frequencies of hepatitis B and C infections found in this study were small, it still seems logical from the statistical analysis to screen for both viruses as well as for HIV, while a future study using a larger sample size of infertile couples is also recommended.

Background: Mouthwash is used to complete the process of mechanical plaque removal.Chlorhexidine is the most common ingredient in mouthwash so we can use it as a gold standard to compare the effects of new products. Garlic is a strong antimicrobial agent and acts as an inhibitor on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.Objectives: The present study was conducted to compare the effect that garlic juice and Chlorhexidine mouthwash has on oral pathogens.Materials and Methods: Fresh garlic bulbs were used to extract the antibacterial juice. The yellow juice was separated from the pulp with Whatman filter paper. After filtration the liquid was freeze dried and stored at 4oC until required. The bacteria that were tested were: Streptococcus mutans, S. sanguis, S. salivarius and Lactobacillus casei. After cultivation of the bacteria, the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the garlic juice and Chlorhexidine were measured using the E-test method, then the Minimal Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the Chlorhexidine and garlic juice were measured by tube test.Results: The lowest MIC of garlic juice was for S. mutans 0.25 mg/mL and the highest was for L.casei2.5 mg/mL. The MIC of Chlorhexidine for these two bacteria was 0.62 mg/mL and 5 mg/mL respectively. The MBC of Chlorhexidine and garlic forS. mutans had the lowest concentration compared with the other tested bacteria. The MBC of Chlorhexidine and garlic forS. mutans was 0.35 mg/mL and 0.3 mg/mL respectively. The highest MBC of Chlorhexidine was forS. salivarius 10 mg/mL. The MBC of garlic forS. sanguis was similar at 10.4 mg/mL.Conclusions: The efficacy of garlic juice was higher than Chlorhexidine against target bacteria and could be used as an effective mouthwash, but its side effects need to be investigated.

Background: Biosurfactants or microbial surfactants are surface-active biomolecules that are produced by a variety of microorganisms. They are a structurally diverse group of surface-active molecules and are highly sought after biomolecules for both present and future applications.Objectives: The aim of the present study was to isolate and identify biosurfactant producing bacteria from the ear canal and inguinal areas (oily skin areas) of dogs and cats.Materials and Methods: Eighty inguinal area and ear canal samples were collected from stray and owned dogs and cats (10 animals each, 20 samples) and screened for biosurfactant-producing bacteria using criteria such as hemolysis, oil spreading and E 24 emulsification index tests. The isolated strains were identified at genus level.Results: 42 hemolytic bacterial strains (20 from dogs and 22 from cats) were isolated.The owned animal’s samples had a higher population of positive strains than the stray ones. In total 11 isolates (26.2%) were positive for all examinations, out of these 9 (21.1%) isolates belonged to owned animals.9 isolates (out of 11) (82%) were gram positive of which 4 (44.4%) were Bacillus spp. and 3 (27.2%) Lactobacillus spp.Conclusions: The results showed that biosurfactant producing bacteria are distributed in the oily skin areas of both dogs and cats. Further investigation into the composition of the biosurfactants and phylogenetic determination of biosurfactant producing bacteria is suggested.

Background: Non-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria are unable to ferment sugars in order to generate energy. They are ubiquitous in nature, and have a wide geographic distribution.They are also common in hospital settings, and may be isolated from humidifiers, ventilator machines, dialysis machines and other equipment, as well as from the skin of hospital personnel.Objectives: This study focused on the isolation of multidrug resistant (MDR) non-fermenting Gram negative bacteria from clinical samples. Antimicrobial susceptibility, detection of extended spectrumβ-lactamases (ESBL), and the presence of CTX-M and Metallo b-lactamase (MBL) in the isolated bacteria were evaluated.Materials and Methods: Agar dilution method was used to test the susceptibility of the isolates to 10 antibacterial agents. All the isolates that were resistant to ³ 3 antibacterial agents from different classes were regarded as MDR (111 isolates) and were selected for further studies.β-lactamase and ESBL production were detected by nitrocefin discs, combined discs (CD) and double discs plus CD (DCDT).bla CTX-M and MBL were detected by PCR and EDTA synergy methods respectively.Result: Among the MDR isolates the isolation frequency of Pseudomonas aeruoginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophiliaand Acinetoacter baumannii were 83.7%, 9.9% and 6.3% respectively.Resistance to imipenem (0.9%) and Ceftazidim (13.6%) was low, but resistance to otherβ-lactams was high, and 29.7% were resistant to ³ 6 antibacterial agents from different classes simultaneously.β-lactamase was produced by 41.4% of the MDR isolates. Detection of ESBLs by a CD (59.4%) or DCDT test (46.8%) was not significantly different, but with a combination of CD and DCDT a higher percentage of ESBLs in the isolates (P£0.00) could be detected. The blaCTX-M and MBL phenotype were detected in two different strains of P. aeruoginosa.Conclusions: The presence of a high percentage of isolates producing ESBLs which are resistant to different antibacterial agents may result in treatment failure in infected patients.Careful detection of antimicrobial resistant strains is needed in order to avoid underestimation or misidentification of ESBLs. An effective hospital infection control policy is also necessary in order to prevent further resistance to antimicrobials in the region.

Background: Plants are an essential and integral part of complementary and alternative medicine due to their ability to generate secondary metabolites that are used to restore health and treat many diseases.Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the green seaweed Chaetomorpha linum.Materials and Methods: The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of C. linum from the Mandapam coastal region of the Gulf of Mannar, on the southeast coast of India, were examined based on the free radical-scavenging activity of the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), ferrous reducing antioxidant property (FRAP), and total phenolic content in the methanolic extract. The antibacterial properties of the methanolic extract ofC. linum were tested against pathogenic bacterial strains, including Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Klebseilla pneumoniae, and Salmonella typhimurium, by cup-plate agar diffusion method.Results: The DPPH scavenging activity was equivalent to an IC 50 value of 9.8 mg/mL ascorbic acid. The total phenolic content was 672.3 mg/g gallic acid equivalent, and the IC50 value by FRAP assay was 8.2 mg/mL. The C. linum extract showed significant activity against the majority of bacteria, comparable with standard antibiotics.Conclusions: C. linumhas potential as a natural antioxidant and a natural source of antimicrobials against many microbes.

Background: Staphylococcus aureushas become an emerging public health concern.Markers that differentiate tissue-specific lineages are needed to trace the sources of strains.Objectives: The aims of this study were to determine the genotypic characteristics of S. aureusisolates that are associated with skin and urinary tract infections using polymorphisms in the coagulase gene.Materials and Methods: Coagulase gene variants among 26 S. aureus isolates from human infected skin (n=10) and urine (n=16) samples were investigated by amplification of the repeat units encoding the hypervariable region of the coagulase gene. The amplicons ranged from 490-790 bp and were subjected to restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLp) analysis withHae III.Results: In total, 6 distinct RFLp banding patterns were observed, designated C1-C6.The C1 pattern predominated in skin and urine isolates. Notably, the C3, C5, and C6 patterns were present in isolates from urine, whereas the C2 and C4 genotypes were preferentially detected in skin sample isolates.Conclusions: These data demonstrate the widespread prevalence of certain genotypes and tissue-specific tendency of other genotypes, suggesting the existence of lineage- and tissue-specific genes that mediate the development of tissue-specific pathogenicities of S. aureusisolates.

Background: Approximately 1.8 million of the world’s population is infected with both M.tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. HIV-seropositive patients with TB may have radiographically atypical presentations.Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether there was any difference in radiological presentation of pulmonary TB between HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative patients.Patients and Methods: Information on 204 patients who were admitted with a diagnosis of pulmonary TB to the infectious ward of Razi Hospital, Ahvaz, between 2004 and 2008 was obtained from their records. They were divided into HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative groups. All clinical signs and symptoms and radiological findings were extracted from each patient file and recorded in a questionnaire.Results: Normal thoracic radiography, pleural effusion, milliary pattern, and hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy were more common in the HIV-seropositive group. Pulmonary infiltration and cavitary lesions in Chest X-ray (CXR) were more frequent in the HIV-seronegative group. The prevalence of fibrosis in HIV-seronegative patients was higher than in HIV-seropositive subjects.Upper lobe pulmonary involvement in HIV-seropositive patients was less frequent than HIV-seronegative persons due to their immunodeficiency.Conclusions: Radiological presentation of pulmonary TB differs between HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative patients due to progressive immunodeficiency from HIV infection.

Background: Accute Immune Deficiency Syndrom (AIDS) is a serious and lethal disease in many parts of the world, rendering a patient sensitive to all opportunistic pathogens that can cause death as the disease progresses. Many patients suffer from intestinal opportunistic infections by parasites.Objectives: The aim of present study was to examine parasitic intestinal infections in AIDS patients in Razi Hospital, Ahvaz.Patients and Methods: We collected 100 stool samples from 60 HIV (+) patients who were referred to Razi Hospital, Ahvaz. The samples were examined by direct and MIF (merthiolateiodine-formaldehyde) method. All samples were stained with Ziehl-Neelsen (acid fast staining) and trichrome. General data, such as clinical signs, duration of disease, route of infection, and habitat of patient, were obtained by questionnaire.Results: Thirty percent of HIV (+) patients were infected with intestinal protozoan parasites.There was no significant difference in the prevalence of parasite infections between sex or age.The prevalence of parasitic infections was as follows: Blastocystis hominis, 16.7%; Cryptosporidium parvum, 8.3%; Endolimax nana, 5%; Entamoeba coli, 5%; Giardia intestinalis, 3.3%; E. histolytica cyst, 1.7%, and Dientamoeba fragilis, 1.7%.Conclusions: This study shows that the prevalence of parasitic infections is not high in HIV (+) patient in Ahvaz compared with other studies, but it is recommended that fecal examination be performed every 3 months to detect serious parasitic infections and that parasitic infections should be treated after laboratory diagnosis and in the presence of the gastrointestinal symptoms.

Background: Antibiotic therapy prevents postoperative infections after orthopedic procedures, but the method and prescribed dose of this therapy are debated. Short-term prophylaxis and long-term prophylaxis are 2 accepted methods after orthopedic procedures.Objectives: In this prospective observational study, we compared the results of shortterm and long-term prophylaxis after elective orthopedic procedures at 2 hospitals of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences.Patients and Methods: We divided patients who underwent uneventful orthopedic operations into 2 groups, administered short- and long-term prophylactic antibiotic therapy, respectively, and observed the patients for signs and symptoms of superficial and deep infections. We compared and analyzed the results with SPSS, consideringP values of less than 0.001 to indicate a significant difference.Results: There was no significant difference regarding superficial and deep infections between short- and long-term prophylaxis groups; thus, both methods can be used for prophylaxis after elective orthopedic surgeries, effecting equal rates of success.Conclusions: Short-term prophylaxis can be used for clean orthopedic procedures with equivalent results as long-term therapy.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a zoonotic disease that is caused by various species of the genus Leishmania. The disease is considered a major health problem in different areas of Iran and is an endemic disease in rural areas of Mirjaveh, Chabahar, and Konarak Counties, Sistan Va Baluchistan Province.Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify Leishmania species that was isolated from potential sand fly vectors by molecular analysis in Chabahar County.Materials and Methods: To collect Sand flies, sticky traps were placed at the entrance of rodents burrows in Dashtiyari division of Chabahar County, where CL is endemic. Freshly collected Sand flies were identified with regard to species, dissected in normal saline using binocular, and examined for leptomonads under a microscope. Leptomonads from the Sand flies were used to inoculate the base of Balb/c mice tails subcutaneously; after an incubation period and the development of lesions, the parasites were transferred to NNN+LIT medium culture. The harvested Leishmania parasites were subjected to DNA extraction and analyzed by random amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR).Results: DNA from Leishmania species from Phlebotomus papatasi and P. salehi Sand flies produced distinctive patterns of bands of L. major with all primers. However, the products at approximately 2100 bp and 800 bp that were amplified with primer 329 were stable and reproducible in all assays. This is the first report on the isolation and identification of L. major in P. salehi from Iran and P. papatasi from Sistan va Baluchistan.Conclusions: The study shows that P. papatasi and P. salehi Sand flies play a major role in the maintenance and transmission of disease to humans in this area.