Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a challenge to human wellbeing the world over and is one of the more serious public health concerns. AMR has the potential to emerge as a serious healthcare threat ...if left unchecked, and could put into motion another pandemic. This establishes the need for the establishment of global health solutions around AMR, taking into account microdata from different parts of the world. The positive influences in this regard could be establishing conducive social norms, charting individual and group behavior practices that favor global human health, and lastly, increasing collective awareness around the need for such action. Apart from being an emerging threat in the clinical space, AMR also increases treatment complexity, posing a real challenge to the existing guidelines around the management of antibiotic resistance. The attribute of resistance development has been linked to many genetic elements, some of which have complex transmission pathways between microbes. Beyond this, new mechanisms underlying the development of AMR are being discovered, making this field an important aspect of medical microbiology. Apart from the genetic aspects of AMR, other practices, including misdiagnosis, exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics, and lack of rapid diagnosis, add to the creation of resistance. However, upgrades and innovations in DNA sequencing technologies with bioinformatics have revolutionized the diagnostic industry, aiding the real-time detection of causes of AMR and its elements, which are important to delineating control and prevention approaches to fight the threat.
Recently, the antimicrobial potential of essential oils extracted from plants has gained extensive research interest, primarily for the development of novel antimicrobial treatments to combat ...emerging microbial resistance. The current study aims at investigating the antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of essential oil derived from gold coin daisy, which is known as
(EOAG). In this context, a gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of EOAG was conducted to identify its phytoconstituents. The in vitro antioxidant capacity of EOAG was determined by the use of three tests, namely: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrzyl (DPPH), ferric reducing activity power (FRAP), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). The antimicrobial activity of EOAG against clinically important bacterial (
, K12;
, ATCC 6633;
, DSM 6333; and
, CIP A22) and fungal (
, ATCC 10231;
, MTCC 282;
, MTCC 9606; and
MTCC 9913) strains was assessed. Antimicrobial efficacy was determined on solid (inhibition diameter) and liquid media to calculate the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). GC/MS profiling of EOAG revealed that 18 compounds were identified, with a dominance of α-Thujone (17.92%) followed by carvacrol (14.14%), with a total identification of about 99. 92%. The antioxidant activity of EOAG was determined to have IC
values of 34.81 ± 1.12 µg/mL (DPPH), 89.37 ± 5.02 µg/mL (FRAP), and 1048.38 ± 10.23 µg EAA/mg (TAC). The antibacterial activity in a solid medium revealed that the largest diameter was recorded in
(28.47 ± 1.44 mm) followed by
(27.41 ± 1.54 mm), and the MIC in
was 12.18 ± 0.98 µg / mL. For the antifungal activity of EOAG, the largest inhibition diameter was found in
(33.62 ± 2.14 mm) followed by
(26.41 ± 1.90 mm), and the smallest MIC was found in
(18.29 ± 1.21 µg/mL) followed by
(19.39 ± 1.0 µg/mL). In conclusion, EOAG can be useful as a natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agent and an alternative to synthetic antibiotics. Hence, they might be utilized to treat a variety of infectious disorders caused by pathogenic microorganisms, particularly those that have gained resistance to standard antibiotics.
Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is increasing in Saudi Arabia. MRSA average rate in the country is considered as high as 38%. This review aims to elucidate the ...present status of MRSA in Saudi Arabia that may serve as a basis for policy development in controlling the pathogen from spreading among healthcare providers as well as the Saudi community. The literature was systematically reviewed in this study using the PRISMA methodology. Eighteen studies with direct relevance were identified and synthesized for the findings. The incidence of MRSA in Saudi Arabia was fond to be varying considerably from one region to another. The rate of MRSA prevalence of all S. aureus strains in the Western, Central, and Eastern regions was 42%, 32%, 27%, respectively. High incidence in the Western region may be attributed to the presence of the holy Islamic sites which are visited by millions of people annually from all over the world. The nasal carriage of MRSA in Saudi Arabia is projected to be around 25% among all isolated S. aureus strains. MRSA colonization ranged from 18%-76% among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia. The clonal diversity of isolated MRSA strains was indeed varied. However, it seems that specific genotypes of MRSA are more frequently encountered. Type ST239-III is common with hospital-acquired MRSA whereas types CC80-IV (ST80) and to a lesser extent CC22-IV are prevalent among community-acquired MRSA isolates in Saudi Arabia. Keywords: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, Systematic Review, Genotypes, Saudi Arabia
This study investigated the specific role played by conserved membrane eukaryotic-like Ser/Thr protein kinases (StkP) during infection, particularly pneumonia, in order to get deep insights about ...Ser/Thr protein kinases signaling during infection and pathogenesis. The wild type and mutated Ser/Thr protein kinases (Spr1577) strains were tested on different cell lines to understand their virulence based on gentamicin protection assay, gene expression analysis and the expression of various interleukins. Though there was no uptake of bacterial CFU at the beginning, after 24 h it was 50% less for the mutated in comparison to wild-type strain, thus indicating a possible role of Spr1577 gene in the phagosomal survival of S pneumoniae. The complemented, strain-restored bacterial survival to the similar extent alike wild-type strains suggest that the Spr1577 kinase activity is not critical for the intracellular survival of S. pneumoniae within macrophages. Peak expression of spr1577 post infection indicating that the virulent genes seemed persuaded within the macrophages. Higher induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines by the wild type and complemented strains, but not by mutated strain, suggest its role in the induction of macrophages functions. S. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes are closely-related pathogens having 97% similarity in their gene sequences suggesting that the virulence mechanisms greatly varies and remain poorly understood for S. pneumoniae.
•The present study characterizes a putative spr 1577 of S. pneumoniae and establishes it as a novel virulence factor.•Spr1577 protein kinase activity is not critical for intracellular survival of S pneumoniae within macrophages.•Spr1577 functions here through a different mechanism which is a novel virulence factor of S. pneumonia.•Virulence mechanisms of S. pneumoniae remain poorly understood despite 97% similarity to S. pyogenes..
هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى فحص حساسية المضادات الحيوية لعزل المتفطّرة السلية ومقاومتها للعقاقير. قمنا أيضا بتقييم العلاقة بين الخصائص الديموغرافية وقابلية العلاج بعقاقير السل.
أجريت الدراسة بأثر رجعي ...لتحليل حساسية المضادات الحيوية لعزليات المتفطرة السلية ومقاومتها للعقاقير المضادة للسل من الصف الأول. خلال الفترة ٢٠٠٨-٢٠١٣، تمت مراجعة السجلات الطبية لـ ١٩١ مريضا من جناح السل وقسم المرضى الخارجيين في مستشفى ثالثي في شرق المملكة العربية السعودية.
قمنا بتصنيف العينة إلى فئتين: السل خارج الرئوي والسل الرئوي. في مرض السل الرئوي، تم فحص عينات وكان ٣٦.٥٪ منها من سوائل الجسم، و٢٩.٢٪ من زراعة الأنسجة و٥.٢٪ من خراجات الجسم. في السل الرئوي، شكلت عينات البلغم أعلى نسبة من العينات (٢٨.٦٪)، وتليها نضح الشعب الهوائية (١٣.٢٪)، والسائل الجنبي (٥.٧ ٪). أظهرت العزلات السريرية لدى النساء مقاومة أعلى للإيثامبوتول مقارنة بالعزلات الذكورية. كما أظهر عقار أيزونيازيد أعلى نمط مقاومة بين جميع المضادات الحيوية التي تم اختبارها (١٧٪). وفي الوقت نفسه، كانت لمزارع الأنسجة مقاومة أعلى للأيزونيازيد مقارنة مع العينات الأخرى.
المقاومة لعقاقير السل من الصف الأول أعلى في عزلات السل خارج الرئة من العزلات الرئوية. وكان ما يقرب من ربع جميع السلالات السريرية لمرض المتفطرة السلية مقاومة للمضادات الحيوية التي تم اختبارها بطرق مقاومة متعددة أو مقاومة أحادية. كما كانت النساء أكثر مقاومة لعقار إيثامبوتول مقارنة بالرجال. وفي الوقت نفسه، أظهر السل الرئوي، وتحديدا زراعة الأنسجة، مقاومة أكبر للإيزونيازيد مقارنة بالعينات السريرية الأخرى.
This study aims to examine the antibiotic sensitivity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates and its drug resistance. We also evaluated the relationship between demographic characteristics and tuberculosis (TB) drug susceptibilities.
A retrospective study was conducted to analyse the antibiotic sensitivity of M. tuberculosis isolates and its resistance to first-line anti-TB drugs. During the period 2008–2013, the medical records of 191 patients from the TB ward and the Out-Patient Department in an Eastern KSA tertiary hospital were reviewed.
We classified the specimens into two categories: extra-pulmonary and pulmonary TB. Among the extra-pulmonary TB specimens, 36.5% were from body fluids, 29.2% from tissue cultures and 5.2% from body abscesses. In case of pulmonary TB, sputum samples accounted for the highest proportion of the specimens (28.6%), followed by bronchial aspirates and pleural fluid (13.2% and 5.7%, respectively). Clinical isolates from women showed higher resistance to ethambutol compared to those from men. Isoniazid showed the highest resistance pattern among all antibiotics tested (17%). Meanwhile, tissue cultures had higher resistance to Isoniazid antibiotic compared to the other specimens.
Resistance to first-line TB drugs is higher in extra-pulmonary TB isolates than pulmonary isolates. Nearly one-fourth of all M. tuberculosis clinical strains were resistant to the antibiotics tested in mono-resistant or multi-resistant manners. Women had greater resistance to TB drug ethambutol as compared to men. Meanwhile, extra-pulmonary TB specimens, specifically that from tissue cultures, showed greater resistance to Isoniazid than other clinical specimens.
Background. The IL-12/IFN-γ axis pathways play a vital role in the control of intracellular pathogens such as Salmonella typhi. Objective. The study is aimed at using whole exome sequencing (WES) to ...screen out genetic defects in IL-12/IFN-γ axis in patients with recurrent typhoid fever. Methods. WES using next-generation sequencing was performed on a single patient diagnosed with recurrent typhoid fever. Following alignment and variant calling, exomes were screened for mutations in 25 genes that are involved in the IL-12/IFN-γ axis pathway. Each variant was assessed by using various bioinformatics mutational analysis tools such as SIFT, Polyphen2, LRT, MutationTaster, and MutationAssessor. Results. Out of 25 possible variations in the IL-12/IFN-γ axis genes, only 2 probable disease-causing mutations were identified. These variations were rare and include mutations in IL23R and ZNFX I. Other pathogenic mutations were found, but they were not considered likely to cause disease based on various mutation predictors. Conclusion. Applying WES to the patient with recurrent typhoid fever detects variants that are not much important as other genes in the IL-12/IFN-γ axis. Results of the current study suggest that a large population sizes would be needed to examine the functional relevance of IL-12/IFN-γ axis genes with recurrent typhoid fever.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of different doses (25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 Gy) of gamma radiation on spore germination in Penicillium chrysogenum and on ...the production and efficacy of penicillin in this fungus. A dose of 200 Gy of gamma radiation increased spore germination by 70.2% after 20 hours of incubation compared to control cultures. It was also found that penicillin yield increased by 95.2% at this dose of gamma radiation. The efficacy of penicillin was remarkably enhanced, resulting in a 99.6% reduction in the total count of Staphylococcus aureus treated with penicillin from irradiated P. chrysogenum compared with that of S. aureus treated with commercially available and purified penicillin from nonirradiated fungi. The results obtained highlighted the potential of this technology for production of penicillin. Keywords: Penicillium chrysogenum, penicillin, gamma radiation.
Meningitis caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa has lately become a prevalent cause of the central nervous system (CNS) infection. Bacterial invasion into the subarachnoid space ...prompts the releasing mechanism of chemokines and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The present study aimed to compare K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa meningitis concerning the memory, pro-inflammatory mediators and brain histopathological changes at different time intervals in adult Albino rats. The animals were sacrificed at three time intervals comprising 5, 10 and 15 days after meningitis induction. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture, relative brain weights, complete blood analysis, biochemical markers, levels of cytokine, chemokine and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotransmitter acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity, and the brain histopathology of the infected rats in comparison to those in the control group were assessed. There was a significant increase in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines including TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and AChE after 5 days of bacterial meningitis infection with both K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. The histopathological analysis of the cerebral cortex in the P. aeruginosa meningitis model at different time intervals revealed abundant numbers of dilated and congested blood vessels with severe hemorrhage, cerebral infarct, intracellular and extracellular vacuoles, and gliosis. Fifteen days post infection, a significant reduction in the brain tissue weight was observed. The meningitis model employing P. aeruginosa exhibited more evident time-dependent severity compared to K. pneumoniae, which may advocate its validity as a simple and effective research model to study meningitis of the CNS. This model may be utilized for further investigation to ascertain the molecular and biological association between bacterial meningitis and the development of the pathophysiological hallmarks underlying Alzheimer’s disease in preclinical and clinical setups. Clinical extrapolation based on studies employing animal disease models should be carefully interpreted.
Introduction: Group B streptococcus (GBS) is recognized as a significant cause of neonatal infections worldwide. The study investigated the burden of early-onset neonatal disease and assessed the ...cost of routine GBS screening in a hospital of the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: Pregnancy-related information and laboratory-related data for pregnant women for the period of 2016-2017 were used to determine the colonization rate of GBS. The efficiency of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) was examined among pregnant women carrying GBS and delivered at the hospital. The cost of GBS routine screening was estimated based on the cost of rectovaginal swab enrichment in BBLTM LIM broth and confirmation by polymerase chain reaction. The burden of early-onset disease and rates of resistance to antibiotics among vaginal and invasive neonatal isolates were investigated for seven years. Results: Screening of 2,476 samples from 1,162 pregnant women in two years showed a GBS colonization rate of 23% (270/1162). Of the 270 GBS-positive women, only 98 (37%) delivered at the hospital, of whom 42% received IAP. Cesarean delivery was associated with significantly higher rates of IAP administration (odds ratio 5.2; p value 0.001). The annual incidence of early-onset disease increased from a baseline level of 0.5 in 2012 to 3.9 per 1,000 births in 2018. These included 23 cases of invasive infections with three fatal cases caused by meningitis or sepsis (3/23, 13%). Group B streptococcus isolates remained uniformly sensitive to penicillin and vancomycin but exhibited resistance to clindamycin in 35.2%. The annual estimated costs of routine screening would be $110,880 ($41 per delivery) and $161,280 ($60 per delivery) for the BD MAX™ system and GeneXpert® System, respectively. Conclusion: While the incidence of early-onset GBS disease was increasing, improved compliance with the IAP is needed to inform the cost-effectiveness of routine GBS screening.
Meningitis caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa has lately become a prevalent cause of the central nervous system (CNS) infection. Bacterial invasion into the subarachnoid space ...prompts the releasing mechanism of chemokines and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The present study aimed to compare K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa meningitis concerning the memory, pro-inflammatory mediators and brain histopathological changes at different time intervals in adult Albino rats. The animals were sacrificed at three time intervals comprising 5, 10 and 15 days after meningitis induction. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture, relative brain weights, complete blood analysis, biochemical markers, levels of cytokine, chemokine and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotransmitter acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity, and the brain histopathology of the infected rats in comparison to those in the control group were assessed. There was a significant increase in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines including TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and AChE after 5 days of bacterial meningitis infection with both K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. The histopathological analysis of the cerebral cortex in the P. aeruginosa meningitis model at different time intervals revealed abundant numbers of dilated and congested blood vessels with severe hemorrhage, cerebral infarct, intracellular and extracellular vacuoles, and gliosis. Fifteen days post infection, a significant reduction in the brain tissue weight was observed. The meningitis model employing P. aeruginosa exhibited more evident time-dependent severity compared to K. pneumoniae, which may advocate its validity as a simple and effective research model to study meningitis of the CNS. This model may be utilized for further investigation to ascertain the molecular and biological association between bacterial meningitis and the development of the pathophysiological hallmarks underlying Alzheimer’s disease in preclinical and clinical setups. Clinical extrapolation based on studies employing animal disease models should be carefully interpreted.
PDF
