Microbiology insights最新文献

As global studies report varying trends in antibiotic susceptibility of uropathogens, it is necessary to have current and constant information on the prevalence of urinary tract infections, the causative pathogens, and their susceptibility profiles, for effective management in specific geographical settings. This prospective cross-sectional study focused on the prevalence of urinary tract infections, etiological agents, and their antibiogram in a secondary and tertiary care hospital in Northern Ghana. Urine samples collected from 219 patients of all age groups were cultured on cysteine lactose electrolyte deficient agar. Pathogens were identified following standard microbiological methods, and their susceptibility to antibiotics was determined by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Approximately 34% of the patients had significant bacteria, but the prevalence was slightly higher (P = .763) in the Tertiary care hospital (37.3%) than in the Secondary hospital (30.3%). Patients who were 60 years and above (27.0%) were commonly found with UTIs followed by the year group 20 to 29 years (20.3%). Although all the diagnoses had a positive relationship with urinary tract infection except Pyelonephritis, none of the underlying conditions was a significant (P > .05) predictor of urinary tract infection, with the odds ratio indicating that patients with hyperparathyroidism and dysuria had 2.606 times more likely increased risk or predictor of urinary tract infection. Ten different pathogens were identified, but Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus saprophyticus were frequently encountered. Gram-negative isolates generally showed more resistance. High resistance against ampicillin (100%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (88.5%), chloramphenicol (84.6%), augmentin (69.2%), ceftriaxone (69.2%), and ciprofloxacin (61.5%) were recorded. Amikacin was relatively effective against isolated pathogens. The high records of resistance among uropathogens and the occurrence of multidrug resistance (92%) reiterate the urgent call for rigorous surveillance of antimicrobial resistance among infectious pathogens in Ghana.

Background: The first human case of COVID-19 was reported on 19 February 2020 in Iran, since then the number of infected cases has dramatically increased to about 1.800 million and about 62 000 deaths, also elderly people have accounted for the largest frequency of mortality.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of Covid-19 RT-PCR positive among Iranian patients and to evaluate the most important clinical symptoms of identified patients based on age, gender, and their background diseases to be used as an aid for early diagnosis.

Methods: During 9 months, swab samples of 11 034 patients' nasopharynx and oropharynx secretions were obtained and were referred to the laboratory for Covid-19 RT-PCR test. In addition, the history of signs and symptoms from patients was recorded.

Results: In total, 11 034 Covid-19 RT-PCR tests that performed, 3358 samples had positive results (30.4%). Headache was the most commonly reported, which was found in 42.5% of our cases. Fever was the second most common symptom among the patients studied, with a prevalence rate of 36.2%.

Conclusion: In this study, almost 30% of symptomatic patients had positive Covid-19 RT-PCR test results. Headache was the most common symptom; also diarrhea and nausea were the least common symptoms among patients under this study.

Background: Otitis media (OM), also known as middle ear infection, is a clinically significant childhood disease. In sub-Saharan Africa, there is a paucity of contemporary reports on it is bacterial aetiologies and antimicrobial resistance among them.

Aim: To investigate the OM bacterial aetiologies and their antimicrobial resistance patterns among children visiting the Ear, Nose, and Throat clinics of 3 healthcare facilities in Accra, Ghana - Princess Marie Louise Children's Hospital, 37 Military Hospital, and Mamprobi Hospital.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 100 children below 13 years old with suppurative otitis media. Following standard bacteriological methods, sterile ear swabs were used to take middle ear discharges from the study participants for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. A standard questionnaire was also used to collect data on socio-demographic and clinical characteristics.

Results: The major OM bacterial aetiologies were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (38.5%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (19.8%), Proteus mirabilis (11.5%), and Staphylococcus aureus (10.4%). The majority of the bacteria demonstrated low to moderate resistance (0%-33.3%) to most of the antibiotics. Eight of the bacteria (4 each of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli) were extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers; 6 ampicillinase (Amp C)-producing organisms (4 Citrobacter spp. and one each of Morganella morganii and Serratia marcescens) were also identified, and they showed high antibiotic resistance.

Conclusions: The predominant OM aetiologies were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, and Staphylococcus aureus, and they were generally susceptible to most of the antibiotics tested. Amikacin, cefepime, ciprofloxacin, and meropenem could be valuable in the empirical management of childhood OM.

Background: Camel milk is the key food for pastoralists in the arid and semi-arid areas of the eastern lowlands of Ethiopia. Unless it is handled under good hygienic conditions, milk can be a good medium for bacterial growth and can lead to foodborne diseases caused by various pathogenic microorganisms, such as Staphylococcus aureus. The current study was aimed to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in raw camel milk and associated factors in Fedis, Eastern Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2, 2018 to May 26, 2019 in Fedis, Eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia. The questionnaire was used to determine the hygienic practices of camel milkers and sellers. Laboratory analysis was conducted to determine the level of Staphylococcus aureus. A total of 156 (78 from households and 78 from selling sites) milk samples were collected randomly from selected camel herd owners and selling sites for the isolation and enumeration of Staphylococcus aureus. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS software version 22.0. Finally, Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to analyze the data. A P-value of .05 was considered as the cut-off point for statistical significance.

Results: A total of 156 samples, including 78 samples of raw milk from the households and 78 samples from the market were purchased to determine Staphylococcus aureus. Out of 156 samples, Staphylococcus aureus was detected in 60 (38.5%) samples, of which 27 (34.6%) and 33 (42.3%) were among those collected from household and market, respectively. The overall mean Staphylococcus aureus count was 4.83 log CFU/mL, with household and market samples accounted for 2.76 and 5.08 log CFU/mL, respectively. Furthermore, 23 (38.3%) of the samples were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus beyond the recommended level (4-5 log CFU/mL). There was a statistically significant association (P-value of <.05) between the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and other variables such as age of the camel, parity, lactation stages, and sources of milk.

Conclusion: More than one-third of milk samples were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus at levels higher than the maximum permitted level. The findings of the current study suggests that there is a potential risk of foodborne infection and intoxication. Therefore, implementation of adequate hygiene and safety practices is very important to prevent the consumption of contaminated fruit juices, which leads to foodborne illness.

In addition to the ongoing global problem of healthcare-acquired infections, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a serious threat to the health of the global population. This unprecedented pandemic situation has reinforced the need for the development of technologies that can curb the transmission of viruses among human beings and help to control the infection. Existing disinfection techniques using either ultraviolet light or harsh chemicals pose safety risks and are not suitable for use in the presence of humans. Thus, the need for a safe and effective disinfection technique that can be used in the presence of humans to control viral transmission is evident. A technique that can continuously disinfect air and surfaces in indoor environments, where the chances of viral transmission are high, can be an indispensable tool to fight such a pandemic. The Airlens Minus Corona (AMC) device provided by Persapien Innovations has been developed to achieve this goal. In this study, the antiviral functionality and biocompatibility of AMC were evaluated. Activated water mist (AWM) generated from this device was tested in vitro and in vivo for its toxicity to cell lines and in animal model. The AWM was found to be non-cytotoxic to L-929 cell lines and had no sign of clinical toxicity in an animal model (rabbit). This device was further used to inactivate animal viruses and bacteriophages. The AWM was found to be effective in the complete inactivation of influenza A H1N1 virus within 5 minutes of direct treatment. This device was also found to be effective in inactivating >90% of bacteriophage particles.

The new coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). The impacts of COVID-19 have changed over the past year globally. There were 116 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in more than 220 countries, including 2.5 million deaths, as reported at the end of the first week of March 2021. Throughout this time, different variants of SARS-CoV-2 have emerged. In early March, the United States of America (USA) led in both confirmed cases and casualties, while India followed in the number of confirmed cases and Brazil in the number of deaths. Vaccines are available in the USA and worldwide to help combat COVID-19. The level of preparedness among multisectoral communities played a role in transmission rates; therefore, lessons learned from past outbreaks, alongside this pandemic, are crucial in establishing policies and regulations to reduce and/or prevent the spread. This narrative literature review provides an update on the global spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, and the current impact of the pandemic 1-year after the declaration, preparedness, and mitigation efforts since the outbreak.

The use of antibiotics on a regular and excessive basis is a major factor in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Patients discharge un-metabolized or relatively low doses of non-metabolized antibiotics through urine and stool, which might enter into the environment through sewage disposal and promote the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. This study is designed to investigate how excessive use of antibiotics in the hospital sector and their release into hospital wastes contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in different environmental settings. In this study, liquid hospital waste was collected from the sewage of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), Bangladesh as well as from its distribution position in Chittagong city, Bangladesh. A total of 5 samples were collected from different positions in Chittagong city, including CMCH liquid waste. After collection, total bacteria and total cefixime resistant bacteria were counted by the total viable count (TVC) method. The result of bacteriological enumeration showed that a high magnitude of cefixime-resistant bacteria were available in all the hospital's associated waste samples. The highest proportion of cefixime resistant bacteria (23.35%) was found in sample 2, whereas 17.4%, 7.6%, 5%, and 1.32% were found in samples 1, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. The total number of cefixime-resistant bacteria decreased with the increase in distance between the sample collection site and the hospital drain. This means that resistant bacteria developed in the hospital effluent are transferred to the environmental distribution sites.