Background: Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is gram-negative bacterium, which causes Legionnaires’ disease as well as Pontiac fever. Objective: To determine the frequency of Legionella pneumophila in pneumonic patients, to determine the clinical utility of diagnosing Legionella pneumonia by urinary antigen testing (LPUAT) in terms of sensitivity and specificity, to compares the results obtained from patients by urinary antigen test with q Real Time PCR (RT PCR) using serum samples and to determine the frequency of serogroup 1 and other serogroups of L. pneumophila. Methods: A total of 100 pneumonic patients (community acquired pneumonia) were enrolled in this study during a period between October 2016 to April 2017; 92 samples were collected from patients attended and admitted to Al-Imamein Al-Kadhimein Medical City and 8 samples from those in the (Center of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation) in the Medical City of Baghdad. All patients were under therapy with antibiotics. Serum and urine specimens were obtained from all patients; urine samples were processed for urinary antigen test (rapid test). Serum samples were collected and submitted to DNA extraction for detection of L. pneumophila mip gene by q RT PCR assay. Results: The percentage of L. pneumophila in two hospitals in Bagdad was 30%. Of these 26% was serogroup 1 detected by urinary antigen testing (UAT). In the other hand, 23% of samples were positive by q RT PCR based mip gene, of these 19 % were serogroup 1 and 4% were another serogroup. The sensitivity of UAT is high (P value < 0.001), which means statistically highly significance than q RT PCR. Conclusion: LPUAT is a rapid tool for early diagnosis of Legionella infection, which highlights the need of using this test in hospitals and health institutions and there is a high prevalence of L. pneumophila in Iraq that refer to the necessity of considering this microorganism point of view in future studies for detection and treatment in pneumonic patients. Keywords: L. pneumophila, mip gene, quantitative real time PCR, urinary antigen. Citation: Gauad SA, Abdulrahman TR, Muhamad AK, Jawad AA, Hassan JS. Clinical utility of urinary antigen test and molecular method for detection of Legionella pneumophila. Iraqi JMS. 2018; 16(2): 207-215. doi: 10.22578/IJMS.16.2.13
The aim of this study was toward the possibility of producing antigen that has the ability to stimulate the immune response against the infection with the hydatid cyst. To do so antigens were extracted from sheep hydatid cyst fluid of Echinococcus granulosus .These were: 1- The hydatid cyst fluid called antigen B. 2- Excretion-secretion called ES antigen. 3-B/ES antigen is a mixture (1:1) of the above two antigens. Three concentrations (15, 30 and 60 µg/ml) from antigen B/ES were prepared to immunize the white mice (males) with 20 µg/gr body weight and one booster dose (10 µg/gr) to stimulate immunity. The efficiency of t
... Show MoreAround fifty Escherichia coli isolates were isolated from sixty midstream urine specimens collected from patients visiting hospitals in Baghdad city. Approximately, 52% of all isolates were identified as extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBL) producer. Results demonstrated that 92% of these isolates were sensitive to carbapenems. Only four β-lactamase coding genes were detected; blaTEM, blaPER, blaVIM and blaCTX-M-2. As a conclusion, this work revealed that local E. coli isolates harboured ESBL coding genes which may contribute in its pathogenicity.
Background: Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) infection has been implicated in pathogenesis of several types of carcinomas such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, gastric cancer and bladder cancer and has recently been associated with breast cancer.
Objective: To evaluate the relations between Epstein Barr virus-encoded small RNA (EBER) and breast cancer.
Methods: Twenty two cases of breast cancer were retrieved from the Al-Kadhimiya Teaching Hospital in Baghdad. Clinical data were analyzed from the medical records and formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tumor tissue were examined by Chromogeneic in situ hybridization (ISH) technique for the detection of EBER.
Results: The expression of EBER in tissues patients with breast cancer in the present
Many studies revealed that Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent bacteria “that cause sexually transmitted infections in the world.. Most of these infections are asymptomatic and there is a remarkable relationship between CT infections and male infertility. Therefore, “the present study is established to determine the effect of Chlamydia trachomatis infection on seminal fluid quality in males suffering from infertility compared with fertile males.. “Semen samples were collected from 63 infertile male and 13 fertile male as control group, attending the clinical laboratory for routine seminal fluid analysis. Seminal fluid was analyzed according to World Health Organization guidelines, the whole geno
... Show MoreAim: The aim of this study was to investigate babesiosis in dogs of different breeds and ages and of both sexes in Baghdad Province by molecular detection of Babesia canis using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing followed by phylogenetic analyses. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 310 dogs of different ages and breeds, and of both sexes in different areas of Baghdad Province from December 2018 to September 2019; during clinical examinations, body temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, and signs of diseases were recorded. PCR was used to amplify a specific 450-bp fragment of the 18S rRNA gene of B. canis. PCR products were sequenced, and MEGA 6.0 software was used for analysis. Chi-squar
... Show MoreThe pathogenicity resulting from Staphylococcus aureus infection has remarkable importance as one of the community-associated bacterial infections, due to the virulent ability of these bacteria to produce biofilms. This study was designed to detect biofilm production in clinical isolates from samples of wounds and urinary tract infections. The expression levels of the icaA gene that is responsible of slime layer production in biofilms was compared in isolates with different biofilm producing capabilities. Fifty seven samples that included 32 samples from urine and 25 samples from wounds were collected from Alwasti Hospital, Al-Kindi Teaching Hospital, and Alzahraa Clinic, Baghdad, Iraq. The bacteria was identified accor
... Show MoreTotal of 46 isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were collected from patients attending (Al-Yarmook Hospital and Education Labs / medical city), and isolates were re-identified, depending on morphology and biochemical tests . Disk diffusion method was employed to determine antibiotic susceptibility of forty six isolates by using eleven antibiotics .The results revealed the sensitivity of six isolates (9.3%) to Imipenem and Meropenem . On the other hand the isolates were showed 23.9% resistant against Ciprofloxacin, while some isolates shown higher resistant against several antimicrobial agents such as 65.2%, 69.0% for Amikacin and Cefepime consequently , 71.1%, 71.7 % for Amoxicillin -Clauvulanic acid and Gentamicin and 82.6% against Pipera
... Show MoreBackground: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) and their complications such as Bladder cancer (Bl. C.) are a health growing problem worldwide. Objective: To shed light on this subject, present study was done to investigate relationship between recurrent urinary tract infection (RUTI) due to Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Bl. C.Type of study: Cross-sectional study. Methods: This study included 130 patients with RUTI, 50 patients with Bl. C. and 50 control of both sexes (aged 7-85 years) attending Al-Zahra Teaching Hospital in Al-Kut/Wassit governorate and Al-Harery Teaching Hospital of specialized surgeries/Baghdad. The patients were divided into two groups: the first group (n=130) included those who were suffering from recurrent UTI without
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