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Background: In recent years, the presence of large amount of research isolating and detecting Arcobacter spp. from animals and humans with diarrhea and from food samples highlights the importance of Arcobacter spp. as emerging food-borne pathogens worldwide. Recently, independent studies have been conducted, making significant progress in the understanding of the classification and pathogenicity of this group of microorganisms. However, the incidence of Arcobacter infection is likely to be underestimated mainly due to the limitations in current detection and identification methods. This study was done to evaluate the effectiveness of staining method (Gram stain using 1% fuchsinein direct smear) versus PCR as the gold standard.
Materials and Methods: A total of 150 stool samples were collected from under 6 years of age children with diarrhea from clinical centers of Arak. Direct smears of samples were stained with a modified gram staining method (1% fuchsin for 5 minutes with heat). Concurrently, PCR amplification method was performed for all DNA samples.
Results: Arcobacter spp. was isolated by PCR from 28 out of 150 stool samples. Direct staining method identified 79 samples as Campylobacter-like organisms with a sensitivity and specificity values of 100 and 65.50%, respectively.
Conclusion: Detection of Campylobacter-like organisms by 1% fuchsin is simple, inexpensive, and fast with high sensitivity and specificity. Laboratories with limited resources can employ modified gram staining method to detect Campylobacteriaceae infection in early stages.

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Aims: In recent years, Arcobacter has been isolated from various samples. It can cause diseases both in human and animal and be transmitted to human through water, food, and continuous contact with poultry meat. Therefore, people exposed to the contaminated meat such as chicken meat can be exposed to Arcobacter too and as a part of its transmission route. Thus, in this study, the frequency of Arcobacter species was evaluated in slaughterhouse workers and poultry meat sellers and healthy people not exposed to the poultry meat.
Materials & Methods: In the present study, 85 slaughterhouse workers and poultry meat sellers (exposed group) and 85 healthy people with other jobs (non-exposed group) were studied. By simple method, fecal samples were collected from Health Center of Arak city and tested by 4 methods including direct observation, culture, PCR, and m-PCR.
Findings: Campylobacter-like organisms were observed in 32 out of 85 samples from the exposed group and in 11 out of 85 samples from the non-exposed group by microscopic observation method. No sample was positive by culture method. However, by PCR method, the frequency of Arcobacter strains was 20 in the exposed group and 6 in the non-exposed group. According to the m-PCR results, among the 170 samples, 21 A. cryaerophilus and 14 A. butzleri strains were identified.
Conclusion: Chicken carcass are introduced as a main reservoir for Arcobacter; therefore, continuous contact with poultry meat can have a significant effect on the transmission of Arcobacter strains to individuals. Therefore, this study showed that the frequency of Arcobacter strains is more in exposed group than in non-exposed group.

 

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Aim: Thermophilic Campylobacter is the first cause of gastroenteritis infection in human. Nowadays, the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. is higher than other bacteria causing intestinal infection such as Salmonella and Shigella. This study was designed to compare the frequency of Campylobacter species in poultry slaughterhouse workers and poultry meat sellers (exposed group) and in healthy people (non-exposed group) in Arak city.
Materials & Methods: Among the 104 samples, 52 samples were collected from the slaughterhouse workers and poultry meat sellers, and 52 samples were collected from the control group. The stool samples were taken from the slaughterhouse workers, poultry meat seller, and healthy people who had not received antibiotics for the last two weeks. For enrichment, the samples were enriched in Preston broth medium at 37℃ for 48 hrs under the microaerophilic conditions. Then they were sub cultured using a passive filtration method on Brucella agar at 37℃ for 72 hrs under the microaerophilic conditions. Finally, the samples were directly tested using genus- and species specific PCR primers.
Findings: Of 52 samples collected from the slaughterhouse workers and poultry meat sellers, 11 (21.1%) samples were positive for the presence of Campylobacter spp. by PCR, and of 52 samples collected from the healthy people, 2 (3.8%) samples were reported as positive. The most frequent species isolated from the 2 groups were C.jejuni (53.84%) and C.coli (23.07%), respectively.
Conclusion: Chicken is identified as one of the important sources of Campylobacter infections in humans, which may contaminate poultry Slaughterhouse workers and chicken meat sellers, which in turn, they could potentially transmit Campylobacter strains to healthy people and chicken meat.

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Backgrounds: Arcobacter is an emerging bacterium that may cause watery diarrhea and septicemia in humans. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Arcobacter spp. in diarrheal stool specimens using culture and molecular methods, their genetic diversity, and their resistance to different antibiotics in patients referring to clinical centers in Arak, Iran.
Materials & Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, diarrheal stool specimens were collected from 230 patients over a two-month period from July to September 2016. The samples were tested for the presence of Arcobacter species. Suspected colonies were subjected to biochemical tests and identified by phenotypic methods. In addition, antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method. Arcobacter spp. were also directly detected  by multiplex-PCR.
Findings: Out of 230 samples, 20 samples (8.69%) were positive in culture method, and 44 samples (19.13%) were positive in PCR method, all culture-positive samples were also positive in PCR method. Rep-PCR indicated 14 different rep types among Arcobacter spp. isolated from patients with gastroenteritis. All Arcobacter isolates were resistant to cefazolin, ceftazidime, and nalidixic acid. The isolates showed high susceptibility to tetracycline, gentamicin, ampicillin, amikacin, meropenem, erythromycin, and ciprofloxacin.
Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study conducted in Iran to isolate Arcobacter spp. from patients with gastroenteritis. The results indicate that Arcobacter spp. are one of the main causes of acute diarrhea in humans. The research outcomes show that Arcobacter spp. could be considered as the etiology of gastrointestinal infections in humans.
 

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Backgrounds: Abnormal vaginal discharge is a common problem among pregnant women. The most common cause of these discharges is bacterial vaginosis (BV), which has numerous complications and causes problems for pregnant mothers and their fetuses. The purpose of this study was to determine the BV frequency among pregnant women referring to a gynecology clinic in Arak city using Amsel and Nugent criteria, Alberta guideline, and PCR.
Materials & Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 70 vaginal samples of pregnant women in Arak to investigate the most common causes of vaginal discharge according to Amsel and Nugent criteria and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using specific primers targeted towards three bacteria: Gardnerella vaginalis, Atopobium vaginae, Mobiluncus curtisii. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and Chi-square test.
Findings: In this study, ten (14.28%) out of 70 pregnant women had positive bacterial vaginosis according to Amsel criteria. According to Nugent criteria and Alberta guideline, three (4.29%) cases were diagnosed with definite BV, 20 (32.26%) cases with intermediate BV with clue cells, 42 (67.74%) cases with intermediate BV without clue cells, and finally five (4.29%) cases with negative BV. Also, according to PCR, the frequency of G. vaginalis, M. curtisii, and A. vaginae in vaginal samples was 71.42% (50 cases), 64.28% (45 cases), and 30% (21 cases), respectively.
 Conclusion: According to the obtained results, the prevalence of definite bacterial vaginosis was lower than that of vaginitis, and most patients suffered from nonspecific vaginitis.
 

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Backgrounds: Bacterial infections are the most common complication in cancer patients. Infection with multi-drug resistant bacteria has recently become a worrying phenomenon in cancer patients.
This study focused on Gram-negative bacteria isolated from clinical samples of cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence and prevalence of drug resistance genes, including metallobetalactamase (blaIMP and blaVIM) and carbapenemase (blaKPC and blaGES) genes, in the main bacteria agents of nosocomial infections in cancer patients, such as Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli.
Materials & Methods: Common biochemical methods were used to identify bacterial isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed according to the standard method recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (2019).
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was also used to check the presence and prevalence of resistance genes.
Findings: During six months, from May to November 2020, 250 clinical samples were collected from cancer patients in Ayatollah Khansari hospital in Arak city, Iran. From which 80 Gram-negative bacilli were isolated, including 33 (41.2%) E. coli, 15 (18.7%) A. baumannii complex, 12 (15%) P. aeruginosa, eight (10%) K. pneumoniae, seven (8.7%) Citrobacter freundii, and five (6.2%) Enterobacter aerogenes isolates. The frequency of blaKPC, blaGES, blaIMP, and blaVIM genes was 39.95, 21.25, 16.25, and 17.45%, respectively.
Conclusion: The present study emphasizes the importance of identifying Gram negative rods and their resistance genes (metallobetalactamase and carbapenemase genes) in cancer patients, carrying out preventive instructions to prevent the transmission of resistance genes, and reducing mortality in these patients.