Background: Staphylococcus spp. are widely distributed in nature and can cause nosocomial, skin infections, and foodborne illness, and it may lead to severe financial losses in birds by causing systemic infection in numerous organs. Aim: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus spp. in humans and birds in Baghdad city. Methods: Seventy-six oral cavity swabs were collected, including 41 from birds and 35 from breeders. All samples were examined by bacteriological methods and identified by using the VITEK technique, the samples were then further studied to test the ability of biofilm formation, and MDR factors and MAR index were tested with the use of seven antibiotics. Results: Among the 76 oral swabs, 37 samples were positive (48.68%) for Staphylococcus spp.: 7 human samples (20%) and 30 bird samples (73.17%). In humans, S. lentus was the most prevalent (42.85%) followed by S. aureus (28.57%), S. hominis and S. sciuri were at (14.29%) to each. In birds, S. pseudintermedius, S. gallinarum, S. lentus, S. haemolyticus, Staphylococcus spp, S. sciuri and S. xylosus were detected in 36.67%, 16.67%, 10%, 10%, 13.33%, 3.33% and 3.33% respectively. Staphylococcus isolates from the human samples demonstrated that only S. lentus was resistant 33.33% to ME, OX, and SXT. Furthermore, one of them was MDR and high MAR index value. The antimicrobial pattern of Staphylococcus spp. isolated from birds was as follows: S. pseudintermedius isolates demonstrated 100% resistance to CN, CIP, SXT, and MDR (100%) and high MAR indices value; S. xylosus was resistant 100% against ME, CN, SXT and Do and it was MDR with high MAR index;S. lentus was resistant 25% against ME, OX, C, and SXT, whereas, S. gallinarum was resistant 33.33% against ME and OX. The results demonstrated that biofilm formation of the Staphylococcus spp. isolated from human samples were weak biofilm formers: S. lentus, S. hominis, and S. aureus, while other S. aureus (50%) was moderate. In birds, the majority of the isolates had non biofilm-producing capabilities, while 80% of S. lentus and 100% of S. xylosus showed moderate biofilm formation. Conclusion: Healthcare problem was observed in this study due to high MDR and MAR index among Staphylococcus spp. isolated from pet birds to their owners and vice versa.
The fingerprinting DNA method which depends on the unique pattern in this study was employed to detect the hydatid cyst of Echinococcus granulosus and to determine the genetic variation among their strains in different intermediate hosts (cows and sheep). The unique pattern represents the number of amplified bands and their molecular weights with specialized sequences to one sample which different from the other samples. Five hydatitd cysts samples from cows and sheep were collected, genetic analysis for isolated DNA was done using PCR technique and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA reaction(RAPD) depending on (4) random primers, and the results showed:
... Show MoreA significant increase in the incidence of non-O157 verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) infections have become a serious health issues, and this situation is worsening due to the dissemination of plasmid mediated multidrug-resistant microorganisms worldwide. This study aims to investigate the presence of plasmid-mediated verotoxin gene in non-O157 E. coli. Standard microbiological techniques identified a total of 137 E. coli isolates. The plasmid was detected by Perfectprep Plasmid Mini preparation kit. These isolates were subjected to disk diffusion assay, and plasmid curing with ethidium bromide treatment. The plasmid containing isolates were subjected to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for investigating
... Show MoreMicrosporum canis is considered one of the filamentous fungi that cause surface fungal contagion in the humans and animals. The present study aimed to diagnose M. canis via the molecular method and differentiating its local Iraqi isolates from global isolates. Microscopic examination showed 55 specimens with M. canis from 130 specimens collected from children aged between 4-10 years suspected of dermatophytes who attended Medical City Laboratories and Baghdad Hospital in Baghdad city from 1/12/2022 to 1/3/2023. The results showed that the frequency of M. canis infections was 55/130 (42.31%). The results demonstrated significant differences in the animals' contact (p <0.0001), lesions (0.03) and habitation area (p =0.002). Whilst
... Show MoreThe antagonism of the rhizospheric bacteria toward pathogenic fungi Macrophomina phaseolina was investigated. Ten soil samples were collected from the rhizospheric zone around Cowpea root (Vignaunguiculata L.). These samples were used as the source of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizobacterial isolates. Twenty-five bacteria were isolated and evaluated as an antagonistic agent against pathogenic fungi. M. phaseolina was isolated from infected roots of Cowpea and used as a pathogen. Twenty-five bacteria were isolated and evaluated as an antagonistic agent against pathogenic fungi. M. phaseolina was isolated from infected roots of Cowpea and used as a pathogen. The synergistic effect between A. siccitolerans and (AMF) Glomusmosseae,
... Show MoreSeveral toxigenic cyanobacteria produce the cyanotoxin (microcystin). Being a health and environmental hazard, screening of water sources for the presence of microcystin is increasingly becoming a recommended environmental procedure in many countries of the world. This study was conducted to assess the ability of freshwater cyanobacterial species Westiellopsis prolifica to produce microcystins in Iraqi freshwaters via using molecular and immunological tools. The toxigenicity of W. prolifica was compared via laboratory experiments with other dominant bloom-forming cyanobacteria isolated from the Tigris River: Microcystis aeruginosa, Chroococcus turigidus, Nostoc carneum, and Lyngbya sp. signifi
... Show MoreBackground: Alternative natural therapy by plants extracts had opened wide door for the use of natural products as an alternative therapy instead of many antibiotics and drugs , which had many harmful side effects.Also, an increased interest has been centered on the industrial wastes, especially plant raw materials which contain phenols (e.g. Pomegranate peel and Bay leaves) which is a sources of natural antioxidants ,which are on the contrary of synthetic antioxidants that had restrict use due to their health risks , carcinogenesis and toxicity .
Objectives :This study was done to fi
... Show MoreThe target of this study was to study the natural phytochemical components of the head (capsule) of Cynara scolymus cultivated in Iraq. The head (capsule) of plant was extracted by maceration in70% ethanol for 72 hours, and fractioned by hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate. Preliminary qualitative phytochemical screening was performed on the ethyl acetate fraction for capsule was revealed the presence of flavonoid and aromatic acids. These were examined by (high -performance liquid chromatography) (HPLC diodarray), (high- performance thin-layer chromatography)(HPTLC).
Flavonoids were isolated by preparative layer chromatography and aromatic acid was isolated by preparative high-
... Show MoreThe aim of the present study was to distinguish between healthy children and those with epilepsy by electroencephalography (EEG). Two biomarkers including Hurst exponents (H) and Tsallis entropy (TE) were used to investigate the background activity of EEG of 10 healthy children and 10 with epilepsy. EEG artifacts were removed using Savitzky-Golay (SG) filter. As it hypothesize, there was a significant changes in irregularity and complexity in epileptic EEG in comparison with healthy control subjects using t-test (p< 0.05). The increasing in complexity changes were observed in H and TE results of epileptic subjects make them suggested EEG biomarker associated with epilepsy and a reliable tool for detection and identification of this di
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