Background: Mobile phones are approximately widely used everywhere like in hospital wards, clinics and universities as well as biomedical laboratories. They have become very important tool in students’ life. In contrast, these tools carry many harmful bacteria which are responsible for infectious diseases in human because they serve as a reservoir for different pathogens. Current study was aimed to isolate bacteria from students’ mobile phones at the Institute of Medical Technology/Al-Mansour/The Middle Technical University, Baghdad, Iraq. Also, the study investigated microbial resistance to many antimicrobial agents as well as the appropriate remedial measures. Method: Four hundred and fifty swabs from mobile phones were collected from 450 students (271 males and 179 females). Their age range was (17-30) years. Swabs were collected from students during March 2018. Results: Out of the 450 swabs, 150(33.33%) swabs were positive. The percentages of the isolated bacteria according to gender were 53.33%(80 isolates) from males’ mobile phones and 46.66%(70 isolates) from females’ mobile phones. The most frequent Gram-positive bacteria isolated were Staphylococcus aureus (50%) followed by S. epidermidis (20%), whereas Gram-negative bacteria isolated were Escherichia coli (6.0%), Proteus mirabilis (2.66%), Proteus vulgaris (2.66%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.66%). The isolated bacteria showed variable antimicrobial sensitivity patterns for different antibiotics. Most S. aureus isolates were resistant to Cefotaxime, Gentamycin, Amoxicillin, Ciprofloxacin and Augmentin, whereas other isolated species showed the highest resistance to many antibiotics of interest. The isolates of Micrococcus spp. were sensitive to all the studied antibiotics except Tetracycline and Fucidic acid. Conclusion: The present findings indicated that contaminated students’ mobile phones could serve as reservoirs of bacterial agents. Also, most of the latter were resistant to many commonly prescribed antimicrobial agents.
Water samples from a variety of sources in Kelantan, Malaysia (lakes, ponds, rivers, ditches, fish farms, and sewage) were screened for the presence of bacteriophages infecting
The manganese doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles were synthesized by simple aqueous chemical reaction of manganese chloride, zinc acetate and thioacitamide in aqueous solution. Thioglycolic acid is used as capping agent for controlling the nanoparticle size. The main advantage of the ZnS:Mn nanoparticles of diameter ~ 2.73 nm is that the sample is prepared by using non-toxic precursors in a cost effective and eco-friendly way. The structural, morphological and chemical composition of the nanoparticles have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The nanosize of the prepared nanoparticles was elucidated by Scan
... Show MoreNosocomial infection is acquired contamination of hospitals and health care units caused by multidrug resistant bacteria. Currently, bacterial resistance to antimicrobial medication represents a complicated public health problem. Recent studies on the antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) attracted researchers worldwide to focus on the safe synthesis of AgNPs as antimicrobial agents against multidrug resistant bacteria. The antimicrobial efficacy of AgNPs on pathogenic bacteria isolated from clinical cases of acquired hospital infection was targeted in this project. Fifty specimens of stool were collected through private laboratories in Baghdad from patients who suffered diarrheal symptoms. Bacterial isolation, identific
... Show MoreIn this study, a packed bed was used to remove pathogenic bacteria from synthetic contaminated water. Two types of packing material substrates, sand and zeolite, were used. These substrates were coated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which were prepared by decomposition of Ag ions from AgNO3 solution. The prepared coated packings were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The packed column consisted of a PVC cylinder of 2 cm diameter and 20 cm in length. The column was packed with silver nanoparticlecoated substrates (sand or zeolite) at a depth of 10 cm. Four types of bacteria were studied: Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Pseudomonas aerugi
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to synthesize selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) using aqueous extract of black currant as a reducing agent. The green synthesized black currant selenium nanoparticles (BCSeNPs) were identified by color change. The characterization of SeNPs was achieved by Ultraviolet-visible (UV–VIS) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X–ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). These tests were used to detect: stability, morphology, size, crystalline nature, and functional groups present on the surface of BCSeNPs. The results revealed appearance of the brick-red color indicating the specific color of selenium nanoparticles, and UV-Vis spectroscopy showed band absorbanc
... Show MoreOpportunistic fungal infections due to the immune- compromised status of renal transplant patients are related to high rates of morbidity and mortality regardless of their minor incidence. Delayed in identification of invasive fungal infections (IFIs), will lead to delayed treatment and results in high mortality in those populations. The study aimed to assess the frequency of invasive fungal infection in kidney transplant recipients by conventional and molecular methods. This study included 100 kidney transplant recipients (KTR) (75 males, and 25 females), collected from the Centre of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation in the Medical City of Baghdad. Blood samples were collected during the period from June 2018 to April 2019. Twent
... Show MoreAntibiotic resistance increment is a major problem for the human society nowadays which encourages the efforts to look for new therapeutic alternatives from natural defenses. Synergistic antibacterial activity of epidermin and staphylolysin LasA A against Staphylococcus aureus (Staph aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Ps. aeruginosa) was evaluated. The antibacterial activities of epidermin from Staphylococcus epidermidis (Staph epidermidis) and Staphylolysin (LasA) from Ps. aeruginosa using the agar well diffusion assay were evaluated, and then using the micro dilution method to evaluate the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The checkerboard method and fract
... Show MoreThis Study aimed to studying the effect of Volatile oil extracted from the leaves of Myrtus communis on the growth and activities of the following types of bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsilla pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the yeast Candida albicans. The results showed an inhibitory effect of the oil on both the growth and activity of the tested microbes. This was reflected by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsilla pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa which was: (2.5, 1.25, and 2.5,5 % respectively), and the yeast (5) %. Also, the Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) to the bacteria mentioned above was (5, 2.5,5,10 % respectivel
... Show MoreBiodegradation is utilizing microorganisms to degrade materials into products that are safe for the
environment, such as carbon dioxide, water, and biomass. The current study aims to isolate and characterize
bacteria with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) degradation ability isolated from Shatt al-Arab water and
sewage from Basra, the bacteria were identified as Klebsiella pneumonia. According to the findings, the
isolates showed a highly significant difference in degradation of PET (24% during 7 days) and the percent of
degradation increased to 46% at 4 weeks compared to the control. The study also involved determining the
optimum temperature of K. pneumonia growth, which was 37°C, while the preferred